Avanti west coast

Tallaght

Has anyone used these and what was the experience like ?

KeithP

They only started yesterday.

I suspect at the moment the service is identical to that supplied by Virgin West Coast last week.

gozaimasu

Surely it'll be the same as Virgin, they keep the same staff via TUPE and the same pendolino trains. The only thing that changes is the livery and maybe the food menu in first class? It depends who provides the food, usually RG group so that contract might still be in place too.

Nelski

Personally I was sad to see Virgin go being a weekly user but all does look the same so far except the app which doesn't have the facility to choose you're seats. Not a biggy but if you're booking for a group it may be an issue.

Oh and I hate the colours

tealady

Just used them today.
A lovely free cake at the station, no ticket inspector on the train but there was a very polite rubbish collector.
Didnt notice any difference in the quality of service from Virgin except in their delay / repay it's and c's.
Hope all the nice Virgin staff I have met over the years have been redeployed.

Tigsteroonie

I wouldn't judge the experience until they've been running at least two weeks - at the moment they are in the "trying to impress" phase (hence the free cake)

Tallaght

Third class train travel is set to return to Britain for the first time since the 1950s as standard-tier is bumped down to make way for a 'premium economy' carriage with bigger seats.
The new middle-way experience will allow passengers to treat themselves to an upgrade without having to fork out for the luxuries in first.
This extra class will be part of a souped-up service from Avanti West Coast which on Sunday replaced Richard Branson's Virgin Trains on the West Coast Main Line.
Premium economy customers will enjoy larger seats, faster wifi and snacks, rather than the meal offered to those in first class.

ibizafan_2

I used Avanti yesterday from Rugby to Euston on an advance ticket. I had an email from Virgin explaining that nothing had changed concerning my ticket and seat reservations, and this was indeed the case. The trains were the usual Pendolinos. I never got a free cake though!

giraffe69

Third class train travel is set to return to Britain for the first time since the 1950s as standard-tier is bumped down to make way for a 'premium economy' carriage with bigger seats.

Have you any evidence that standard class will deteriorate as and when "premium economy" comes in or is that just your way of making the story seem more interesting/controversial?

Tigsteroonie

Some of Northern Rail's customers (those on Pacers) would probably argue that they already have third class rail travel ...

Highland76

Tallaght wrote: »

Premium economy customers will enjoy larger seats, faster wifi and snacks, rather than the meal offered to those in first class.

Eh? When I travelled in First Class on a Virgin Train (Glasgow>London) recently, i was just offered drinks, snacks and a sandwich. Hardly a "meal" :rotfl: