There's Business Class then there's Business Class

[me_little_me]

On two separate points trips, we had business class in Michigan and R/T between BOS and NYP. Almost worthless if I had to pay for it.

We just got back from a Carolinian B/C between Cary and WAS - at 60% of the cost of flexible coach. Wow!

• Car attendant helped with the luggage.
• He came by 4 times pushing his cart with soft drinks and offered to pick up coffee or tea.
• Although he said it was beyond the scope, he still offered to pick up lunch in the cafe car for anyone who didn't want to go themselves - and he even had the menu with him.
• Restrooms were clean and clean smelling the whole time.
• Always had a smile and a friendly word.

• On the return trip, she wasn't as good as he was but still provided 2 trips with the cart.
• More talkative and friendlier.
• Restrooms were clean but not clean smelling. Probably something from the toilet itself.

THAT was business class as one would expect.

 

[Acela150]

MLM call Amtrak and tell them about the great experience you had on that trip. I'll be honest, IMO that's how BC should be! Especially on the trains such as the Carolinian, Palmetto, and Pennsylvanian. I'm sure there's more that can be used but I can't name them off the top of my head.

 

[Bob Dylan]

MLM call Amtrak and tell them about the great experience you had on that trip. I'll be honest, IMO that's how BC should be! Especially on the trains such as the Carolinian, Palmetto, and Pennsylvanian. I'm sure there's more that can be used but I can't name them off the top of my head.

The Downeasters,Wolverines Missouri River Runners, Surfliners and Cascades all have had consistently good Biz Class Services in my experience.

 

[northnorthwest]

I had no idea any Amtrak trains had a cart. Are there others that use this? What does it sell? Is it the same as the cafe? I really wish there was more and better selection. Also if someone pushes a cart I am way more likely to be tempted to buy something. Probably just personal psychological weakness, but still...

 

[Seaboard92]

Honestly when I travel on the Palmetto or the Carolinian I don't pay the extra for it. Especially on the Palmetto. The Amfleet II coaches for the long hauls have two less seats then the Amfleet Is. And everytime I ride the LSA always cuts me off on the free drinks. So I save the money.

 

[seat38a]

Didn't know Carolinian B/C had a dedicated business class attendant. We have them on the Surfliner at 99% of them are awsome.

 

[pebbleworm]

I wish there was business class on the San Joaquin...

 

[rrdude]

improving and standardizing BC is one of, IMHO, Amtrak's easiest, least expensive, and biggest-bang-for-the-little-buck they could get, in both improving service, enhancing revenue, and increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Besides, once BC, on a national scale gains a degree of consistency, and cache, ("Man, it was 'worth it'...") it becomes it's own marketing phenom, and in many cases, employees may want to (many other factors of course) bid on those position(s) Higher income via higher tips is nothing to sneeze at.

But, file this right in there with every other idea that "seems to make sense", in the circular file at 60 Mass.

 

[seat38a]

I wish there was business class on the San Joaquin...

I wish the same. I have taken San Joaquin many times and I wish they would add a separate BC car.

 

[seat38a]

improving and standardizing BC is one of, IMHO, Amtrak's easiest, least expensive, and biggest-bang-for-the-little-buck they could get, in both improving service, enhancing revenue, and increasing customer loyalty and satisfaction.

Besides, once BC, on a national scale gains a degree of consistency, and cache, ("Man, it was 'worth it'...") it becomes it's own marketing phenom, and in many cases, employees may want to (many other factors of course) bid on those position(s) Higher income via higher tips is nothing to sneeze at.

But, file this right in there with every other idea that "seems to make sense", in the circular file at 60 Mass.

On the Surfliner, all the old timers work as the BC attendant. It seems to be a popular position with the attendants with high seniority. Majority of the time, they get to go home each night instead of doing a multi day trip and back. As one of them told me, "Too old and broken to work as a SCA anymore."

 

[PVD]

Inconsistency is one of the common complaints people have about many aspects of Amtrak travel. A product with the same name means something totally different in different markets, and on different services. Some of it is due to what states are willing to pay for, but thta doesn't make it any less irritating to the rider who may see 2 totally different levels of service or equipment called the same thing. B/C on Empire Service is usually 2+1 club seating, arguably the best in the system, leave NYP on the NER services, and it's usually a whole car A-1 with a few less seats.

 

[Big Iron]

On two separate points trips, we had business class in Michigan and R/T between BOS and NYP. Almost worthless if I had to pay for it.

We just got back from a Carolinian B/C between Cary and WAS - at 60% of the cost of flexible coach. Wow!

• Car attendant helped with the luggage.
• He came by 4 times pushing his cart with soft drinks and offered to pick up coffee or tea.
• Although he said it was beyond the scope, he still offered to pick up lunch in the cafe car for anyone who didn't want to go themselves - and he even had the menu with him.
• Restrooms were clean and clean smelling the whole time.
• Always had a smile and a friendly word.

• On the return trip, she wasn't as good as he was but still provided 2 trips with the cart.
• More talkative and friendlier.
• Restrooms were clean but not clean smelling. Probably something from the toilet itself.

THAT was business class as one would expect.

Did they still have pillows to hand out? Two years ago, shortly after Amtrak ended pillows in coach, the attendant said the Carolinian was the only Amtrak train that still offered pillows. She said that the state of NC was funding it. On the east coast, the Carolinian Biz class is far superior that regular NEC Regional Biz Class. We were boarding at RVR as a party of three and concerned that we would not be able to get seats close together but the Attendant had reserved the seat pairs that face each other for us.

 

[seat38a]

On two separate points trips, we had business class in Michigan and R/T between BOS and NYP. Almost worthless if I had to pay for it.

We just got back from a Carolinian B/C between Cary and WAS - at 60% of the cost of flexible coach. Wow!

• Car attendant helped with the luggage.
• He came by 4 times pushing his cart with soft drinks and offered to pick up coffee or tea.
• Although he said it was beyond the scope, he still offered to pick up lunch in the cafe car for anyone who didn't want to go themselves - and he even had the menu with him.
• Restrooms were clean and clean smelling the whole time.
• Always had a smile and a friendly word.

• On the return trip, she wasn't as good as he was but still provided 2 trips with the cart.
• More talkative and friendlier.
• Restrooms were clean but not clean smelling. Probably something from the toilet itself.

THAT was business class as one would expect.

Did they still have pillows to hand out? Two years ago, shortly after Amtrak ended pillows in coach, the attendant said the Carolinian was the only Amtrak train that still offered pillows. She said that the state of NC was funding it. On the east coast, the Carolinian Biz class is far superior that regular NEC Regional Biz Class. We were boarding at RVR as a party of three and concerned that we would not be able to get seats close together but the Attendant had reserved the seat pairs that face each other for us.

I think proactively managing passengers and group seating is one of the biggest benefit of having a attendant in BC. When we boarded, the attendant had the group seating for 4 reserved with our names on it. Also, on busy trains, they make great efforts to ask passengers if they would move to group families and people traveling with children together.

DSC02505 by B H, on Flickr

 

[philabos]

Wow. An attendant? Did not even know they had such a person.

Have been BC on the Palmetto and Pennsylvanian, the latter a few weeks ago and nobody appeared except a conductor to collect tickets. On my recent trip the BC and cafe cars were at opposite ends of the train. The conductor said they have been trying to get the car switched to its proper position for weeks without success.

 

[George K]

Wow. An attendant? Did not even know they had such a person.

I am surprised to read this thread. My trip on 49/449 in business class on the BOS-ALB section had no attendant, other than the (pleasant) guy tending to the snack bar/lounge area. He never left his post.

Granted, there were only about 10 people in BC in that car, but a bit of personalized service would have been nice.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

The one time I rode the Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner CHI-STL-KCI the Lounge Attendant would from time to time "peek in" and make sure everyone was alright and happy. Otherwise the curtain remained closed except for an occasional "look in" from a curious Coach pax.

But I can easily see Business Class succeeding on Long Distance trains, much like it does on the Airlines.

 

[BCL]

The one time I rode the Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner CHI-STL-KCI the Lounge Attendant would from time to time "peek in" and make sure everyone was alright and happy. Otherwise the curtain remained closed except for an occasional "look in" from a curious Coach pax.

But I can easily see Business Class succeeding on Long Distance trains, much like it does on the Airlines.

Mostly business class in airlines come with the value proposition of a wider seat and more legroom. That may not be as important on Amtrak since coach seats are huge. Of course airline business seats may come with additional amenities like included food and preferred boarding. On Amtrak it probably won't come with better meals, since all passengers on Amtrak have access to the same meals in the dining cars.

 

[me_little_me]

Sorry for the slow reply. Emergency family medical trip the day we got back from WAS. We had to drive.

I had no idea any Amtrak trains had a cart. Are there others that use this? What does it sell? Is it the same as the cafe? I really wish there was more and better selection. Also if someone pushes a cart I am way more likely to be tempted to buy something. Probably just personal psychological weakness, but still...

Sold nothing. Provided free drinks to BC customers.

Didn't know Carolinian B/C had a dedicated business class attendant. We have them on the Surfliner at 99% of them are awsome.

Neither did I until we boarded.

Did they still have pillows to hand out? Two years ago, shortly after Amtrak ended pillows in coach, the attendant said the Carolinian was the only Amtrak train that still offered pillows. She said that the state of NC was funding it. On the east coast, the Carolinian Biz class is far superior that regular NEC Regional Biz Class. We were boarding at RVR as a party of three and concerned that we would not be able to get seats close together but the Attendant had reserved the seat pairs that face each other for us.

Yup! Pillows for everyone.

MLM call Amtrak and tell them about the great experience you had on that trip. I'll be honest, IMO that's how BC should be! Especially on the trains such as the Carolinian, Palmetto, and Pennsylvanian. I'm sure there's more that can be used but I can't name them off the top of my head.

I have the bookmark to Amtrak's appreciation web site. I used it immediately.

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1251625013221

 

[Anderson]

The one time I rode the Lincoln Service/Missouri River Runner CHI-STL-KCI the Lounge Attendant would from time to time "peek in" and make sure everyone was alright and happy. Otherwise the curtain remained closed except for an occasional "look in" from a curious Coach pax.

But I can easily see Business Class succeeding on Long Distance trains, much like it does on the Airlines.

Mostly business class in airlines come with the value proposition of a wider seat and more legroom. That may not be as important on Amtrak since coach seats are huge. Of course airline business seats may come with additional amenities like included food and preferred boarding. On Amtrak it probably won't come with better meals, since all passengers on Amtrak have access to the same meals in the dining cars.

True, but a near-guaranteed right to book a meal in the diner (and/or a "turn at bat" ahead of normal coach pax in picking a time) would be a selling point.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I just want to echo that the inconsistency with "Business Class" is one of the most ridiculous things at Amtrak.

It literally means totally different things on different trains.

"Business Class"

on Acela means Coach. You get nothing.

on Cascades - Newspaper and $3 Coupon for the Cafe

on Surfliner - Newspaper, Complimentary light snacks & non-alcaholic drinks.

on Downeaster - Newspaper, One Free non-alcaholic drink.

on Coast Starlight - 2 Bottles of Water, $6 Coupon for Diner or Lounge.

That's 5 totally different offerings...

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

From my experience, BC gets you, at least, a "free" mini-can of warm soda.

On the NE Regionals, BC got us priority boarding. At WAS, we got to cut to the front of the line that already formed at the gate, along with the handicapped. I mean, they announced something like "now boarding handicapped and business class passengers".

On the Vermonter, BC got us the 2/1 seating in the La-Z-Boy like reclining seats.

 

[Anderson]

The 2/1 seating also prevails on, IIRC, the Downeaster, River Runner, and Empire Service/Ethan Allen. And of course, over on Iowa Pacific it comes with a delicious dinner and drinks and seating in the dome car...

That being said, I do think that Amtrak and some states need to sit down, figure out an agreed-upon baseline for either BC or some other similar label ("Custom Class" comes to mind) so you know "If I buy something with X label I am at least getting such-and-such benefits".

 

[MARC Rider]

From my experience, BC gets you, at least, a "free" mini-can of warm soda.

On the NE Regionals, BC got us priority boarding. At WAS, we got to cut to the front of the line that already formed at the gate, along with the handicapped. I mean, they announced something like "now boarding handicapped and business class passengers".

On the Vermonter, BC got us the 2/1 seating in the La-Z-Boy like reclining seats.

NE Regional BC also gives you more legroom, an in most cases, a less crowded car than in regional coach. And even if the BC car is filled, it feels less like being in a sardine can than a full regional coach car. Not to mention the bathrooms. 60 passengers vs 80 passengers does make a difference. I'll often take BC on the northeast regional during a busy travel period.

 

[MARC Rider]

The 2/1 seating also prevails on, IIRC, the Downeaster, River Runner, and Empire Service/Ethan Allen. And of course, over on Iowa Pacific it comes with a delicious dinner and drinks and seating in the dome car...

That being said, I do think that Amtrak and some states need to sit down, figure out an agreed-upon baseline for either BC or some other similar label ("Custom Class" comes to mind) so you know "If I buy something with X label I am at least getting such-and-such benefits".

You could say the same about "coach" service, too. It could be an am fleet 2 or superliner with 50 inch pitch and legrest, it could be amfleet 1 or horizon regional coaches, and it can even be commuter equipment pressed into service during the Thanksgiving rush. I've been stuck in a crowded amfleet 1 coach on the Pennsylvanian where I know that other passengers paying the same fare have had the more comfortable amfleet seats.

 

[jebr]

That's a lot less variation than in Business class, and even then I thought Amtrak at least distinguished between Superliner and Amfleet, and regional vs. long distance. There's very little of that in business class despite wildly varying amenities offered.