Avanti first class bookable from EUS but not from intermediate station?

[MKB]

I am trying to book Stafford to Liverpool on Avanti first class on Saturday morning 21 August. These seats are bookable on all Avanti trains from Euston but not from Stafford or Crewe. I've tried several booking engines. Anyone know what is going on. If they were fully reserved already, I wouldn't expect them to be available from Euston.

 

[Haywain]

Just because the trains have first class accommodation does not mean that first class Advance tickets have to be offered.

 

[CrispyUK]

Just because the trains have first class accommodation does not mean that first class Advance tickets have to be offered.

It appears to be a reservations issue, I’ve just tried myself using the Avanti app, trying to select an Off-Peak Single (1st Class) between Stafford and Liverpool Lime Street returns the error: Seat reservation failed - A seat reservation is required for your journey. Please try again later.

If I search from Euston and select the same train, I can select both advance and walk-up fares no issue and am given a seat reservation.

 

[MKB]

That's right CrispyUK. It's all Avanti trains that day on the EUS-LIV route as far as I can see that have this reservations issue. It applies to all first-class ticket fare types. Even FOR's are greyed out as not available from Stafford/Crewe.

Is it possible Avanti have made a decision that, with limited reservations anyway, they only want to issue end-to-end seat reservations? If so, are they even allowed to do that?

If, instead, it's a technical glitch, what's the workaround to actually book a seat?

 

[Starmill]

If you're wanting to travel with a First Class Off Peak ticket you can just buy that from Avanti tickets machines generally and get on the train taking any available seat. Obviously that doesn't help you much though if you've a specific seat you know you would like. If you don't get a seat in First Class, you will at least be able to claim a refund of the difference between the fare you paid and the appropriate Standard Class one. But of course not if you don't get your preferred seat, and it wasn't reserved.

The website tickets.tpexpress.co.uk is happy to sell me a Stafford to Liverpool First Class Off Peak Single at £34.90 without choosing a train or making a reservation.

Worth noting too that if your train stops at Crewe an Avanti West Coast only First Class Anytime Day Single from Stafford to Crewe then another from Crewe to Liverpool Lime Street comes to £32.10, slightly cheaper than the through First Class Off Peak Single.

 

[MKB]

Liverpool play at home that day, so it will be standing only on the morning trains without a seat reservation. Hence why I'm trying to get one.

 

[Paul Kelly]

Is it possible Avanti have made a decision that, with limited reservations anyway, they only want to issue end-to-end seat reservations? If so, are they even allowed to do that?

I think it's possible and I can't see anything really stopping them, although on the surface it looks like a purely revenue-generating decision; nothing to do with giving a good passenger experience, which is supposedly all the rage these days. I suspect the new reservation system (RARS2) makes it more user-friendly for TOCs to impose this sort of restriction compared to the old NRS, and that we're going to see more of it.

 

[Trackman]

I think we've had this discussion on the forums a while back.

I would send them a DM on Twitter and see what they say.

 

[MKB]

I'd already tweeted them, which they ignored. So have tried a DM, as suggested.

 

[Wallsendmag]

I know we have a RARS2 problem with flexible tickets, if it's the same bug theres a fix on the way

I think it's possible and I can't see anything really stopping them, although on the surface it looks like a purely revenue-generating decision; nothing to do with giving a good passenger experience, which is supposedly all the rage these days. I suspect the new reservation system (RARS2) makes it more user-friendly for TOCs to impose this sort of restriction compared to the old NRS, and that we're going to see more of it.

Not really NRS allowed this sort of thing as well.

 

[MKB]

Update: RESOLVED

Miles on the Avanti Twitter team came back to me on Friday evening to say that their technical guys had fixed this, and I can confirm that to be the case as I was now able to book first-class tickets with seat reservations between Stafford and Liverpool.