no seat in business class and forced to sit in coach... am I due a ref

[xyzzy]

Well, it's a lot better than the old days of 84-seat Amfleet I on the Carolinian. Try sitting in one of those from Charlotte to New York.

 

[Dovecote]

In many cases "business class" on Amtrak doesn't seem to mean much if anything, and even when it does mean something it's not guaranteed in writing from one train to the next. Based on what I've read it's a bit of a gamble at best and little more than a free soda at worst. I'll be riding in business class on the Missouri River Runner later this week. I have no idea what that gets me but I'm not going into it with any preconceived notions of superior service. If there's a huge seat with fancy meal service and constant attention so much the better, but I'm not expecting anything beyond a can of soda and maybe a newspaper.

Frankly I would not even expect a "Welcome To Business Class" greeting by any of the Amtrak staff. On two of my three Business Class travels I was not provided with any of the advertised amenities. Neither the Conductor or the Car Attendant advised me of amenities when boarding the train. One of the trips was a short run on the Surfliner from Fullerton to LAUS. The other trip was from NYP to New London. In the case of the Surfliner the attendant walked by after departing FUL with no acknowledgment that I was a new passenger.

I was certainly aware of the amenities offered in Business Class on my trips but I wanted see if I would ever be offered or explained the amenities available to me. In that respect Amtrak failed in my expectations. I wonder how often this takes place and how often passengers new to Business Class are short changed in the amenities provided. Obviously I am not a fan of Business Class and will only use it if it is a part of a sleeper redemption. In the times I have used it, granted only three times, there is a surplus of available seats to choose from. That is the only perk I find useful.

 

[me_little_me]

She did bring me a soda and apologized.

For the Palmetto, I'm not sure that a downgrade to coach means much if the OP was placed in an Amfleet II coach car seat. As long as the eticket said business class, could still get the free sodas in the café car as well.

That was my thought too. As long as one got the BC amenities (a soda), what's the harm?

Are the BC toilets better maintained? For our next trip, we are considering BC for that alone.

 

[afigg]

Overbooking happens, but Amtrak should do better to prevent it. Is the Palmetto getting more popular? I would love to see a couple more coaches added.

Ridership for the Palmetto is up +3.5% for the first 9 months of the fiscal year. So it is not seeing an overall big increase, it may be that the OP took the Palmetto on a busy day of the week or busier summer travel period.