Thanks for the update - the odds are getting better at least and they seem to be correcting this crazy mistake.
I'm marking down "sad" because I *hate* it when airlines won't let you throw out restricted fares like this in a search (e.g. AA just shows the cheapest economy fare vs DL letting you filter out Basic Economy).
I expect that on the trains that are regularly sold out, that there won't be many cheaper fares.
Indeed. Just because there is a listed fare does not mean there is inventory at that fare on a specific train.
They already use demand-driven pricing. Regular smart fares from MCO-MIA range between $39 on early morning trains to over $100 on mid-morning trains during the next couple weeks. This is in addition to that.
It has been in their plans for quite a while. It is likely in the options that they have with Siemens for future purchases.
The overall plan has never changed. They are executing it step by step. When they actually execute a step they announce what the step is that is being executed. I don;t think we will hear about Cafe until they come to the step involving addition of them. The train sets will eventually grow to ten cars as they stated originally, but we don;t hear much about that either.
Brightline is backed by an investment group with other assets than just the passenger rail system, such as real estate. I believe they did also receive a bit of federal funding?
I believe they received low/no interest bonds that have to be repaid. I understand that BL is a loss leader for their real investment portfolio, but that's a big number to overcome. I believe that ridership continues to increase, and the article mentioned that short-distance riders are being slowly replaced by long-distance riders. That will be the key. I don't think that a bistro or cafe car will be coming anytime soon. Has a cafe car EVER made money? Now, a half-cafe car like Amtrak has would be interesting, but without counter service. Offer a small galley and storage for trolley service. Seats make more money than food.
Food service losses is the cost of doing business as an amenity. I doubt that many hotel restaurants actually turn a profit on their own but help draw in customers.
And what they charge for the rooms has to bring in enough money to cover the costs of providing the food. So either way you pay for it, either by higher room prices or lousy "free" food. And I've stayed at lots of motels that don't have any food service, or have a separate chain restaurant located next door. Then there was the La Quinta Inn at the Miami Airport where we stayed the night before boarding the Meteor. We had dropped out car and then found that the hotel had no dinner service. We had to walk through a parking lot and chain link fence to get to a neighboring hotel to find something to eat. We didn't need the "free" breakfast because we took an early cab to the station and had breakfast on the train, but I guess we paid for the breakfast anyway.
Lounges at stations have not made any money either, and yet those are touted as a big thing by Brightline. Go figure!
Pulling an extra "service" car in a train is not going to exactly break the bank.
anyway, as far as I know we still don't know what form that service car will take. Will it just be a base where food is stored and heated up to be served to passengers at their seats, or will there be some sort of take-out counter where you can order stuff to take back to your seat? Or even a fully fledged bistro or bar where people would want to hang out?Lounges at stations have not made any money either, and yet those are touted as a big thing by Brightline. Go figure!
If I had to guess, it would be something like half Coach half Cafe, but of course we will have to wait and see. The existing trolley service will continue, which could be enhanced to provide some more elaborate fare to those that want it. Several alternatives are being studied and what will come out at the end of it is not known at present.
I have NEVER selected a hotel based on the restaurant onsite - or even if there is one.
Warm meal options are important to me for journeys of more than say 3 hours, whether that is a train or a plane or a ferry. I am a bit of a foody and like my food to be special and varied. But on trains I am often capable of lowering my expectations quite far in view of the logistical difficulties needing to be overcome in stocking and preparing meals.
