London -> Paris Bought 1st class but tix say Standard Plus

[gmm1038]

I'm so confused. I purchased 4 tickets via the Eurostar website selecting first class. When I received my confirmation email, the tickets says Coach. I also checked the Eurostar app which says Standard Plus. Thinking it was user error, I canceled and tried again, double-checking I had selected 1st class. Result was the same - tickets say Standard Plus. What am I doing wrong? Any chance I can get Eurostar to reimburse me for the $25 paid at cancellation?

 

[MrJeeves]

When I received my confirmation email, the tickets says Coach.

I've never seen any European railway describe any class of travel as "coach". They will list coach numbers; literally which carriage of the train you are in.

I also checked the Eurostar app which says Standard Plus. Thinking it was user error, I canceled and tried again, double-checking I had selected 1st class. Result was the same - tickets say Standard Plus.

Eurostar Plus (there is no Standard Plus), is their mid-tier offering. The only thing above that is Premier, which includes a 3 course meal and access to the lounge at London as well as a dedicated security line. There's no difference to the seating, but the pricing is typically much higher than other classes of travel. I think it always starts from €373pp for London to Paris.

I have no idea if the site you see when booking from the USA is different to what I see, but I don't have any kind of option for "first class". This is what I see:

 

[island]

Eurostar does not have a "first class" as such, their classes are standard, plus, and premier. Eurostar also does not use the term "coach" to mean the lowest class of travel, that usage is exclusively American. Any reference to "coach" on your ticket would be the train coach, or in American terms car, in which your seats were assigned.

You have very little chance of getting a refund of the cancellation fees arising from your hasty decision to cancel rather than seek assistance.

 

[reb0118]

It helps if you know the background & history behind the naming conventions. A few years back there was a backlash against public officials travelling "first" on expenses. To rectify this issue many transport undertakings rebranded certain first class products as enhanced standard class. As this was no longer technically first class the said public servants could continue to use it. In Eurostar's case Leisure First became Standard Premier (now known as Plus I believe).

 

[mike57]

I'm so confused. I purchased 4 tickets via the Eurostar website selecting first class. When I received my confirmation email, the tickets says Coach. I also checked the Eurostar app which says Standard Plus. Thinking it was user error, I canceled and tried again, double-checking I had selected 1st class. Result was the same - tickets say Standard Plus. What am I doing wrong? Any chance I can get Eurostar to reimburse me for the $25 paid at cancellation?

Others have covered the 3 Eurostar classes of travel, I can tell you if you have booked a through 'Plus' ticket to an onward destination, changing for example at Lille on to SNCF the onward portion of the travel will be in First Class.

Put simply, 'Plus' gets you 2+1 seating and a complimentary cold meal and a drink. Check in is the same as Standard.

If you book Premier then you get enhanced check in (shorter time, no or minimal queues, and don't quote me, it may have changed but if you missed your train then you were put straight onto the next one). You also get a hot meal, and the same 2+1 seating. Again any onward travel on SNCF (no experience of other operators) will be first class, but remember that there is no complimentary food and drink on SNCF first class, certainly on the TGV services I have used.

 

[contrex]

It helps if you know the background & history behind the naming conventions. A few years back there was a backlash against public officials travelling "first" on expenses. To rectify this issue many transport undertakings rebranded certain first class products as enhanced standard class. As this was no longer technically first class the said public servants could continue to use it. In Eurostar's case Leisure First became Standard Premier (now known as Plus I believe).

We are onto that in my Civil Service department. I drafted the revised guidance.