Virgin seat bookings

[VauxhallandI]

We are implementing a new on line booking tool at work for travel.
The rail part uses train,one in the background.

However I am told that the seat selector you get on the Virgin site is not available via the train line system.

This is a poor lack of functionality, how would users be able to allocate their seats?

Can this be done on the Virgin site before the traveller prints their tickets?

 

[Bletchleyite]

No, seat selection will not be available to you.

It's about time we had a national system for this (at least for those TOCs offering it) so it can be offered on all sites.

 

[Starmill]

Oh Neil

The reason it's specific to that TOC is very simple - or else why would XC have developed it? They're hardly the most customer-focused TOC. It is intended as a non-pecuniary incentive for customers of that TOC too use its own website thereby avoiding the payment of comission to another vendor of tickets for that operator. The other incentives such as EC Rewards (considered too abstractive of future revenues) and Nectar (payments into the Nectar 'pot') cost the TOC some of the money they're saving if one of their customers uses their website. Admittedly VT and GR do still offer nectar for the journeys you can use their seat selector on, but there's no reason why you'd use the XC site other than for theirs.

I wouldn't expect this to change any time soon unless there's a significant change to the way financial transfers within the industry work!

 

[Skie]

Evolvi allows seat selection, though it's 'dumb' selection rather than the system Virgin are using which shows available/booked seats. You can choose a specific seat but if it's already booked then it will tell you and force you to try another or just let it ask the system for an available one based on your preferences.

It works, I've been able to seat myself with colleagues who booked their tickets/seats a few days before. You could probably bugger with the API and just query the status of every seat to create a VT style seating plan, but it would probably get you a quick telling off

 

[snail]

The reason it's specific to that TOC is very simple - or else why would XC have developed it?

I'm not sure what that has to do with the subject 'Virgin seat bookings'.

To the OP, do you get advised the seats allocated before you confirm the booking? We have this on our online work travel booking system. If you make a second (or sometimes third) booking to be allocated different seats it is possible before finalising the booking to drop the ones with unwanted seats, leaving the acceptable allocation. https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/experience/our-trains has an interactive seat map under 'Find your seat' so you can see where the seats are.