Unsold sleepers

[benale]

Everytime I ride I notice many empty sleeping compartments. Why doesnt the conductor sell them on board? Im sure there are many Coach passengers who would jump at the chance to get a sleeper for the overnight portion of their trip. I never heard any announcements ever about sleepers being available and probably most of passengers in Coach arent even aware you can upgrade. So a lot of sleepers remain empty adding nothing to Amtraks pocket

I am probably naive about this but isnt a discounted sleeper better than having it run empty producing no revenue at all? Im on the Texas Eagle now and many rooms are empty and have been empty since we left Chicago yesterday. What am I missing here? As mentioned,if the sleepers were offered at a discount and maybe without meals wouldnt that be better than an empty compartment?

.

 

[CCC1007]

Up until a few years ago, they were sold onboard at a deep discount, and that was very useful.

 

[cpotisch]

Yeah, they used to be sold onboard at the low bucket price. Now it's just whatever the current bucket is. I think this is because they don't want people who would have otherwise bought sleepers in the first place to wait until their onboard and pay next to nothing.

 

[Bob Dylan]

The Standard reply to this from Amtrak and many Rail Fans is that someone is "Probably" using the room farther on Down the Line, but I've ridden  the Texas Eagle Route hundreds of times and ofyen,as you say, the Sleepers stay empty between Chicago and San Antonio.

In the old days when one could get Low Bucket upgrades to Sleepers, ( and the Conductors were willing to do this)I often saw Coach passengers upgraded and,I myself upgrades many times from Roomettes to Empty Bedrooms, thus giving Amtrak some needed Revenue.

With the prevelent use of hi tech devices now making reservations easy to do on line, the Conductors wouldn't even have to do paperwork  for an upgrade.

I too support taking the included Meals off the Sleeper Rates( with the appropriate reduction in fares such as on the Silver Starvation) and have the Diners be a-la-Cart as they were for around 90 years . YMMV

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

This policy of not selling upgrades onboard except at full price was started years ago. It was wrong then and it’s wrong now. 

The bigger problem now is Amtrak’s CEO Richard Anderson doesn’t want to run any long distance trains. He wants the system shut down and is hindering the financials of these trains as best he can. 

Rumors are he’s trying to sell Amtrak’s newest equipment that was ordered to update the eastern long distance trains to via rail. 

 

[cpotisch]

Rumors are he’s trying to sell Amtrak’s newest equipment that was ordered to update the eastern long distance trains to via rail. 

Where'd you hear that?

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

It’s floating around the water cooler...

 

[jis]

In other words most likely BS h34r:

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

I too support taking the included Meals off the Sleeper Rates( with the appropriate reduction in fares such as on the Silver Starvation) and have the Diners be a-la-Cart as they were for around 90 years . YMMV

I did ride the Broadway once in the Slumbercoach era (1994). At that time, the LSL and Crescent also offered Slumbercoaches but the Florida trains did not. Were they a different kind of car/different size room or just the same room as a bedroom but no meals?

I don't see the diner a-la-carte feasible. 

 

[cpotisch]

I did ride the Broadway once in the Slumbercoach era (1994). At that time, the LSL and Crescent also offered Slumbercoaches but the Florida trains did not. Were they a different kind of car/different size room or just the same room as a bedroom but no meals?

I don't see the diner a-la-carte feasible. 

The Florida trains offered slumber coaches in 1994.

 

[benale]

Again...a discounted sleeper when you want to upgrade from Coach is better than the room remaining empty. Just dont get it
.

 

[cpotisch]

Again...a discounted sleeper when you want to upgrade from Coach is better than the room remaining empty. Just dont get it
.

Depends on how discounted we're talking. Remember that sleeper passengers get their meals included.

 

[Mr2nr]

You guys should work in the Postal industry a lot of government nonsense there too. I think it all comes down too is booking. They would rather have you book than ride on a whim hence the no onboard upgrades. Look at the cancellation jargon now. They love no shows . They are just following the airlines. How many of us has gotten a First Class upgrade option on a plane.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

In other words most likely BS h34r:

Think about it. He’d rather run the new diners as axle counts or park them instead putting them on trains like the Cardinal or Palmetto? 

Name one good reason the Cardinal doesn’t have a V2 diner? I hope it’s not true but Anderson is as bad as most of us think.

 

[cpotisch]

Think about it. He’d rather run the new diners as axle counts or park them instead putting them on trains like the Cardinal or Palmetto? 

Name one good reason the Cardinal doesn’t have a V2 diner? I hope it’s not true but Anderson is as bad as most of us think.

Firstly, I don't think anybody here is claiming that the diners shouldn't be put on more trains. Secondly, it's pretty fair to be skeptical about rumors that Amtrak is supposedly planning to sell these cars to VIA. These two points are unrelated and I think you're getting them mixed up.

 

[Amtrakfflyer]

My point simply is if Amtrak thought the cars were needed they would be using them not parking them. 

 

[PVD]

Not selling excess inventory at cut rates is a yield mgt calculation made by many businesses. Used to sign up for standby for a flight, dirt cheap, now that is a rarity. It is easy to say an unsold seat or space or cabin is a zero, but that zero may be better than driving down the total yield by creating large enough groups of customers willing to risk waiting. It is by no means a simple process.

 

[jis]

You guys should work in the Postal industry a lot of government nonsense there too. I think it all comes down too is booking. They would rather have you book than ride on a whim hence the no onboard upgrades. Look at the cancellation jargon now. They love no shows . They are just following the airlines. How many of us has gotten a First Class upgrade option on a plane.

I get comp upgrade about 70% of the time on domestic flights on United, though usually not on a plane but as late as just before boarding. The 1K status gets you such. There have been two occasions so far when an upgrade happened after I boarded the plane, presumably as a result of clearing the no-shows or last minute cancellations.

Maybe Amtrak should follow the airline practice and comp upgrade high status AGR members.

 

[PVD]

Airlines have done that for years, but recently, they are trying harder to sell them. The percentage of premium product sold is up sharply at the majors, upgrade s certainly aren't going away, but parameters are tightening, it is all about yield. Loyalty is still important, but is not the driving force it always was.

 

[PaulM]

Yeah, they used to be sold onboard at the low bucket price. Now it's just whatever the current bucket is. I think this is because they don't want people who would have otherwise bought sleepers in the first place to wait until their onboard and pay next to nothing.

Low bucket is not exactly "next to nothing"

The real issue is why they don't at least advertise the empty sleeper and sell it for a price is not next to nothing.  After all, they have no problem hawking hot dogs.

 

[jis]

Actually there are four ways to get upgraded (at least on United):

1. Paid upgrade - offered at various times after you have bought your ticket
   
2. Upgrade Certificate - Regional or Global certificates are distributed based on status and a few other factors
   
3. Mileage Priced - pay for the upgrade using miles from your account, and sometimes an additional dollar amount.
   
4. Complementary - usually based on status - relatively unusual on intercontinental legs
   

2, 3 and 4 are usually on waitlisted basis, that clear at different time before departure depending on your status, though I have seen 2 and even 3 clear at the time of purchase depending on various factors, again status being one of them.

This year I have had all my Global Premier Upgrades clear on international legs, whereas the Regional have cleared most of the times, but not always, on the Domestic legs. Also plain Comp has cleared on many occasions, but not as often as certificates or mileage+paid.

To provide context, I don't exactly remember how many legs I have flown this year, but I will have PQM of about 110,000, and PQD of about $14,000. This includes three and a half intercontinental round trips.

 

[Maglev]

There's one other thing that fills up first class on a plane, and that'e standby employees and their families and friends.  I haven't seen much of that on Amtrak.

 

[jis]

There's one other thing that fills up first class on a plane, and that'e standby employees and their families and friends.  I haven't seen much of that on Amtrak.

I have never quite figured out how that priority works. I on many occasions have seen many standby employees go to the rear while I got upgraded to the front.

 

[Trogdor]

Standby employees are at the absolute bottom of the priority list for any seat on the plane.  For domestic travel, there are usually enough elites, and buying first class outright isn't that expensive (relatively speaking) that it almost always goes out full with revenue passengers.

 

[benale]

Exactly. Thats my point. A discounted sale is better than no sale. Make coach passengers aware they can upgrade.