Navan Travelers Can Now Choose Their Seats on Select UK Rail Carriers

The days of booking UK train trips by the seat of your pants are over.

Previously, frequent travelers riding UK Rail could only pick a general seating preference and hope for the best. But now, thanks to a partnership with Trainline, travelers will see real-time seat maps integrated directly into the web booking flow on applicable routes for major carriers including Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway (GWR), and LNER. Whatever a traveler’s preference might be — window, aisle, working table — their trip now comes with peace of mind.

A Seat at the Table

We get it: When consumer travel apps offer a feature that business travel platforms lack, it can drive travelers to book directly with carriers. This new feature closes that gap. Benefits include:

Stop platform leakage: When travelers can pick their exact seats on Navan, it gives them one less excuse to book off-platform.

Maintain program control: Program managers centralizing UK rail bookings get 100% visibility into UK rail spend while maintaining compliance and duty of care.

Boost traveler satisfaction: Happy travelers are more likely to book all their travel on Navan.

Unstoppable Rail Momentum

This update is just the latest step in Navan’s mission to provide the most robust rail experience in the industry. Navan is constantly expanding our global inventory to give travelers more sustainable, high-speed options. This follows recent successful launches of Iryo in Spain and VIA Rail in Canada, ensuring that whether you’re traveling across the Iberian Peninsula or North America, you have access to the best rail technology available. UK rail (specifically, Avanti West Coast, LNER, and Great Western Railway) now joins our extensive list of European partners with live seat maps, including:

Germany: Deutsche Bahn

France: SNCF (first-class tickets only) and OUIGO

Spain: Renfe and Avlo

Seeing Green

Navan knows how important rail travel is for business travelers. Compared to flying, trains are typically more convenient to city centers, involve less hassle, and help companies lower their CO2 emissions.

And sustainability remains an important goal for companies. In the 2026 State of Corporate Travel and Expense report from Skift and Navan, 76% of T&E managers and 70% of business travelers said their companies encourage prioritizing sustainable alternatives when traveling for work.

It’s why Navan has always focused on offering a world-class rail experience for our customers, including a robust rail inventory, compatibility with loyalty programs, and features like the rail alternative pop-up — an easy way to explore rail alternatives when searching for flights.

For now, this feature is available only for specific lines, routes, and fares. It’s bookable only through Navan’s website, and not available for journeys where a user stays on the same train but holds multiple sequential tickets. Trainline is actively working on an update.

Live seat maps on UK rail are just one more example of how Navan uplevels the business travel experience … and takes a backseat to no one.