I booked two tickets from London Kings Cross to Leeds with return. I
had to use a separate credit card for each ticket because my company
wouldn't like paying for my wife's ticket while i'm on business .

Anyway, since I booked them separately, they wouldn't seat us
together. How difficult will it be come trip time to get two seats
together? Are there usually open seats, are people willing to move a
bit, how flexible is it?

Thanks

On Sep 6, 3:56 pm, Russ wrote:
Anyway, since I booked them separately, they wouldn't seat us
together. How difficult will it be come trip time to get two seats
together?

If the ticket type is "GNER Advance" (or thereabouts) than you're only
allowed to sit in the reserved seat. GNER are notorious arseholes on
this point. If it's an ordinary ticket (Saver Return or whatever) you
can sit where you like.

Are there usually open seats, are people willing to move a bit, how flexible is it?

Most Leeds trains start there, and all GNER trains start at King's
Cross, so if you get there a little bit early and head for Coach H
(which is kept unreserved) you'll be fine.

U

--
http://londonconnections.blogspot.com/
A blog about transport projects in London

"Mr Thant" wrote
Russ wrote:
Anyway, since I booked them separately, they wouldn't seat us
together. How difficult will it be come trip time to get two
seats
together?

If the ticket type is "GNER Advance" (or thereabouts) than you're
only
allowed to sit in the reserved seat. GNER are notorious arseholes
on
this point.

Not usually true in my experience; it's a myth started by one of the
denigrators of GNER in uk.railway. I travelled from Retford to
London and back today using GNER Advance tickets, sitting in
unreserved coach H each way, wth no difficulty. Of course, they are
entitled to make you occupy your reserved seat, and apparently it
happens occasionally - but never to me.

If it's an ordinary ticket (Saver Return or whatever) you
can sit where you like.

Are there usually open seats, are people willing to move a bit,
how flexible is it?

Most Leeds trains start there, and all GNER trains start at King's
Cross, so if you get there a little bit early and head for Coach H
(which is kept unreserved) you'll be fine.

Agreed - for any ticket type.

In article ,
(John Salmon) wrote:

If the ticket type is "GNER Advance" (or thereabouts) than you're
only allowed to sit in the reserved seat. GNER are notorious
arseholes on this point.

Not usually true in my experience; it's a myth started by one of
the denigrators of GNER in uk.railway. I travelled from Retford to
London and back today using GNER Advance tickets, sitting in
unreserved coach H each way, wth no difficulty. Of course, they are
entitled to make you occupy your reserved seat, and apparently it
happens occasionally - but never to me.

Also true on FGW. My daughter and her baby were booked on FGW from
Cornwall back to Cambridge in one of their new HST coaches with high
density mainly airline seats. It was impossible to accommodate the baby
without blocking the corridor so the train crew helped her moved to
somewhere more suitable.

--
Colin Rosenstiel

On 6 Sep, 23:53, "John Salmon" wrote:

Not usually true in my experience; it's a myth started by one of the
denigrators of GNER in uk.railway. I travelled from Retford to
London and back today using GNER Advance tickets, sitting in
unreserved coach H each way, wth no difficulty. Of course, they are
entitled to make you occupy your reserved seat, and apparently it
happens occasionally - but never to me.

On our trip to Edinburgh (First Advance), I'd removed the reservation
tickets from the seat to look at them - and left them on the table.
This was because we'd booked airline seats, but been given window
seats. More confusing than that was the fact that we had 'A' seats
(airline) but was told it stood for aisle. Great theory, except the
numbers meant window.. A doesn't mean window!

Anyway, he demanded our ticket AND reservations and then consulted a
notepad which seemed to have details of the reservations (he must have
seen the seat back tickets on the table, or could have asked). We
hadn't done anything wrong (or should we be fined £200 as mentioned on
the cards?), so he muttered something and wandered on, never to be
seen again for the whole journey.

On the way back, you couldn't have asked for a more friendly person to
check tickets, or serve tea and coffee.

When NatEx take over, I'd like to think they could be choosy about who
they keep but those damn TUPE rules will probably stop that
happening!!

Jonathan

On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 17:56:43 -0700, jonmorris
wrote:

On 6 Sep, 23:53, "John Salmon" wrote:

Not usually true in my experience; it's a myth started by one of the
denigrators of GNER in uk.railway. I travelled from Retford to
London and back today using GNER Advance tickets, sitting in
unreserved coach H each way, wth no difficulty. Of course, they are
entitled to make you occupy your reserved seat, and apparently it
happens occasionally - but never to me.

On our trip to Edinburgh (First Advance), I'd removed the reservation
tickets from the seat to look at them - and left them on the table.
This was because we'd booked airline seats, but been given window
seats. More confusing than that was the fact that we had 'A' seats
(airline) but was told it stood for aisle. Great theory, except the
numbers meant window.. A doesn't mean window!

Back in the good old days, seats facing each other across a table
shared a number; hence one was able to book a seat with face to
direction of travel, which is particularly useful for those who suffer
certain forms of kinetosis.

The new trains operated by Virgin and GNER (and possibly others, but
those two run 99% of the trains on which I reserve seats) have
uniquely-numbered seats, the result of which is that one cannot
reserve a seat with face to direction of travel, despite
thetrainline.com still offering it as a booking option - all seats are
listed as Airline (which simply means that the booking system doesn't
know whethere they will be Face or Back on the particular journey).

Personally, I always request forward-facing seats, and if I get a
backward-facing one, I move. I've had to explain myself once (in
somewhat over 50 journeys); and the staff member didn't complain.

On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:35:42 +0100, James Farrar
wrote:

The new trains operated by Virgin and GNER (and possibly others, but
those two run 99% of the trains on which I reserve seats) have
uniquely-numbered seats, the result of which is that one cannot
reserve a seat with face to direction of travel

Which is just lazy on the TOCs' and Trainline's part, as Pendolinos
are always the same way round...

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

On Sep 6, 2007, jonmorris wrote:
This was because we'd booked airline seats, but been given window
seats. More confusing than that was the fact that we had 'A' seats
(airline) but was told it stood for aisle. Great theory, except the
numbers meant window.. A doesn't mean window!

Is it not the case these days that every seat is classified airline on
some trains, because the two sides of a table now have different numbers?

--
Kirk

On 7 Sep, 01:56, jonmorris wrote:
[...]
When NatEx take over, I'd like to think they could be choosy about who
they keep but those damn TUPE rules will probably stop that
happening!!

Those damn TUPE rules helpfully stop a company from taking on only the
yesmen or those whose faces fit, regardless of their ability or lack
thereof.

Every company has its own disciplinary procedures to deal with people
who are incapable of doing the job - the fact that GNER seems happy to
have the amount of arrogant arseholes it does suggests that GNER feels
that sort of behaviour is acceptable. The complaints posted here
passim about the attitude of CT and MML staff suggests that NEG feels
much the same way...

On 7 Sep, 06:16, (Neil Williams) wrote:
On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 03:35:42 +0100, James Farrar

wrote:
The new trains operated by Virgin and GNER (and possibly others, but
those two run 99% of the trains on which I reserve seats) have
uniquely-numbered seats, the result of which is that one cannot
reserve a seat with face to direction of travel

Which is just lazy on the TOCs' and Trainline's part, as Pendolinos
are always the same way round...

Except the Edinburgh - Euston and return which are always the wrong
way round.
(You can spot if the southbound set has been stepped up to another
service if you get the set that is back to front later in the day on
another service!)

Could the reservation computer cope with that?

Tony