Avanti Standard Premium

[Bletchleyite]

So, I've now had a chance to try this, and I'm not as impressed as I was with Standard, sadly, so unless it's heaving I think Standard is going to be my choice in future, at least until the 80x with their FISA LEAN first class seats are working the majority of services from MKC.

The seat I was in had an iffy recliner, which was not a good start. Also the folding tables are starting to "droop" as in Standard and the inductive charging didn't appear to work.

However the seat cushion itself has a design flaw - have they been taking lessons from Merseyrail? The problem is that the white leather headrest (should be a darker colour - it'll doubtless get mucky!) protrudes slightly from the seat, and as such taller passengers will find it pushing into the back of their neck

I did think Pendolino 1st was the best 1st in the country, but sadly while upgrading Standard they seem to have made 1st worse. I guess it'll save me money so I shouldn't complain, but the lack of attention to detail in the premium classes seems rather out of kilter with the excellent job in Standard.

 

[RachelK]

I am a pensioner travelling on my own and I have used Standard Premium several times because I like to have a single seat and more room for luggage than in standard (I am very short and can't reach the overhead luggage racks). I have usually been able to book the upgrade online but for my most recent trip (Lancaster to London on Monday 27th November) the web site said that an upgrade was not available even though I booked several weeks in advance. However it has always been my understanding that you can sit in an empty seat in coach H and pay the supplement on the train. So when I got on at Lancaster, I found what appeared to be an unreserved seat. Then at Warrington a lady got on with a reservation for the seat I was sitting in. She said that she had a disability so I obviously had to move. I went to look for a member of staff but couldn't find anyone. The only empty seat I could see in coach H was a window seat in a set of four with three people who had stuff all over the table and I wasn't going to pay a £25 supplement for that (luckily the ticket inspector hadn't appeared at that stage). Having to move my luggage and other stuff was quite disruptive -my original reservation in standard was a long way down the train but I did manage to find an empty seat which was nearer. I filed a complaint when I got home but the answer wasn't particularly helpful (and actually quite rude in places). However it does appear that if an upgrade is not available online, the Standard Premium coach is already fully booked (i.e. any information above the seats is meaningless). At least this was the impression I got from their reply.