Originally Posted by QF WP
Eurostar adds first class value
Eurostar is reorganising and simplifying its offering for first class passengers travelling between London, Lille, Brussels and Paris.
From September 1, the high-speed train company will offer a two-tier first class service - Business Premier and Leisure Select, with passengers seated according to the price and type of their tickets. The new tow tier first class will replace the existing Premium product (available only for London-Paris).
I think this article is slightly misleading. There is already a "top tier" first class called Premium which has a separate carriage with enhanced service. And then there is effectively the "second tier" First Class. There are many business passengers who don't buy the fiendishly expensive Premium tickets but just one of the normal First Class tickets, and who therefore end up in the carriages which may also have leisure First Class passengers.
The new pair of products replaces the old pair of products, not just Premium.
You could therefore read this as Eurostar wishes, namely "we're doing something extra for business passengers", or as I suspect, namely "Premium is a flop as not enough business passengers are buying it, so we're dumbing it down a bit and making it cheaper".