hawaiihoneymoon

To travelers of Easyjet - how would you rate your travelling experience? Are they usually on time? I noticed there is a srict restriction for Luggage - they said 20 kg to check in. Do they actually charge a fee if you go over this limit? Any other opinions, advise, etc would be appreciated before i book any flights through them.

m_kingdom2

By their own admission (via website) around 5-10% of their flights are delayed by over an hour. Furthermore, their flights don't even seem so cheap, BA aren't really that much dearer.

Ryanair is so much cheaper, their delays are bearable - after all when you've paid a few pence for a flight you can't expect too much!

jamikins

Hi there,

We used easyjet about 4 times on our honeymoon and they were ontime every time. They do have very strict weight restrictions. They will weigh your carryon at check in and your luggage and they charge hefty fees for anything over. You can find the exact amounts on their website. We were never over and we packed 2 suitcases for our 4 week honeymoon.

You need to be ontime for check in too...they will not let you check in if you are late...period. They also use first come first serve seating, so your boarding pass will have a number on it and they let the first 30 board, then the next 30 and so on so the sooner you check in the lower your number and the more choice you have in seating. We never had a problem sitting together.

We will definintly use them again...no complaints!

Grasshopper

I flew Easyjet twice last summer. I was very pleased with them. There are a few things to consider. I had a flight from SFO to LHR then a connection from Gatwick to Milan. My flight to LHR was late, there was a lot of traffic and I missed my Easyjet flight from Gatwick by 20 minutes. They put me on the flight the next day for no charge! (the rules said I had to pay, but I didn't)

YOu might find really cheap fares that look great when you're booking on your laptop at home on your sofa. But in reality, the mad dash from Heathrow to Gatwick (or one of the other two airports they fly out of) is not cheap and is hard on the body and mind after a long overnight flight. Add the cost of a hotel if you miss your flight and it's decidedly not so cheap after all.

They are strict about the weight limits and the carry on limit is really restrictive. They open the check in desk 2 hours prior to the flight and the you get a number. That number determines what order you get on the plane. Seats are otherwise unassigned. They close check in 40 minutes before the flight.

Otherwise, my flights were on time, the seats were fine, service was fine.

AAFrequentFlyer

I'm assuming you live in US(?)

If so, A&E channel just started to run the Airline show on Monday evenings. If you saw the Southwest Airlines(can't think of the title) show, it's exactly like that but with EasyJet as the subject. The Airline show was produced by the same people that ended up producing the Southwest show. You will get an insight on how the airline runs.

Now for the actual experience? It's a great airline if you want to hop around Europe inexpensively. They do have luggage limit and in most cases they are strict about it, but I did get away with heavier bag here and there, still I would not count on it.
They are a point-to-point airline, which means if a plane does not show up from the other point, you are basically screwed. They do not have any agreements with other airlines, so they will not transfer you if needed to a different airline. I believe, but I may be wrong, that they will also not provide meal vouchers or hotels, if you are stranded.
On the other hand, they do run a fairly young fleet, mostly B737s now, but adding brand new A319s or 320s(?), so they don't have many mechanicals. They do run late on occasion because of their tight turnarounds. Their schedules are hard to keep throughout the day, so the later flights are late on many occasions.
It's your basic transportation. One-class, no assigned seats. Drinks and snacks sold on-board.
They do use more convenient airports than RyanAir, but they are also little more expensive. I would not book any tight connections with another airline. You will loose your money if you don't make the reserved flight on EasyJet and on the other end, EasyJet will NOT compensate you if they are running late and you do not make the other flight.

You should also consider pricing www.ba.com British Airways has been very good with fares if booked far enough in advance. They also run many flights to many destinations per day, so if one does not happen, they will re-schedule you on the next one whenever possible. They use more convenient airports.

rightted

Easyjet can be very inexpensive if you book ahead. You'll pay the same as on one of the major if you are close to your travel date.

I have flown with them several times, and have never been delayed more than 20 minutes.

Never forget that they are fanatical about their check-in time. I once showed up 46 minutes before a flight and received a lecture.

I have never checked luggage with easyjet, as I typically am traveling out one day and back the next.

Gardyloo

Went from Stansted to Rome the week before last and thought it was just fine for the money. Didn't see anyone getting charged for overweight baggage and they didn't check our handcarries (phew). The "board by pass number" was a fallacy - scramble system was the method. Sat on the runway at STN for 2 hours because of Rome weather, but they closed the doors of the plane right on time. We saved many, many £s compared to BA - even justified the cost of switching from LHR to STN before the flight.

Glyn_Williams

EasyJet is renouned for being a cheap and cheerful airline network. Flying from many of the smaller networks across the UK, it provides short distance flights across Europe at very cheap prices.

BUT...EasyJet is also renouned as being one of the worst airlines in Britain. There is a documentary show, as correctly pointed out, called Airline which is featured on ITV1. It always shows the worst in the airline, and from what l've heard is not a good portrait of what the airline is actually like.

If your paying that little then you've got to expect to service to lack somewhat, but you'll still get your lifejacket, but you won't get your prawn sandwiches.

NEDSIRELAND

I flew EasyJet London (Luton)-Madrid. I thought Luton was their UK 'Hub.' Check-in was much more orderly than with RyanAir: Get a numbered boarding pass at check-in and board 'by the numbers.'
Had to wait about 45min for my checked luggage in Madrid but otherwise it was an uneventful flight.

I would use them again!

bookchick

I agree they're definitely a utilitarian "no frills" airline, and equivalent of Spirit or Southwest in the States. I found the personnel to be cheerful, and the flights to be reasonable and on-time, so I've no complaints. It's a bit of a cattle call, but IMO a reasonable value.

BC

Nidwaldner_Chris

I travel on Easyjet about 20 flights a year (I live in Zurich, my in-laws live near Luton) for over 5 years now. They are usually on time or with 15-20 minutes, check-in time is a lot less at Luton then the major airports, the airport is much smaller so easier to navigate, customer service is good, they charge a nominal fee to change your flight (something BA does not offer), and I pay usually no more than 60gbp return for my flights because I book far in advance (much cheaper than BA or Swiss). Also ALL european airlines (even the nationals) have about a 20kg inter-europe luggage limit, Ryanair is worse at 15kg and they are not known for customer service.

europhile

We flew Easyjet from Stansted to Naples last fall. It was fine, getting us to our destination almost on time, but by no means a relaxing experience and we were both worn out and harried by the trip. We commented that "easyjet" is sort of a misnomer, really. We were overweight on Easyjet with our luggage (but underweight on Delta from the U.S. under international weight standards so be careful about this). We did get charged extra (as I recall, almost the amount of one of our Easyjet tickets, which were admitedly cheap). Also, we had a early morning flight (7 am) and had to get from central London to Stansted in time to check in at least 1.5 hours early (and we were toward the end of the line to board the plane having arrived this "late"). It was not a good experience for us- planes, trains and automobiles that left us totally wiped out by the time we got to our destination in Ravello. If I found a good rate on a more full service airline- you know, where you get assigned seats so you don't have to show up quite so early to be guaranteed seats together, and a bit more service- it would be worth paying more, in my opinion. It's a matter of how much you save, I guess.

Gavin

Is there anything to choose with respect ot leg room with European disount airlines? One of us has very long legs and this is a serious issue. We recently choose BMI for an Amsterdam-London flight in part because we hoped there would be a bit more room that the discount alternative. As it happened knees and seat back were in contact. What could we expect from Easyjet and other low cost airlines?

Nidwaldner_Chris

Gavin, while Easyjet is not known for its generous seat pitch-at least you can increase your chances greatly at getting one of the first row seats or emergency exit row seats over the wings by checking in about 2 hours before the flight to ensure a low boarding number. Another trick is to enter using the rear door of the plane and walk immediately through the plane to the emergency exit row seats while other people are finding seats near the front of the plane.

spacea

We flew Easy Jet in 2000 from Stansted to Belfast Ireland. They were one hour late. Wouldn't tell anyone anything. But I guess I would use them again.

bowen

Yes, we'll definitely use Easyjet again! Our Easyjet flights were on time (in fact one flight was ahead of schedule!) We booked months in advance, hence very low fares. We arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of departure, hence our choice of seats. We stayed within weight limits, hence were not charged extra. And I found the attendants very pleasant. No frills - definitely - but it was worth the extra time saved getting to our destinations and far cheaper than other modes of travel.

LolaLasagne

When I flew Ryanair to Berlin last month from Stansted, the check in lady pointed out to me that I was seven kilos over the limit. But she let me off without paying extra because I only had a small amount of hand luggage.

JN

We flew EasyJet from Geneva to Gatwick on May 10 of this year. No problems at check in; they did watch baggage weight closely--requiring folks to either pay extra or remove items. They have a weight limit for carry ons, too, but didn't check to see if ours met the requirements.

Boarding is a zoo--supposed to go in by groups of 30, based on when you checked in. As you can imagine, it was a bit chaotic. They did, however, allow families with small children, elderly/disabled folks to enter a bit early.

Seat pitch is not good--29 inches according to Skytrax. This is among the shortest in the industry. For a one hour flight, might not be bad, but for longer flights or very tall folks, it would be very unpleasant.

Plane was clean, crew was helpful/friendly and we departed/arrived within 20 minutes of schedule.

All in all, we had no complaints--2 tickets for a total of ~$60 makes the limited seat pitch and boarding chaos a small price to pay.

ppgan

I've been on Easyjet a few times. The first was from Liverpool to Barcelona and it was also the first time I had my plane cancelled! It was quite a hassle because we lost a day, but they put us on a flight the next day as well as a hotel for a night.

The next two times, I had no problems at all, as the planes were spot on time. Just keep in mind though, Ryanair has a reputation for being more reliable and cheaper, though it's airports are often a bit far out of the city.