Avanti West Coast

So Virgin West Coast is no more, replaced by Avanti West Coast from Sunday 8th December 2019. If Twitter is to be believed, the handover wasn't smooth... initial complaints included non-working WiFi, lack of staff, inability to pick seats on the company's booking site, delayed trains, high fares etc etc. A month on, matters seem to have settled down so what is the reality of travel with the new franchise owner between Birmingham and London? Today I was able to travel from New Street to Euston on a train before 8am, returning on one after 3pm. Both journeys ran largely to time, were uncrowded, had friendly staff, and were amazing value for money. Both journeys were on 11 car Pendolinos and were of course staffed by ex-Virgin crews 'TUPE'd' across. Still largely a 'Virgin' ambience (though thankfully without the talking toilet) emphasised by the female / male alternating recorded announcements. One surprise was the £20 upgrade fee for Weekend First each way (I can remember when it was £10) though I am told that it is 'only' £15 from Rugby (for full information see https://www.avantiwestcoast.co.uk/offers/first-weekend-offer). Of course, you could always try your luck on Seatfrog for an upgrade prior to travel, or indeed book and advance first class fare... Talking of fares, my journey was booked 5 weeks in advance. Using a Senior Railcard, the outward Advance Single cost £7.60 and the return Advance Single £6.95 (making a grand total of £14.55). A walk-on off-peak return ticket would have cost me £38.50. Looking ahead 5 weeks, the equivalent journeys currently cost £6.25 out and £5.60 back (total of £11.85) with First Class equivalents at £15.50 each way (so definitely cheaper than upgrading on the train!). Interestingly Avanti West Coast are offering a Super Off-Peak Day Travelcard for £38 but the booking site warns of limited availability... Overall a good introduction to the new company's services. Looking forward to getting to grips with the full offer over the next few months.