If I purchase a super off peak single from Luton Airport Parkway/airport to Leicester and my plane gets in late, am I able to pay the difference to turn it into either an off peak or anytime as appropriate? If yes, must this bd done at the ticket office or am I allowed to do it in train? Thanks
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Excessing a super off peak single
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AlterEgo
Veteran Member
You can excess it, but it should be done at the ticket office.
There is no need to purchase a super off peak single in advance. I'd just wait until I landed if I were you.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Yes you can do this. It needs to be done before boarding (sorry, edited, I was confusing it with route excesses which the NRCoT says can be done on board).
You might find it easier to simply purchase the ticket you need on your phone on the shuttle thing to the station, though, or if you prefer paper tickets from a TVM or the booking office on arrival at the station.
Luton Airport Parkway is a gated station, so I'd hope you wouldn't get near a train with a time-restricted ticket if it wasn't valid.
That doesn't mean the gates will be in use or programmed correctly, of course!
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Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Or staffed. I've had to barge through gates on the non-booking-office side because my valid ticket didn't work them and the intercom wasn't answered. It's not a well run station.
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
No, if you've missed the train on an Advance it has no value.
You can do it before departure time, but you will need to pay an admin fee of £10 on top of the difference.
Provided this is done before departure time and you are happy to pay a £10 fee, yes.
For airport arrivals you would be well advised to use flexible tickets for your onward train journey, or leave a decent margin to allow for delay if using Advance fares.
Spaceship323
Member
You'd have to pay an admin fee to exess an advance, usually £10
Only before departure time. If the first booked train has been missed, an Advance has no value. If this is a possibility I would suggest using a retailer that doesn't charge admin fees for changes to Advances (e.g. XC or Railsmartr) and/or using splits so that if you do have to pay again, at least it's not for the full value of the journey.
In most cases, you tend to know roughly what time you'll land before you lose internet prior to taking off (that's assuming there's no inflight WiFi or you don't want to pay for it) so I'd suggest making any changes before take-off if your flight does appear to be sufficiently delayed to miss your booked train.
Brissle Girl
Established Member
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The advice about Advance tickets on the return journey is very good, and indeed I avoid them, especially as Super Off Peak singles on GWR are reasonably priced.
However, I do note that TransPennine allow Advance tickets from Manchester Airport to be used up to 3 hours after the booked time, which I think is a really good idea, and I wish it was replicated by other TOCs serving airport stations. (Note you do need to get your ticket endorsed at the airport station before departure).
If your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, then compensation usually* starts to kick in, so the cost of a new ticket can reasonably be covered by that.
*Unless your inbound flight is not with a UK/EU airline.
However, I do note that TransPennine allow Advance tickets from Manchester Airport to be used up to 3 hours after the booked time, which I think is a really good idea, and I wish it was replicated by other TOCs serving airport stations. (Note you do need to get your ticket endorsed at the airport station before departure).
If your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, then compensation usually* starts to kick in, so the cost of a new ticket can reasonably be covered by that.
*Unless your inbound flight is not with a UK/EU airline.
Haywain
Veteran Member
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I will just add that if you are heading to Parkway from the airport, the ticket office is on the 'wrong' sideof the station and you would need to negotiate (possibly in more ways than one) two gatelines to access it.
CarrotPie
Member
How is one supposed to do that then?
Thanks all. Having done a bit of further research, for the two of us including a two together railcard, if we slip out of the super off peak time into off peak an airport taxi is slightly cheaper. If we slipped into the anytime period the taxi is most definitely cheaper. I think the taxi wins…
CarrotPie
Member
And people wonder why nobody takes the train anymore!
I’m not sure that is correct. As far as I know it is based on where your plane is going from or to and not the nationality of the airline.
Brissle Girl
Established Member
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No, all outbound flights from U.K. airports are covered. Inbound flights are covered from U.K. and EU airports, and also from other countries if the carrier is U.K. or EU based.
So if you fly back from the USA with BA or Virgin you are protected. American/Delta etc. you are not.
But we digress…
So if you fly back from the USA with BA or Virgin you are protected. American/Delta etc. you are not.
But we digress…
Now I'm confused.
The NRCoT on the National Rail web site says:
Doesn't this imply that you can do it on the train in both cases (and certainly that the two are treated in the same way)?
I thought I'd also seen discussions that it was incorrect to issue a Penalty Fare for an off peak ticket used at the wrong time because the ticket is not considered invalid and the remedy is to pay the difference.
Of course that doesn't mean you can't be denied access to the train without excessing the ticket.
CarrotPie
Member
Not as I read it, but I might be reading it differently?
Bletchleyite
Veteran Member
Now I am as well - I originally posted you could do it on board and edited it because I read the current and new (from April) version several times and couldn't see that paragraph. I am quite clearly going mad because it is still there!
However if it can be done before boarding this is always the best advice.