Ticketing to be non-refundable, non-changeable

[gokeefe]

This type of policy change is fundamentally about preservation of capacity and improving revenue yield. I think it's very important for Amtrak to preserve the value of their higher fare tiers.

There are many things that more money can't solve. But in a government agency, especially a capital intensive one like Amtrak, improved operations that produce more money do in fact solve problems.

It can solve political problems around funding levels and capital investments. And perhaps most importantly it can make new programs (or in Amtrak's case services) more feasible.

Amtrak doesn't merely return profits to shareholders through stock buybacks or dividends and all of the executives make public sector salaries. This means that policies which increase revenues are in fact likely to result in more (or better) trains.

[Frank]

If fares don't go down it might be time to talk about forcing amtrak to give up slots on the NEC to a competitor.

Maybe we should nationalize the railroad. Oh, wait......

That sounds like a good idea.

[Suburban Station]

If fares don't go down it might be time to talk about forcing amtrak to give up slots on the NEC to a competitor.

Maybe we should nationalize the railroad. Oh, wait......

I'm sure after regional monopolies flopped it seemed like a good idea. why not one airline, what could go wrong? maybe even one combined rail and airline....and then one farm, one college system, etc. you're on to something.

[MACTRAXX]

Non-changable is a deal breaker. Non-refundable I can understand. SWA is Non-refundable but changable (just pay the difference).

RW: In this regard I agree with you. Non-refundable tickets I can deal with.
Not changeable? *NO*. Paying a penalty or surcharge for an exchange as example
(I have done this in the past regarding change of plans on Amtrak) as needed
should still be an option regardless of what fare types are. Any extra fares can
and should be a deterrent of some sort against changing tickets.

This change to tickets that can not be changed or refunded takes away what is
the "Flexibility Factor" that Amtrak tickets have which are a distinct advantage
over airline fares. No matter how much folks try to stick to an itinerary plans
can and do change for a wide variety of reasons.

Business Insider (Yahoo News) covered this subject:
https://news.yahoo.com/worst-thing-airl ... 41941.html

Will these ticketing changes affect Amtrak ridership? MACTRAXX

[gokeefe]

Will these ticketing changes affect Amtrak ridership?

Probably not at all. If anything they might get an additional 0.1% by reducing lost inventory.

[farecard]

This change to tickets that can not be changed or refunded takes away what is
the "Flexibility Factor" that Amtrak tickets have which are a distinct advantage
over airline fares. No matter how much folks try to stick to an itinerary plans
can and do change for a wide variety of reasons.

Well said.

[Arlington]

Totally refundable totally changeable ticket is essentially an invitation to squatters to buy tickets that they have less intent of using.

And when those users cancel their tickets and take their money back Amtrak has forfeited capacity--held a seat at a low advance fare-- in exchange for zero revenue, when instead it might have been sold at the last minute at high price.

Amtrak needs to charge something for the convenience it offers allowing customers to walk away without paying.

On routes like the Northeast corridor where seats are naturally in short supply it makes sense to charge more for the service of holding them.

My suspicion is that by making the cheapest tickets non-refundable, only good things will happen: more seats will be filled with actual travelers, business travelers will have more access to seats, and total ridership will rise.

[Wash]

It seems that folks have given some perfectly adequate and sensible reasons as to why Amtrak has made this change; however, I wish Amtrak communicated their reasoning for changes like this more clearly so that folks like us didn't have to try and read bird entrails.

[mtuandrew]

Not sure where people are getting their info, because Amtrak still says otherwise:

Saver Fares
Saver Fares are the lowest-cost available fares and are deeply discounted off of Value Fares, the regular rate for tickets. Saver Fares are limited in availability and generally require advance purchase. Book early to take advantage of Saver Fares.

Classes of Service: Reserved Coach, Acela Business Class

Refunds: Full refund if canceled within 24 hours of purchase. Non-refundable 24 hours or more after booking.
eVouchers Available: Full value, no fees within 24 hours of purchase. If canceled 24 or more hours after booking and prior to departure, 25% cancellation fee charged (75% credit on a non-refundable eVoucher available).
No Change Fee
“No Show” Policy: If not canceled before the scheduled departure from the origin, the ticket is forfeited and no funds can be applied toward future travel
Passenger Type and promotional discounts are not valid with Saver Fares.

https://www.amtrak.com/planning-booking ... fares.html

Maybe it’s just that the changes haven’t taken effect yet - however, the Post story is no longer available.

[gprimr1]

Totally refundable totally changeable ticket is essentially an invitation to squatters to buy tickets that they have less intent of using.

I actually remember people bragging they would buy like 5 tickets and cancel 4 of them at the last minute. This hurts capacity since that's now 4 seats that may not be sold.

I do wish that Amtrak would, as a balancing act, increase the number of saver seats for sale, or offer some last-minute saver deals.

[Suburban Station]

Totally refundable totally changeable ticket is essentially an invitation to squatters to buy tickets that they have less intent of using.

I actually remember people bragging they would buy like 5 tickets and cancel 4 of them at the last minute. This hurts capacity since that's now 4 seats that may not be sold.

I do wish that Amtrak would, as a balancing act, increase the number of saver seats for sale, or offer some last-minute saver deals.

people do this because of Amtrak's last minute prices...it made more sense to buy several tickets than wait and purchase when you know which train you need. this is one avenue to get around that but the basic problem is that people don't use short distance trains the way they use planes, they like last minute flexibility because maybe your dinner went late, or meeting, etc. it's only 90 miles so you don't want several hours pad in your schedule. while some might argue that people who pay for the "privilege" of flexibility, the reality is it just puts more people on the road where the trip is discretionary (rather than company paid). Amtrak has a need for more physical capacity on the NEC. most older stations on the south end can handle trains of 12 or 14 cars, the north end can handle trains of ten cars.

[farecard]

I actually remember people bragging they would buy like 5 tickets and cancel 4 of them at the last minute. This hurts capacity since that's now 4 seats that may not be sold.

But they paid for five tickets and must use them within a year.
Their choice.

[jonnhrr]

Non refundable non changeable for the cheapest tickets is fairly normal in Europe from what I've seen looking at fares for a future trip through France and Italy (that is if Coronavirus dies down before we are due to go). Everybody says we should run our trains more like the Europeans I guess in this one area we are

[east point]

Corona virus might change all that ?

[Arlington]

Some airlines like JetBlue are waiving all change fees for the next two weeks.

I don't think anyone what can cause that the coronavirus would be a reason for or against long-term change.