Elgar
There is now an automatic overbooking facility for Eurostar services within ELGAR. When making a booking in ELGAR and upon entering a seating request, your passenger may now be automatically assigned an overbooked seat if there are no seats available. The system will alert you that an "overbooked seat" has been allocated with the message 'Specific seat not guaranteed. Go to manual check-in’.
GDS
when overbooked seats are assigned to your booking, you will receive an SSR message warning you of this.
As well as only a coach number being displayed e.g C007S000 you will also receive the following SSR message
SSR OTHS 2385 SEGMENT/S OVERBOOKED TIP UP SEAT ASSIGNED
(Please note in Galileo this message is returned in the vendor remarks)
At this stage this is a confirmed booking with a tip up seat in a designated coach. Please offer travellers alternative services, or if continuing with the 'overbooking' process, advise them of the following:
- To collect tickets from the E ticket machines or Eurostar ticket office if they haven't printed them at home and then proceed to the manual check-in desk, where they may be offered a confirmed seat due to 'no shows'.
- If there are no seats available, they need to board the train at the coach indicated on their ticket and use a tip-up seat. A meal is not guaranteed in Business Premier or Standard Premier.
At this stage this is a confirmed booking with a tip up seat in a designated coach.
If only 'overbooked' seats are available at the time of reservation, the client must be informed of the following;
- That they can only travel on this service as an 'overbooked' customer and that they are not guaranteed a seat. They will, however, be able to sit on a tip up seat in the vestibule of the coach marked on their ticket.
- That a tip up seat is not really suitable for the elderly, pregnant women or families (however the final decision is the client's).
- Advised of availability in other services where a seat can be guaranteed.
- Advised of seat availability in Business Premier. Upgrade charges will be incurred.
It is important that the client is made aware of all his/her options so that s/he can make an informed choice.
If the client wishes to proceed with the overbooked service, then please advise them of the following procedure:
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On arrival at the Eurostar station, the ticket will not be accepted in the automatic gate and the customer should go to a manual check-in desk, where a seat will be allocated if available.
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If no seats are available, the customer should proceed to the platform and board the train a coach number indicated on the ticket.
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Once on board and the train has departed, the customer may sit in any empty seat in their class of travel, but may have to give this seat up to a passenger joining at an intermediate stop who has a reservation for that seat.
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If there are no seats available on the train, then the customer may have to sit in a tip-up seat allocated in the coach vestibules.
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Please note that a meal is not guaranteed for passengers travelling on overbooked tickets in Business Premier or Standard Premier.
