"No smoking" seats?

[ta-toget]

As a follow-on to the thread about Tyne and Wear + National Rail fares, I was fiddling about for myself on TPE, and I noticed they had decided to reserve a non-smoking seat on a CrossCountry service from Birmingham New Street to Newcastle (arriving 14.27 on a Sunday). Is this a system error, or have they classified all their seats as non-smoking, or what? I haven't checked any other retailers, yet, but I might do so at some point.
See an image, below (irrelevant/identifying information redacted):

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Doubt you'll be able to reserve a 'smoking' seat these days!

 

[edwin_m]

Doubt you'll be able to reserve a 'smoking' seat these days!

No, they are fire resistant to a very high standard.

 

[dgl]

Well the 180's are still in service, might get a smoking seat still.

 

[Nym]

No, they are fire resistant to a very high standard.

When new.

The fire resistance doesn't last very long.

 

[alistairlees]

It’s in the data as a seat attribute still. It should just be ignored by booking sites.

 

[CyrusWuff]

I'd assume the flag is still in there for backwards compatibility reasons, given the National Reservations System (NRS) replaced the old BR Computer Reservations System (CRS) in late 2004, and itself is in the process of being replaced by the Rail Availability and Reservations Service (RARS2), yet the underlying vehicle data is presumably still obtained from TOPS/GEMINI.

 

[SargeNpton]

In the same vein, you still get illuminated No Smoking signs on modern aircraft - just that these days they are permanently illuminated.

 

[Ianno87]

In the same vein, you still get illuminated No Smoking signs on modern aircraft - just that these days they are permanently illuminated.

I remember on one holiday flight the Smoking/No Smoking divide was just a random row of seats; my Dad smoked and we sat in the rear-most row of seats in the no-smoking section; the row immediately behind us was No Smoking; the people sat in it were not very impressed...

 

[MichaelAMW]

One of the more confusing reservation issues is that the field for Forward, Back or Airline is apparently still used, with (I think) all seat now "A". Of course, it seems to sometimes fool people into thinking they are reserved in the coach of that letter.

 

[WesternLancer]

...and bringing the smell back with them.

indeed.
Although that was a bit like being in the pub back in the day - something I was prepared to live with at the time at least...

 

[AY1975]

Well the 180's are still in service, might get a smoking seat still.

I didn't think the 180s ever had any smoking accommodation. In fact, AFAIK all trains that have entered service since privatisation have always been completely non-smoking.

 

[dgl]

I didn't think the 180s ever had any smoking accommodation. In fact, AFAIK all trains that have entered service since privatisation have always been completely non-smoking.

It was a joke pertaining to their tendency to catch fire!

 

[MattA7]

I didn't think the 180s ever had any smoking accommodation. In fact, AFAIK all trains that have entered service since privatisation have always been completely non-smoking.

I remember there being smoking on a trains from Glasgow to London in 2001 (or at least the one I was on) so there must have still been some operators post privatization that allowed smoking. My memory of the journey is vague as I was only 7 at the time.

 

[kristiang85]

In the same vein, you still get illuminated No Smoking signs on modern aircraft - just that these days they are permanently illuminated.

I've noticed recently on more modern aircraft they have *finally* been replaced with device icons, to show when you can turn on/turn off your larger devices.

 

[MattA7]

Interestingly it is still a legal requirement for airplane bathrooms to have a ashtray fitted. The reasoning behind this is Incase someone decides that they are going to smoke anyway it’s better that they have something to safely dispose of the cigarette rather than improvise risking a fire. Some jurisdictions in the US also have a similar requirement for non-smoking hotel rooms

 

[philthetube]

Interestingly it is still a legal requirement for airplane bathrooms to have a ashtray fitted. The reasoning behind this is Incase someone decides that they are going to smoke anyway it’s better that they have something to safely dispose of the cigarette rather than improvise risking a fire. Some jurisdictions in the US also have a similar requirement for non-smoking hotel rooms

This is an English forum for English people, to misquote little Britain
Apologies if this means nothing to you Matt, just a feference to a British comedy show.

 

[SargeNpton]

This is an English forum for English people, to misquote little Britain
Apologies if this means nothing to you Matt, just a feference to a British comedy show.

Or are you mis-quoting the League of Gentlemen?

 

[AY1975]

I remember there being smoking on a trains from Glasgow to London in 2001 (or at least the one I was on) so there must have still been some operators post privatization that allowed smoking. My memory of the journey is vague as I was only 7 at the time.

Yes there were, but at that time they were still using the legacy train fleets that they had inherited from BR. What I meant was that no trains that were built since privatisation have ever had smoking accommodation.

There is a separate thread on when smoking accommodation was abolished at https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/when-was-smoking-abolished-on-national-rail-services.213085/

 

[fireftrm]

When new.

The fire resistance doesn't last very long.

Fire retardant applicants can degrade, but fire resistant materials have that characterisdtic as an inherent quality.

 

[Nym]

Fire retardant applicants can degrade, but fire resistant materials have that characterisdtic as an inherent quality.

More an effect is the external contaminants retained outside the fire barrier.