Avanti West Coast introduces ‘Seat Picker’ function on app

Credit: Avanti West Coast

Avanti West Coast has introduced a new feature on its app giving customers the choice to select their ideal seat for their journey when booking tickets. The Seat Picker is a new feature available on the train operator’s app that allows customers booking journeys for the intercity operator’s services to choose where they want to sit onboard. It follows the roll out of Seat Picker on Avanti West Coast’s website and mobile website.

The upgrade is designed to help customers tailor reservations to the needs of their journey and secure their ideal seat, improving on the previous experience where preferences, such as a window seat or plug socket, could be selected but were not guaranteed. The improvements also make it possible to view how many seats have already been booked on a selected train on a digital layout of the carriage.

During the booking process, customers can now choose between the options that matter most to them when travelling by train, whether it’s a window seat, sitting in the Quiet Coach, sat in their preferred direction of travel, or having a table or plug socket. Customers are also advised if their chosen seat is close to a luggage rack, near a toilet, or has a restricted view.

Once customers have chosen the train they wish to travel on, they can change their assigned seat by clicking change seat and scrolling a layout of each carriage to select an alternative. Characteristics for each seat they click will then be displayed and to secure their favoured seat, customers can simply click save selection. In addition, customers can choose seats for everyone in their booking, so friends and families can sit together.

“We are always striving to make every moment of our customers’ journeys the best it can be, so we are excited to roll out Seat Picker across all our digital channels,” Giuliano Pelella, Digital Programme Director at Avanti West Coast, said. “We understand how important it is to our customers to know they have the seat they want. That is why we have made it easier for those booking through the Avanti West Coast website and app to choose their seat. By offering tailored reservations we hope all customers will have journeys that match their individual needs.”