Advance Rail Tickets & Delayed Flights?

Alias_Omega

Need to get rfom a UK airport back home, cheapest way is to buy a Advance Single of £25 compared to £100 for a return.

I have left 2hrs between landing and catching the train, however i am a little worried that if the flight is delayed, and i miss my train what can i do about the advance ticket?

If the flight is late, i will be out of pocket the £25 and will have to stump the £80 one way on the day single..

Ideas?

callum9999

Alias_Omega wrote: »

Need to get rfom a UK airport back home, cheapest way is to buy a Advance Single of £25 compared to £100 for a return.

I have left 2hrs between landing and catching the train, however i am a little worried that if the flight is delayed, and i miss my train what can i do about the advance ticket?

If the flight is late, i will be out of pocket the £25 and will have to stump the £80 one way on the day single..

Ideas?

Yes you will be out of pocket. That's the entire point of advance tickets - they are cheaper but you lose your flexibility.

If you're that concerned then see if you can buy a ticket for 3 hours after landing. If the planes any later than that you'll probably receive several hundred euros in compensation anyway. But it's up to you - either risk it or possibly spend 3 hours sitting around in the airport.

joerugby

I'm afraid it depends on the rail operator. Trans Pennine Express say this:

"We understand that sometimes flights back to sunny Manchester are delayed and you may be concerned about missing the train home you bought your ticket for, don't worry with an Airport Advance you can catch the next available Transpennine Express train up to 3 hours after the departure time stated on the ticket"

Other operators are very strict e.g. I've been made to pay again by FGW. Their attitude was "If you have been delayed, claim on your insurance".

Check before you buy your ticket

Voyager2002

The two hour figure is totally unrealistic: even if your plane touches down on time, the process of finding a stand for it; getting passengers off; passing immigration and collecting luggage can easily take longer than that.

Voyager2002

callum9999 wrote: »

. If the planes any later than that you'll probably receive several hundred euros in compensation anyway. But it's up to you - either risk it or possibly spend 3 hours sitting around in the airport.

There are lots of situations in which a late arrival does not yield compensation, so this is not something on which you can rely.

callum9999

Voyager2002 wrote: »

There are lots of situations in which a late arrival does not yield compensation, so this is not something on which you can rely.

Hence why I said probably (though in fairness, I agree "probably" was a bit too strong).

And 2 hours isn't "totally unrealistic". I can't recall ever taking that long to get from the plane to the train station in the UK. Even in the US with their infamous immigration lines it's only taken me more than 2 hours once - and that was solely down to being picked out for secondary screening.

There's certainly a risk, and if the result was losing £80 probably not one I would take, but it's not as risky as you state it is.

alanrowell

callum9999 wrote: »

And 2 hours isn't "totally unrealistic". I can't recall ever taking that long to get from the plane to the train station in the UK

Rescheduled flight, delayed flight, customs takes a shine to you...

bagand96

joerugby wrote: »

I'm afraid it depends on the rail operator. Trans Pennine Express say this:

"We understand that sometimes flights back to sunny Manchester are delayed and you may be concerned about missing the train home you bought your ticket for, don't worry with an Airport Advance you can catch the next available Transpennine Express train up to 3 hours after the departure time stated on the ticket"

Other operators are very strict e.g. I've been made to pay again by FGW. Their attitude was "If you have been delayed, claim on your insurance".

Check before you buy your ticket

First TransPennine Express and First Great Western have different policies. And people say the airline industry rules are a mess!

With advance tickets from airports you either pay for flexibility or take a chance with the advance. No hard and fast rule. I left 90 minutes at Heathrow recently and flew through T5 in about 35 minutes including luggage collection. Ended up getting a coffee and waiting. 2 hours on another day wouldn't be enough.