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New prices for the Nightjet from ÖBB, no or very little discount for Interrail card holders?

  • 18 December 2023
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rrustema
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Hi,

Starting the 2024 timetable there are new, dynamic prices for the Nightjet trains from ÖBB. A Dutch railforum wrote about it.

 

I just booked tickets on the Nightjet between Munich and Venice in spring but I can’t get any discount on it while I could get it previously. No matter if you book with or without the discount, you get the same price. You can try for yourself.

 

Now it becomes not interesting anymore to get an Interrail for my favourite route between Amsterdam and Italy. I might have to ask a refund for my unusued Interrail passes.

I complained about this with the ÖBB Customer Service last week, but no reaction yet.

 

Did any of you read any official communication about it? Similar experiences?

 

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Best answer by rvdborgt 18 December 2023, 16:58

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R
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I see discounts with Interrail, e.g. on 9 April.

As usual, please mention your travel date, so people can check what's going on.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
ralderton
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There has been limited publicity about this from ÖBB. There never is when there's a price rise!

I did see recent statement saying that they're still adjusting their dynamic pricing model (in particular, they are claiming that lots of searches in the past week appears to have caused the algorithm to push prices up on many routes).

But in general, you can expect prices to vary now. it's possible that you'll pay the same as previously, or perhaps even less at quiet times. But more likely you'll be paying more. I think this is a real stinker. One of the benefits of a pass is the flexibility it offers, not penalising you for taking popular trains.

The only possible upside is that you are more likely to find availability you want, as long as you have deep pockets. A bit like Uber surge pricing.

rrustema
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I see discounts with Interrail, e.g. on 9 April.

As usual, please mention your travel date, so people can check what's going on.

Hm, with this ‘dynamic pricing’ that appears to be primitive I’d better not give my actual travel details as that might raise the price.

But take for example this booking Stuttgart-Venice on 11 March 2024. With or without interrail, no difference, both are €424,90 for a private compartment. 

 

 

rrustema
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I think this is a real stinker. One of the benefits of a pass is the flexibility it offers, not penalising you for taking popular trains.

 

Indeed, for us with an Interrail pass it only means we are paying for a reservation and not the ticket. That’s what I always understood. The ticket price might be dynamically priced as much as ÖBB likes it, but if you have an Interrail pass you are not supposed to notice any price difference. The price of a reservation is fixed. Except when you are too late and it is not possible to reserve anymore because the train is sold out. Then price does not go up, but you get a ‘sold out’ message.

This is utterly confusing.

I think I sit it out for a little longer to see if the ‘price of my reservation’ goes down and then I book my return trip. With customer service of ÖBB I will try to get a full refund of the first reservation I already bought and try again later to get a cheaper reservation.

 

R
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Private couchette compartments on Nightjet don't have a pass fare. AFAIK that as always been the case.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
A
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You can see from that, the pass fares are discounted on the semi-flex and flex but not the sparschiene.

There never was a discounted passholder price available for booking a whole couchette compartment, I don’t know the reason for this but it is not a new change.

You should look at the prices for sleeper compartments which will have discounted passholder rates.

rrustema
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Private couchette compartments on Nightjet don't have a pass fare. AFAIK that as always been the case.

How did I travel the exact same route last year in a private couchette for €172,40 instead of €499,90 I wonder now. In high season even, instead of low season. Is that all because of the dynamic pricing?

It could indeed be that I filled in the Interrail discount during the booking without realising that it did not even give a discount.

On https://www.nightjet.com/en/buchung/tarifinformationen/interrail-eurail-paesse it says this though:

Travelling through the night, our sleepers, couchette coaches and day coaches allow you to pass the night with sweet dreams. The next morning, you arrive fully recuperated and relaxed at your destination - right in the city centre. And you also save an overnight stay at a hotel.

Please note that for each journey, a reservation fee must be paid for each pass holder. This fee includes breakfast in the couchette and sleeper cabin as well as the seat reservation. This guarantees your seat/couchette/bed for the booked train.

 

R
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Private couchette compartments on Nightjet don't have a pass fare. AFAIK that as always been the case.

How did I travel the exact same route last year in a private couchette for €172,40 instead of €499,90 I wonder now. In high season even, instead of low season. Is that all because of the dynamic pricing?

Yes it is, or more precisely: the much higher maximum prices, since they already had yield managed fares.

It could indeed be that I filled in the Interrail discount during the booking without realising that it did not even give a discount.

On https://www.nightjet.com/en/buchung/tarifinformationen/interrail-eurail-paesse it says this though:

Travelling through the night, our sleepers, couchette coaches and day coaches allow you to pass the night with sweet dreams. The next morning, you arrive fully recuperated and relaxed at your destination - right in the city centre. And you also save an overnight stay at a hotel.

Please note that for each journey, a reservation fee must be paid for each pass holder. This fee includes breakfast in the couchette and sleeper cabin as well as the seat reservation. This guarantees your seat/couchette/bed for the booked train.

 

That doesn't say anything about pass holder fares for private couchette compartments.

Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
rrustema
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That doesn't say anything about pass holder fares for private couchette compartments.

 

The condition must be written somewhere I can only hope. But where? It is awkward if this is not clearly mentioned anywhere on the website, preferably during booking.

It does advertise the comfort of a private couchette during booking. Without any fine print about Interrail pass holders.

T
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Example : if you are 4 people with Interrail you need to select a compartment for 4 passengers, not a private compartment for up to 6 passengers. This is nothing new (but a bit confusing!).

If you are 3 people and want a couchette compartment (over a triple sleeper) you’ll likely need to add a 4th ghost passenger.

rrustema
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Example : if you are 4 people with Interrail you need to select a compartment for 4 passengers, not a private compartment for up to 6 passengers. This is nothing new (but a bit confusing!).

If you are 3 people and want a couchette compartment (over a triple sleeper) you’ll likely need to add a 4th ghost passenger.

 

Oops, now I vaguely start to remember something. That is indeed what I did last time, I think... Although I don’t know how I found it out. Perhaps by carefully reading that page. I indeed booked for four. The system could see that also… I sometimes forget that Austria is a time travel into the 19th century. Also its charm, but easy to forget. No artificial intelligence, not even an intelligent webform. Just mimicking the paper based version as you could imagine existed in the 19th century… 

rrustema
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Indeed, there is a discount if you don’t reserve a private couchette. Without Interrail € 299,60 (non-flex) € 379,60 (semi-flex). With Interrail €299,60 (non-flex) and €179,60 (semi-flex). 

Which is weird, because the ‘better deal’ becomes cheaper. Certainly much better than the initial €499,90 !

 

 

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