Avanti advance fares showing up in forum and not own site

[A S Leib]

(I should note that I would, if this happened in most cases, just buy via the forum's site, and that it's just the Club Avanti qualifying journey which means I'm not in this case)

I'm looking to buy an advance ticket with a 16-25 railcard from Carlisle to Hemel Hempstead on the evening of Friday 11 December. The forum site is showing me £19.38 for an advance ticket for the 18:46 Carlisle to 21:52 Milton Keynes Central and the 22:02 MKC to Hemel. On Avanti's website, I can see £13.95 for the same departure for a ticket to Milton Keynes Central, but £67.35 to Tring (where the forum site splits) or £67.95 for a single ticket to Hemel. If there's no other way to get it to work, I'd begrudgingly pay £26.40, splitting at Milton Keynes Central. I would like to know why perfectly reasonable through fares are showing up on the forum site and not Avanti's website (or app).

 

[mmh]

I can't seem to find an 18:46 from Carlisle, there is an 18:51 though?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I can't seem to find an 18:46 from Carlisle, there is an 18:51 though?

If 13DEC2026 is the correct date (= a Sunday?) 18:51 departure from Carlisle for London Euston on a Sunday, 18:46 otherwise?

 

[Mainline421]

£19.38 won't be a through fare as that includes a booking fee. Actual tickets are all priced in multiples of 5p

 

[A S Leib]

If 13DEC2026 is the correct date (= a Sunday?) 18:51 departure from Carlisle for London Euston on a Sunday, 18:46 otherwise?

Sorry, I meant 11 December.

£19.38 won't be a through fare as that includes a booking fee. Actual tickets are all priced in multiples of 5p

I know; I was counting Trainsplit's share, which still comes to less than what Avanti's showing.

 

[mmh]

Hmm. National Rail Enquiries site doesn't go to 11 December yet, but searching for Carlisle to Tring on 4 December finds a cheap advance single fare for the 18:46, but when it redirects to the Avanti booking site it gives an error.

How annoying!

 

[Belperpete]

In my experience, the Avanti site frequently doesn't find itineraries that other sites do, particularly if it involves a connection with another TOC. I have had it tell me that a service I wanted had no seats left, only for another site to sell me a ticket complete with seat reservation for the exact same train. It is no wonder that Avanti have to offer incentives to use their crap site/app.

At the end of the day, what is more important? Getting the Club Avanti points, or getting the train you want at the cheapest price?

 

[jmacp]

Avanti's ticketing website is an absolute disaster when it comes to journeys that involve a change. Their website will not give you an advance fare on a journey requiring a change of service.

 

[A S Leib]

Getting the Club Avanti points, or getting the train you want at the cheapest price?

In this scenario, getting the point means spending £7 more, with £5.65 being the minimum available advance for a qualifying journey I'm likely to make (Carlisle – Preston), so I'd split at Milton Keynes if there's no other way.

Of course I shouldn't assume it will happen, but that Carlisle to Milton Keynes service has got there within 10 minutes of schedule 25% of the time in the last twelve weeks, and the Milton Keynes to Euston stopper seems far more reliable, so there's a reasonable chance of getting some of the difference back anyway.

 

[MrJeeves]

Their website will not give you an advance fare on a journey requiring a change of service.

This isn't true, but there are many issues with the Avanti site.

 

[jmacp]

Certainly is true in my case Mr Jeeves see https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/avanti-west-coast-booking.305467/#post-7888871

 

[Belperpete]

This isn't true, but there are many issues with the Avanti site.

It is often the case that the Avanti site won't find any fare (including advances) for a journey that involves a change of train with another TOC, but obviously isn't always the case. In the case of a journey I was looking to make awhile back, it claimed ALL the daytime services were unavailable, only the last late-evening service was bookable. I had no problem booking elsewhere.

 

[MrJeeves]

Certainly is true in my case Mr Jeeves see https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/avanti-west-coast-booking.305467/#post-7888871

It is often the case that the Avanti site won't find any fare (including advances) for a journey that involves a change of train with another TOC, but obviously isn't always the case. In the case of a journey I was looking to make awhile back, it claimed ALL the daytime services were unavailable, only the last late-evening service was bookable. I had no problem booking elsewhere.

I appreciate that it might appear this way, but it will be another issue which results in symptoms which primarily negatively affect journeys with a change of train, rather than the change of train itself being the issue, but I appreciate it's a bit of pedantry that isn't particularly relevant.

 

[jmacp]

Hi
Whatever way we look at it we’ve got to the ridiculous situation where Avanti do not display the cheapest fares on their own website. its frankly ridiculous that Scotrail for instance will display a cheaper fare for an Avanti service. Ordinary customers looking to take an Avanti journey are being ripped off!

 

[styles]

Hi
Whatever way we look at it we’ve got to the ridiculous situation where Avanti do not display the cheapest fares on their own website. its frankly ridiculous that Scotrail for instance will display a cheaper fare for an Avanti service. Ordinary customers looking to take an Avanti journey are being ripped off!

Filed, under "ways in which the rail industry makes travelling by train confusing for passengers."

Though if you actually want to receive your tickets, I would probably avoid the new ScotRail app anyway.

 

[alistairlees]

This should be an accreditation issue

 

[MrJeeves]

This should be an accreditation issue

Does that apply to TOC retail?

 

[kkong]

Does that apply to TOC retail?

I'd hope so, considering that ScotRail's contract for their new retail systems includes costs for "accreditation"

But then again, ScotRail admitted that no testing was carried out against any sort of procedure or test cases before it went live, so...