No Standard Premium on Avanti Voyagers - policy on cancellations

[Sprinter150]

Amidst the general chaos of all the Avanti cancellations at the moment, it would seem that the company has no policy (or none communicated to staff on the ground) for what happens if a passenger has a Standard Premium ticket for a Pendolino service which is then cancelled, and the next available train to the passenger is a Voyager.

Should the passenger go and sit in 1st or Standard - it could be argued it’s unfair on the passenger to sit in Standard when they have paid more but unfair on full fare 1st passengers if they are allowed?

I experienced this today with multiple station staff unwilling to commit to an answer and contradictory responses (but was helped by a pleasant guard and the fact no 1st catering was being provided onboard anyway).

I just wondered what the standard practice is here or is it entirely left to the guard’s discretion?

 

[Watershed]

With Standard Premium on a Pendolino you are paying for a First Class seat and carriage but just no catering. I fail to see why the same can't be offered on a Voyager, i.e. let SP pax sit there but just provide no catering. Indeed some Pendolinos have carriages which are partly SP and partly First, so it's not an unheard of situation.

 

[yorkie]

I doubt Avanti have a policy on this; that would require them to actually think!

If it was me, I'd be sitting in 1st as that's the seat I've paid for; I concur with @Watershed above.

 

[AlterEgo]

I don't know why you'd bother asking station staff, just go and sit in first. Nothing station staff say is going to be - in practice - binding on the guard.

I agree with @yorkie and @Watershed.

 

[island]

I think it would be a very hard-hearted train manager who would charge someone sat in 1st in these circumstances.