Seatfrog was born out of a simple, very real problem: a lack of legroom. At a combined height of 13 feet, our co-founders, Iain Griffin and Dirk Stewart, spent countless hours on trains while working for a global advertising agency - often cramped in standard class. One day, they tried their luck by sneaking into a half-empty first-class carriage to stretch out. As the guard approached - far from amused - one thing quickly became clear: upgrading to First Class wasn't affordable for everyone.
That frustrating experience sparked an idea. Iain and Dirk realized just how inefficient the rail system is for both operators and passengers alike. Every year, across Europe’s top seven rail networks, there are around 570 million empty first-class seats. Meanwhile, standard-class travellers end up standing in aisles or feeling cramped, simply because there’s no quick and affordable way to move into those vacant seats.
Seatfrog set out to fix that. Launched in 2018, our first innovation was our Upgrades - a service that lets any standard ticket holder bid on or buy a first-class seat before departure, sometimes for as little as £10. And the impact has been huge: Seatfrog has saved passengers more than £43 million since we opened our digital doors.
Today, we’re still fueled by the same belief that inspired those two tall founders to break the mold in the first place: rail travel should be modern, flexible, and truly built around the comfort and convenience of its passengers. One upgrade at a time, we’re turning empty train seats into opportunities - so you can stretch out, save money, and make every journey better.
