EC Summer First upgrade

[YorkshireRider]

EC has sent a brief out to all guards that they can at their discretion offer a £25 upgrade to first class on any weekday service, throughout the next few weeks, flat rate no matter the length of the journey, this offer will run until Sep 5th.
The upgrade voucher is only valid on the train in which it is issued.
It is strictly the guards discretion and he/she will liaise with the catering crew before offering the upgrade via the train PA.
It will not be offered on any trains which are more than 2/3 reserved in first class

 

[DaveNewcastle]

That could be quite popular. I've previously commented on the high numbers of passengers with Standard tickets sitting in First when leaving Kings Cross on a Friday evening, hoping for a "Weekend First" upgrade (no, they are not eligible on Fridays), so if that's just the few that are mistaken on a Friday evening, I'd expect the many that are informed through the week to produce a significant demand.

But knowing a little of how the Company works, I have a horrid suspicion that they won't class those Standard upgrades as First Class passengers, and so when it comes to justifying the demand for First Class in their new trainsets, they will use the lower figure, having pocketed the discretionary upgrade payments and delivered the tea and sandwiches. (Obviously, I am wrong in this cynical assumption and am only bitter at having already bought a raft of First Class tickets for my own travel over the next few weeks and therefore being ineligible for the scheme.)

It won't help the handful of Standard Class passengers leaving Inverness on the early morning Chieftan, as they would not be allowed to vacate their 20 seats per person for £25 to enjoy a breakfast or two, because First is likely to be 2/3 reserved by the hoardes who have already paid for First (and who are already enjoying their breakfasts!).

Sorry about my cynicism. I can see that it really is a constructive proposal for those services which run light, but with full crews, rota'd so that they can work the corresponding busy return journey. In fact the real looser is surely the crews, who will now find themselves working more pax per shift for the same pay.

 

[dcsprior]

I heard a guard selling one of these upgrades to another passenger in 1st on Thursday evening, and would like to make use of it myself tomorrow morning, as I'm booked in Std, but I had a few questions about it:

• I can't find anything on EC's website about this, it hasn't been withdrawn or anything has it?
• I heard the guard saying it was valid on an Advance (which is what I've got for tomorrow) is this correct? If so it'll cost me less than it would've been to buy a 1st Advance in the first place.
• Above it says it won't be offered if the train is more than 2/3 reserved in 1st. Does this just mean that it won't be advertised over the tannoy, or that it won't be available to buy if approaching the guard (I would be doing this before boarding, not just going and sitting in 1st)?

 

[YorkshireRider]

It is still running however it is strictly at the guards discretion, they will make a call based on how many spare seats are in first and after consulting with the catering crew leader if there is sufficient food on board. Due to staff feedback the offer is no longer available on peak time services (arriving into London before 10:08am). There is no harm in approaching the guard before boarding though, probably a good idea. Yes you can upgrade on a advance.

 

[yorksrob]

Yes you can upgrade on a advance.

Ooh, that might be handy to know !

 

[prd101]

Might it be valid to upgrade from a standard class EC rewards ticket?

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Yes, though I don't think that it is specifically written anywhere in respect of 'Rewards' tickets.
As YorkshireRider has wisely suggested, it's good to ask the Guard before boarding - I can't imagine any Guard refusing if there is the capacity on board (and I've been seeing some very empty first class coaches in recent weeks).

 

[scotsman]

If you can upgrade on an advance, I'd guess you might be able to upgrade a reward ticket. The East Coast site doesn't list the reward ticket as one that can be upgraded, but the T&Cs suggest that they are issued as (or with the same conditions as) advances.

 

[YorkshireRider]

The brief sent out to staff was any ticket so yes can't see a problem with a rewards ticket.

 

[prd101]

thanks, going to try upgrading a rewards ticket next Thursday evening (9 or 10pm) from Kings Cross to York and see how it goes.

 

[dcsprior]

It is still running however it is strictly at the guards discretion, they will make a call based on how many spare seats are in first and after consulting with the catering crew leader if there is sufficient food on board. Due to staff feedback the offer is no longer available on peak time services (arriving into London before 10:08am). There is no harm in approaching the guard before boarding though, probably a good idea. Yes you can upgrade on a advance.

Thanks to YorkshireRider and others for their advice.

I was able to buy one on the train. It was on an early service, but was very lightly loaded in 1st. Before saying yes, the guard checked his reservations sheet and went to speak to the catering team to confirm it was OK from a stock perspective, and asked me to sit in K or L as M was the busiest coach.

It was very welcome, but it seems strange that the weeks its available are the same weeks that I remember the prices for 1st Advances being significantly higher than normal (~£200 for a "return", vs ~£130 for a typical week - booked around the same time on the day they're released, for the same service)... unless its because the increase in the price for these weeks left them with lots of seats in 1st that they could sell?