Covid-19: Changes to First Class service

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Food and drink service on board

With social distancing measures in place and to avoid the spread of coronavirus, some at-seat services are currently suspended. Some rail operators are unable to provide any onboard refreshments, while others have refreshments available to collect from their onboard shop. So, you may want to purchase your own refreshments before boarding. 

Please check with the rail company you are travelling with to see their current First Class offering:

  • Avanti West Coast: There is currently a reduction to the food and drink offering to make sure safe travels are maintained. If you’re travelling First Class, snacks and soft drinks will be offered to you at your seat by a member of the onboard team. Please note, due to recent government guidance, alcohol will not be served onboard at this time.
    Some First Class lounges are also closed, with those that are open offering takeaway food and drinks due to current restrictions on eating in. 
    You can find out more info here: https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/tickets-and-savings/first-class. 
  • GWR: At the moment catering is limited and may not be available. Catering trials are being carried out whilst they work on finding out what can be served safely in order to gradually bring the full service back. GWR can check whether your scheduled service is going to have catering on the day of departure. To check, please contact GWR directly. More info on travelling safely:  http://GWR.com/safety
  • LNER: First Class Lounges are open again for those with a valid First Class ticket - unfortunately, refreshments won't be available until further notice. Additional cleaning measures are in place to keep you and colleagues safe. Onboard, the trolley service has resumed with some additional menu items, so you can stay well-fed without leaving your seat. See here for more information: https://www.lner.co.uk/the-east-coast-experience/first-class/menu/
  • CrossCountry: First Class refreshments are available but the way they are provided will be slightly different. The range of products available is also reduced for the time being but is under constant review. For more information and menu items please visit CrossCountry here, https://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/on-board-with-crosscountry/first-class-food-and-drink
  • Transpennine Express: Due to the current pandemic, catering is unavailable. We recommend that you take your own snacks and refreshments. The catering service will be re-introduced as soon as possible. For more information and menu items please visit  https://www.tpexpress.co.uk/travelling-with-us/first-class

Upgraded together but our reserved seats are separate. 

You may find that when booking or upgrading your tickets that your reserved seats aren't together. This is to ensure social distancing in maintained throughout the train. This doesn't mean that you can't sit with your travel partner (though it's a good excuse if you don't want to). The seat next to you is available for your travel partner to use if they are from the same household or bubble. 

 

Won an upgrade, but no specific seat was assigned

With some of our carriers, you may not be assigned a specific seat with your Seatfrog upgrade. When this happens you'll still follow the usual process when arriving at the station and passing through the station barriers, however when boarding the train, you'll need to find a socially-distanced seat. Where possible, please follow the guidance below when taking a seat onboard:

  • Sit at a window seat.
  • Sit one person per row.
  • Leave two empty rows between occupied seats.
  • Sit on alternate sides of the coach.
  • Avoid facing other passengers.
  • No standing.
  • If you’re travelling with other members of your household, you may sit together. But, please maintain a safe distance from others.

For further information from our carriers, please visit their travel guidance below: