Reserving intercity seats on a family ticket

[Derek Wheeler]

Thomas can you confirm if you can book seats for 1 adult and 3 children outside of the family ticket concept.

[Mark Gleeson]

Online gizzmo comes with

Please note certain discounted group tickets such as the family ticket can only be purchased at the booking office at your local station

Up to 6 on one booking any combination

[Derek Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Online gizzmo comes with



Up to 6 on one booking any combination

Just checked it myself. You can book 1 adult and 3 kids. Discounted tickets aren't pre-bookable.

Load of baloney. Lazy IT. Database should read 1 adult and 3 kids and return the family ticket price. No excuses. Prebooking a seat should not have a penalty for discounted group rates, once it falls within the limits of the online booking system of 6 in one booking. However I would suggest that the first booking page should include family tickets in its section on how many passengers.

Just lazy IT.

So, just to confirm it. You can books seats for yourself and the kids, but you cannot avail of the family ticket price. You pay standard return fair at adult and child rates.

It is unfair. The idea of the family discount is to attract passengers. Not applying it to online booking is neanderthal, counter productive and defeatist in the extreme, especially when one considers that web transactions for booking all sorts of things is now the way it is.

[Derek Wheeler]

Just checked Ticketmaster.ie in relation to the 7-Up Christmas on Ice gig. Their ticketing database includes discounted pricing for families. (2 adults/2 kids or 1 adult/3 kids)

It can be done, but IE have lazy IT or else they are just skinflints who don't bother recognising the relevence of discounted ticketing combined with online booking. Even in the age of the web, they apply the same old outdated thinking.

I say this is one for the campaign revamp.

[TomB]

Originally Posted by Derek Wheeler

Thomas can you confirm if you can book seats for 1 adult and 3 children outside of the family ticket concept.

Yes you can, and it's only 8.50 euro cheaper, so that's obviously what I'm going to do.
But if the two parents were travelling, as they normally do, that would be 67 euro more expensive...

To put it into numbers:

Monthly family return Dub-Cork: €118
1 Adult 3 kids: €126.50
2 Adults 3 kids: €185.50

I just think as a general rule, you should be offered the cheapest fare possible.

edit: ya beat me to it, derek!