I don't think this has had a mention on either uk.r or u.t.l. yet - I
only noticed it the other day.

In early October [1] new 'Advance' tickets were introduced on the
Stansted Express, at a cost of £12 each way (Stansted - London Liv St or
v.v.) - compared to £23.40 for a single or £32.80 for a return (Standard
class fares). An Advance fare is also available to/from Tottenham Hale,
cost £11.

https://www.stanstedexpress.com/offers/advance-fares

These are a bit different from regular Advance fares elsewhere on the
railway in these respects...

* They allow travel on *any* Stansted Express service on the specified
date (i.e. you are not restricted to travel on a particular train at a
specified time).

* They must be purchased 7 days before travel.

* They are not quota limited (at least there's no suggestion they are).

* No Railcard discounts.

* They're issued as either an "e-ticket" (aka print at home) or an
"m-ticket" (in this instance, as a simple SMS/text message) [2].

* Whilst this isn't explicitly spelt out anywhere I can see, it seems
they're only available from the Stansted Express website.


A regular complaint about the Stansted Express has been that it's too
pricey - this does now make it rather more competitive with the coach
services offered by National Express and Terravision (both operators run
competing services linking the airport to Victoria, Liverpool Street and
Stratford in east London).

It's quickly worth noting that Stansted Express have a couple of other
pre-existing offers which also bring down the cost...

* WebDuo - 2 adult return tickets for £48, equivalent of £12 each way.
As the name suggests, it must be bought online - no need to book days in
advance, though 1 hour needs to be allowed for before the tickets are
ready for collection [2].
https://www.stanstedexpress.com/offers/webduo

* GroupSave - brings down the cost to £8 each way for 4 people, £10.50
for 3 people, if buying a return.
There's no off-peak only limitation for GroupSave on the Stansted
Express as is usually the case elsewhere. They also offer a '5 for 3'
option (requires at least 3 adults in the group).
Unlike regular GroupSave tickets these are only available online from
the Stansted Express website - again, there's no need to book days in
advance, but 1 hour needs to be allowed for before tickets can be collected.
https://www.stanstedexpress.com/offers/groupsave


----------
[1] "Stansted Express introduces new Low-cost 7 day Advance - Travel to
the airport from just £12":
http://preview.tinyurl.com/StEx-Advance-introduced

[2] Ticket Booking & Collection:
https://www.stanstedexpress.com/tickets-fares/ticket-booking-collection