More than 25,000 EMR customers take advantage of Seatfrog - saving 60 per cent on a 1st Class ticket

More than 25,000 East Midlands Railway (EMR) customers have been able to purchase cheap first-class tickets since the operator teamed up with the seat bidding app - Seatfrog.

Seatfrog allows Standard Class Ticket customers to bid for an upgrade to First Class, starting from just £13. Since partnering with EMR, thousands of customers have taken advantage of this opportunity, saving 60 percent off the average price of a First-Class ticket.

The Seatfrog app, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play, allows customers to bid for a last-minute seat upgrade, beginning 24 hours before departure and up to 30 minutes before the train is scheduled to leave. They can also purchase an instant upgrade once they are on the train.

Seatfrog upgrades are available on selected peak and off-peak services on EMR's Intercity route between London and other Intercity destinations, including Leicester, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, and East Midlands Parkway.

The availability of the upgrades will depend on expected passenger volumes in First and Standard Class carriages.

Interested customers need to open the app and enter their booking reference or use Seatfrog's convenient train search feature. Seatfrog will then display the available upgrades for their journey.

Customers should then select the number of upgrades they would like to bid on and set their price for each upgrade. They can place as many bids as they wish in each auction at no cost.

If they win, Seatfrog will notify the customers and process the payment. The customer will then receive a First-Class upgrade barcode directly to their phone.

Simon Pready, Commercial Director at East Midlands Railway, said, "Seatfrog is proving to be very popular with customers who want the flexibility to upgrade to First Class on short notice and bid for tickets at a price they are willing to pay.

"In fact, more than 25,500 people have taken advantage of the app, with the average savings over the past six months being 60 percent.

"If you are travelling with us and considering First Class, please take the time to check it out - you could get a bargain."