Hi,
I regularly book tickets between Preston and Manchester and have noticed that if I choose a Transpennine Express service and a ticket with no operator restriction and request a reservation, the Transpennine Express website gives the following message:
Other booking sites such as Northern or Virgin simply say "reservations not available".
However, if I then change my selection to a TPE-only walk-up or advance ticket, the system gives me a reservation.
It seems they're trying to reduce no-shows and maximise sales of their own tickets, but at the same time this is encouraging Any Permitted ticket holders not to use their overcrowded services. I would therefore hope that TPE's revenue for affected Any Permitted tickets is adjusted as a result, but that seems unlikely.
Is this sort of policy more widespread?
I regularly book tickets between Preston and Manchester and have noticed that if I choose a Transpennine Express service and a ticket with no operator restriction and request a reservation, the Transpennine Express website gives the following message:
Transpennine Express said:There are no more seats available to reserve for your chosen ticket. You can buy this ticket without reservations or you can change your service or ticket selection and try again.
Other booking sites such as Northern or Virgin simply say "reservations not available".
However, if I then change my selection to a TPE-only walk-up or advance ticket, the system gives me a reservation.
It seems they're trying to reduce no-shows and maximise sales of their own tickets, but at the same time this is encouraging Any Permitted ticket holders not to use their overcrowded services. I would therefore hope that TPE's revenue for affected Any Permitted tickets is adjusted as a result, but that seems unlikely.
Is this sort of policy more widespread?