SNCF looks to introduce new luxury first class on some TGVs

French train operator SNCF is introducing a new ‘luxury first class’ option for some TGV trains, including the Paris-Lyon line, in a bid to compete with new services from Italian operator Trenitalia.

The new ‘inOui First’ premium class is set to launch within weeks and promises “better service and greater comfort” as a step up from the current luxury options such as ‘Business Première’. 

The aim is to enable SNCF to better compete with the luxury offer by Trenitalia, reports Le Parisien.

Trenitalia's luxury offer, called ‘Executive’, includes:

• Unlimited food and alcoholic beverages, including a hot meal

• Leather seats 74cm wide, which can be turned 180° and changed to the direction of travel

• Remote controlled seats to adjust the seat angle

• A plug socket at each seat

• Dedicated staff service

• Quiet carriages 

• Carriages with just 10 seats 

• A business meeting room

• Access to the premium lounge at stations

SNCF’s offer will be similar, and will come ahead of the company’s much-awaited TGV-M trains, which are set to enter service by the end of 2025.

The price of the service has not yet been unveiled but it is likely to be more than the current Business Première offer, with price fluctuations expected depending on how far in advance the booking is made. 

For comparison, Trenitalia’s Executive service costs a fixed price of €139 between Paris and Lyon, and €165 between Paris and Milan.

“First class has been democratised,” said news commentator Emmanuelle Dancourt, on BFMTV-RMC on January 21, on the subject of the new first class. She makes “two return trips a week” by train, and said she has been looking forward to this new class. 

“This first class is not all that expensive,” she said. “It is aimed at companies and those in ‘leisure mode’ who can afford it.”

Read also: Trenitalia rivals SNCF to offer train service to French ski stations
Read more: SNCF faces competition in France as Italy speeds in 

TGVs: The train of the rich?

A recent study by transport authority l'Autorité de régulation des transports, from 2019, suggests that TGV services are already primarily used by wealthier people or those travelling for business.

It found that just 10% of the population (those in executive and higher intellectual professions) account for 48% of TGV passengers, while the 45% of the population (blue-collar and white-collar workers) make up just 19% of TGV customers.

Read also: 40 years of TGV: the train that changed the face of French rail travel 

However, the luxury offer comes as SNCF is also seeking to provide more standard class seats and is currently developing double-decker trains that can carry up to 634 passengers per journey. 

Despite this, these trains are not set to be rolled out anytime soon, and figures suggest that the number of seats available on SNCF trains has fallen by 14% in the past 10 years.

The Fédération nationale des usagers des Transports has warned that the average price of an SNCF train ticket has increased as a result. 

It states that the average cost of an Ouigo TGV ticket has risen by 24% between 2019 and 2023, and there are often significant differences between the cost of first class and standard class seats, especially when booking on the spot. 

For example, as of January 21, a seat on an Inoui TGV departing Paris at 10.10 for Toulon was priced at €68 in standard class, and €217 for Business First, reports BFMTV.