I mean that's what makes me unwilling to even consider first class on LNER. It's part of the same problem though - they seem to want to offer a hugely subsidized half-assed alternative to airlines, but the service isn't good enough to be competitive and they don't want to be cheap or pleasant enough to be a real public service.I avoid LNER because of this new ticket policy.
The only thing worse is the sleeper. As a Scottish taxpayer I feel like I'm paying hand over fist for rich people to go to London on a service which you'd struggle to describe as comfortable. If we have that much spare cash (and the new even crazier tax bands suggest we don't) then they should pay for the rosyth-zeebrugge ferry to start again. Paying LNER and the sleeper to play trains with a random mix of plank seats and pointless double beds isn't a good use of my money.