Jenn

I am about to book our party of 7 on Eurostar's 5pm train from London to Paris.
I am booking the 5pm as our day is busy and I don't want to miss out train. - But, my question is - what if we are early enough for the 4pm train. We are booking first class - will they allow us on the earlier train if there is room?
Thank you.

m_kingdom2

If you turn up to the airport early, can you catch the earlier flight for no extra charge?

DejaDeb

We were advised that we could change our train time up to an hour before our scheduled time. This could work for you.

m_kingdom2

Just go when you've booked it, if you want the 4pm one then book that one, it's not like hailing a taxi. I'd be most surprised if they let you change trains.

nytraveler

If they have room on the earlier train naturally they will let you take it. The question is - how much more will it cost? And that depends on what type of tickets you have.

Just like an airline, the more expensive the ticket the more flexibility - and the cheaper the ticket the more restrictons. You need to balance your price options vs your flexibility.

sandi_travelnut

We had the same delimma. I chose a later train but arrived with plenty of time to catch an earlier train. We had 1st class seats (5 of us) bu they didn't have enough seats on the 1st train to accomodate us, otherwise it would have been no problem and no extra charge.

FINZ

It depends on what type of ticket you buy. If you buy a fully refundible ticket, you can change it no matter what class you book. My advise is to read the fine print before you buy your ticket!

My husband and I had tickets on the Eurostar last fall and we booked in advance using one of their leisure fares. We got to the train station about 4 hours early with hopes to catch an earlier train. The tickets we had purchased were non-refundible and non-transferable. They wouldn't even put the money we spent toward another ticket on an earlier train. (I would have known this if I had read the fine print before buying!) We sat at Waterloo for 4 hours. Don't let this happen to you!

We had booked coach tickets but I believe the same advance purchase discounts apply regardless of whether you buy coach or first class.

sandi_travelnut

the good thing about a layover at waterloo International is that you can go outside and you're practically at the base of the London Eye and have a beautiful view across the river. If you're stuck there, make the most of your time!

Jenn

Thank you for your replies. They were
very helpful for a first timer. Our entire party is looking forward to a train ride and just want to have things go smoothyly. I did not realize that some people on the board would think my question was so stupid.

m_kingdom2

You're making a fuss over an hour which quite frankly is ridiculous, plan your day around the train. If you book tickets for the theatre do you expect to turn up late and the play not to have started?

walkinaround

of the many trips that i have taken on the eurostar, every first class ticket and many economy class tickets have had terms that allowed changes at no cost and no hassle. i have changed my travel time many times by showing up early. it is not a dumb question and you were certainly not making a fuss.

Patrick

"Message: If you turn up to the airport early, can you catch the earlier flight for no extra charge?"

Yes, we've done that several times. Sometimes they've even suggested it, other times we've asked.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Eurostar would let you do that too.

wombat7

I am pleased to see that the majority of respondents answered Jenn's question.

"If you turn up to the airport early, can you catch the earlier flight for no extra charge?"
Yes, often you can.

"Just go when you've booked it, if you want the 4pm one then book that one, it's not like hailing a taxi. I'd be most surprised if they let you change trains."

I am pleased to see that this forum can make people "most surprised"

"You're making a fuss over an hour which quite frankly is ridiculous,..."

One could respond "you are making a fuss about the question without proffering a response, which quite fankly, my dear, is ridiculous"

Have a great trip Jenn.

walkinaround

i agree with the others, i have often taken an earlier flight when showing up the airport early (as anyone who often travels i'm sure has). this has happened on several occasions with a non-changeable ticket and by the clerk's suggestion... "you have time to make the earlier flight would you like to change?" heard many times.

m_kingdom2

I'm amazed as to who turns up to the airport that early. If you're due to go to a party at 9pm do you turn up at 4pm because you'd rather go earlier?

walkinaround

your supposedly rhetorical question was:

>>>>If you turn up to the airport early, can you catch the earlier flight for no extra charge?<<<<<

the answer is yes, sometimes. irrelivent but if you need to know why i was at the airport 2 hours before my flight...i was in a large asian city with killer traffic so i left more time than i usually would for the taxi ride. the last time i was at this particular airport, i had to wait almost 1.5 hours to get through passport control. finally, i had to make a connection so if i missed the flight, i would be stuck in asia for at least one more day. the clerk nicely suggested that i could go earlier because my connecting flight was out of hong kong and it is more interesting to wait there (better restaurants and shopping) than where i was flying out of. everything went very smoothly so i was early and the clerk informed me that there was little or no wait at PC.

m_kingdom2

However, what I mean is that if you're booked on a "lowest fare" i.e. non-changeable ticket, you can't just turn up and expect to change flights/trains. If you're offered then by all means you're lucky, but in the majority of circumstances, the major airlines will not want to know.

Patrick

well, m_kingdom since you ask, there are a number of reasons. Here in the states you are supposed to get to the airport an hour and a half before your flight. It is quite possible to be a half hour early if traffic wasn't what you expected for example. Or if someone is dropping you off who has plans, or a myriad of other reasons.

Sometimes an earlier connecting flight has been delayed. So while it couldn't have been booked originally, now the timing is perfect for after our arrival and they may let us take it instead of waiting for the one we were supposed to take an hour later.

And sometimes we take a "shuttle flight" to Miami and have more than a two hour layover -- that's just the way it is. Because those shuttles are often late, I'd never book a continuing flight an hour from arrival, so when those shuttles do come in on time or even early, it is quite likely that we can get an earlier flight than originally booked. In fact that sounds just like the situation with the trains that Jenn is talking about.

Is there a reason you are being so doubting and contrary here? Do we need to keep offering more reasons, or are you close to being satisfied yet?

And please explain why you had to act like this was such an ignorant question, just because it has never happened to you or you could care less?

Patrick

And since you posted as I did, let me mention that MOST if not ALL of the flights I've gone early on were from "nonrefundable lowest" fares! The airlines seem not to care that it was that kind of ticket when you are there and it may free up a seat on a later flight -- the one you were originally booked on.

Since all this seems a surprise to you and apparently you have never tried it, I wonder how you suddenly became an expert on what the majority of airlines do in such cases.

walkinaround

this has happened to me several times using lowest fare, non-changeable tickets. was i just lucky? yes. would i expect it? no.

the OP stated it is a first class ticket. this only requires the "luck" that there is room to be accomodated on the earlier train as i believe all first class eurostar tickets are changeable (at least mine have always been).