“Well as you can see from the plan (see link below) there are not many tables in standard class in any case. And, as regular travellers will testify, standard class seating is already dense so tricky to squeeze in yet more seats.
If the “majority of tables” are removed from first class then would the price of a first class ticket be justified ?”
All I can say is that on their HSTs, First now have some standard class carriages with no tables at all, and others with a maximum of four, but they are so small that you cannot fit two laptops opposite each other on them. They have also made the gap between seats even less than on the cramped pendolinos.
I doubt they would do anything about first class tables apart from possibly to use leather seat covers instead, but rest assured their premiums for first class walk on fares will rise substantially – for example a first class weekly season ticket from Swindon to Paddington (124km) is £413, 95% more than standard, compared to Virgin’s Rugby to Euston (133km) £288, a mere 64% premium over standard. FGW gives you coffee and biscuits; Virgin gives you a meal and wine. I know which I think is better value…. First can do what they like with first class fares – and if experience on their Great Western route is anything to go by, they certainly will!
Oh and they also scrapped Great Western’s customer loyalty programme to improve margins, so I’m pretty sure you can kiss goodbye to Virgin’s excellent Traveller Club!
