Weekday Upgrades to LNER First

[bcarmicle]

I’m headed up to Newcastle next week for London on LNER - is an onboard upgrade to First Class available? If so is it subject to availability, and what are the odds on there being availability? (I don’t know when exactly I’ll be traveling but probably in the early afternoon on Wednesday or Thursday.)

I think my other options would be SeatFrog or a pre-boarding excess. Is that right?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I'd recommend using Seatfrog - LNER trains tend to be quite busy and the upgrade on board is discretionary, not guaranteed. Usually if you bid you'll get a lower price than the "upgrade now".

 

[kkong]

I’m headed up to Newcastle next week for London on LNER - is an onboard upgrade to First Class available? If so is it subject to availability, and what are the odds on there being availability? (I don’t know when exactly I’ll be traveling but probably in the early afternoon on Wednesday or Thursday.)

I think my other options would be SeatFrog or a pre-boarding excess. Is that right?

The details are on the LNER website:

You can upgrade your Standard ticket to First Class on weekends, Bank Holidays and on some Super Off-Peak trains.

To upgrade just speak to the train manager to check there's space onboard and pay the upgrade there on card.

Weekend/Bank Holiday Super Off-Peak weekday
Short Journey £35 £35
Long Journey £45 £45

Weekday Super Off-Peak trains are:

Northbound: Trains that depart London or Stevenage between 09:06 and 14:59 and after 18:59 Monday to Thursday and after 18:15 on a Friday.
Southbound: Trains arriving into London or Stevenage after 11:17 Monday to Friday.

It's worth noting that SeatFrog have a limited quota of seats to sell; if SeatFrog are not offering / sold out for your train, it doesn't necessarily mean the train has no First Class seats available.

Edit: LNER no longer seem to publicise what a "Short Journey" and "Long Journey" are, but as I understand it:

• Long Journey = to / from London or Stevenage to / from York, Wakefield or beyond.
• Short Journey = not a Long Journey.