Buying Sleeper space onboard...

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IndyLions

IndyLions

OBS Chief
AU Supporting Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
934
Location
Brownsburg IN
My wife has expressed interest in visiting our daughter at college in VA and taking the train (Cardinal). This is something we’ve done before - but typically planned months in advance. At this late date - sleeper space is predictably nonexistent.

Years ago (about 15) I was able to score sleeper space while onboard a sold out Capitol Limited due to what I’m sure were “No Shows” due to missed connections.

A couple of questions:

1. If my wife and I decide to throw caution to the wind and go Business Class with an eye toward snagging an open sleeper onboard - what do you think the odds are there will be a No Show due to a missed connection in CHI?

2. What is the process for purchasing sleeper space onboard if it is available, and how much do they charge?
 
I wouldn't count on no-shows. And as was said, the price will just be the current fare, and you'll probably have to call anyway, so there's really no benefit of trying to upgrade onboard. If sleepers are sold out prior to departure, I would say that it's very unlikely one opens up, and even if it does, it would probably be at the highest bucket. So I really wouldn't recommend it.
 
You can’t always count on cell service. So calling is a poor suggestion by the conductor. The one time I upgraded on board the conductor had to process a lot of paper. It appeared to be a tedious process. If this is still the case some conductors just won’t do it.
 
Thanks for the info. I was able to convince the wife to hold off until early November, and I was able to snag a roomette Crawfordsville IN to Charlottesville VA both ways (Thursday night departure & Sunday early afternoon return). WooHoo!
 
Again unlike airlines who SELL first class upgrades day of departure Airline Anderson isnt interested in that revenue. Even offering them at low bucket price onboard would bring in $$$. Its such a no brainer. Yes this change away from onboard upgrades happened before Anderson but with his airline background I would have thought wed have seen this in his first 6 months if not earlier.

Its not like he didnt act immediately on some things. He rode the coast starlight and ordered the parlor cars parked the same week.
 
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Cho Cho Charlie said:
How does selling onboard upgrades at the lowest bucker bring in more revenue than selling that upgrade at the highest bucket the day before (or a week before) ?
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I'm pretty sure that what was meant was to sell sleeper space, to coach or BC customers on the train when it's already rolling, that hasn't already been sold the day before, or the week before.
 
Well, if you DON'T succeed in selling it the day before or week before, would you rather have the revenue for a discounted onboard upgrade or a vacant Roomette in your sleeping car?
 
Copy the whole quote.

Again unlike airlines who SELL first class upgrades DAY OF DEPARTURE Airline Anderson isnt interested in that revenue.

A empty room on day of departure brings in ZERO $$. Obviously selling rooms for the going bucket the day before or a week before makes more sense and cents$$. Were talking about unsold rooms on a train thats already left the station.
 
At this stage, the only reason I'd consider upgrading onboard is if I had a daylight trip that turned into an overnight trip (or a part-of-the-day trip that was obviously going to suddenly run over dinner as well). Actually, that's the only time I ever did upgrade onboard (about eight years back, when my first trip on the Chief dropped about seven hours due to locomotive problems).

Edit: Also, there are three things to note in re upgrades:
(1) The on-board upgrade policy was changed under Boardman, not Anderson. Anderson inherited it.
(2) With an airline, when the plane leaves the gate, all of the inventory for that flight is either sold or spoiled. With Amtrak, the inventory is only sold or spoiled for a given segment. Example: If the Builder leaves Chicago with four roomettes empty from end-to-end, it could feasibly sell one of those out of MSP, another out of Fargo, and a third out of Spokane (where it isn't leaving for over a day). A Zephyr leaving Emeryville will quite probably sell at least one "loose" space out of Denver by the time it gets there. And so on.
(3) The pricing difference between sleepers and coach is, often, proportionately more than domestic coach and domestic first on a flight. NB that many airlines may sell an op-up to a non-domestic premium cabin (e.g. Delta One), but they often don't comp-up to those products and as often as not they don't seem to offer the sales. There is an increasing attitude in the airline industry that sees "defending" the price point of a premium product as more valuable, in the long(er) run, than trying to pack the last few pax into that space.
 
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Amtrakfflyer said:
Copy the whole quote.

Again unlike airlines who SELL first class upgrades DAY OF DEPARTURE Airline Anderson isnt interested in that revenue.

A empty room on day of departure brings in ZERO $$. Obviously selling rooms for the going bucket the day before or a week before makes more sense and cents$$. Were talking about unsold rooms on a train thats already left the station.
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But maybe Anderson figures that he can find someone willing to pay highest bucket between Joliet and Chicago for the vacant roomette on the SWC that left Los Angeles two nights ago!
 
Quote...But maybe Anderson figures that he can find someone willing to pay highest bucket between Joliet and Chicago for the vacant roomette on the SWC that left Los Angeles two nights ago!

Very possible but unlike airlines I dont think as many people book Amtrak sleepers last minute. A LAST MIN trip that requires 2 nights train travel is kind of an oxymoron. Most people plan Amtrak sleeper travel in advance.

And HAHA its funny you said Joliet to Chicago on the SWC. We take the SWC Galesburg to Chicago RT probably 4 times a year. Its almost always low bucket $60 upcharge for the roommette. 12:06pm to 3:15pm but lunch is included going and dinner coming back I consider that a steal for 2 people. We usually have dinner brought to the room coming home since it gets back to GBB at 5:38pm. Crews are always super accommodating.
 
Cho Cho Charlie said:
Amtrakfflyer said:
Even offering them at low bucket price onboard would bring in $$$. Its such a no brainer.
Click to expand...
How does selling onboard upgrades at the lowest bucker bring in more revenue than selling that upgrade at the highest bucket the day before (or a week before) ?
Click to expand...
If they're not going to sell it otherwise at high prices, and the low bucket price still turns a profit, then it 100% does bring in more revenue.
 
Maybe sell onboard upgrades ala carte. You get the low bucket fare but no food. Or make them only available after 730pm. Bring in the revenue but dont encourage people banking on being able to upgrade onboard cheap. Theres got to be good ways to think out of the box with trial and error.
 
Amtrakfflyer said:
Maybe sell onboard upgrades ala carte. You get the low bucket fare but no food. Or make them only available after 730pm. Bring in the revenue but dont encourage people banking on being able to upgrade onboard cheap. Theres got to be good ways to think out of the box with trial and error.
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I get what you're saying but really disagree with the idea of not including food in an onboard upgrade. By having something like that, there would effectively be two types of sleeper tickets, which the dining car would need to keep track of and charge people accordingly. I would say it makes a lot more sense to either go with slightly higher prices to reduce peoples' possible reliance on onboard upgrades, but not to lose specific perks because of how and when you bought your ticket. JMO.
 
On one of my many trips to Virginia from SLC about 5 years ago I asked a conductor on #6 about a sleeper upgrade and he looked at me like I must be from outer space! He just said "no", I never tried again.
 
The situation when I bought tickets onboard years ago was on a trip with my two small children, and we were booked IND-WAS on the Cardinal. We were headed to DC to visit my wife over a long weekend who was in the midst of a multi-week training course for work. I got a call 24 hours prior to departure that they had pulled the sleeper for that date due to an equipment issue. I asked about them re-ticketing us SOB-IND on the CL, but they only had available sleeper space for the return. The Rep herself suggested there might be a room open up due to a missed connection, and that we could buy the space onboard if that occurred. I decided to risk it.

While at the station in South Bend, I’m pretty sure I both called the hotline and checked with the local ticket agent - but was told I had to deal with the conductor. As the conductor checked our tickets, I informed him of my strong desire to upgrade if at all possible. He told me a room had opened up, and got us booked.

So I guess with the new policy, I would have somehow had to book over the phone, after the CL pulled out from CHI assuming the system would have flagged an empty sleeper was now in inventory due to the missed connection / no show.

Believe me, in that situation, I was willing to pay top dollar for that roomette. With private room secured - Dad and his girls had a great trip.
 
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Amtrakfflyer said:
Quote...But maybe Anderson figures that he can find someone willing to pay highest bucket between Joliet and Chicago for the vacant roomette on the SWC that left Los Angeles two nights ago!

Very possible but unlike airlines I dont think as many people book Amtrak sleepers last minute. A LAST MIN trip that requires 2 nights train travel is kind of an oxymoron. Most people plan Amtrak sleeper travel in advance.

And HAHA its funny you said Joliet to Chicago on the SWC. We take the SWC Galesburg to Chicago RT probably 4 times a year. Its almost always low bucket $60 upcharge for the roommette. 12:06pm to 3:15pm but lunch is included going and dinner coming back I consider that a steal for 2 people. We usually have dinner brought to the room coming home since it gets back to GBB at 5:38pm. Crews are always super accommodating.
Click to expand...
It seems more likely that such extreme "shorts" are considered not worth pursuing with a one-off policy tweak above and beyond bucket pricing.
 

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