easyjet or easypain
 

I am travelling to London from Australia in May 2008. I wish to travel onwards from London to Amsterdam. Thean from Paris to London I have the seen the show on TV for easyjet. Are they Okay? Some people seem to have a lot of trouble getting from A to B
I have noticed that their bookings are not open as yet for my time of travel. Am I better boarding at Gatwick, Luton or Stanstead which is closer to central London? Your advice is sought.

nothing at all wrong w/ easyJet -- as long as you meet the strict luggage and check in requirements.

Stanstead or Gatwick would be slightly preferable to Luton.

But for your return from Paris to London you would be better off taking the train.

There are good train links to all of the airports mentioned.

You can get to Luton from Kings Cross and St Pancras (I think there is a bus service to the terminal), Stansted from Liverpool Street, Gatwick from Victoria. So I guess it would depend on how convenient one of these stations is to where you are staying, how much the train fare is to each of the stations and how much the airfare is.

There are several carriers that you can choose from other than Easyjet. Sometimes scheduled airlines such as BA or AF/KL have good or better fares travelling from Heathrow esp if you book this far in advance (avoiding the Public Holidays during May).

Since the exact date of travel is not known it is not possible to say that taking the Eurostar back from Paris is definitely a better option pricewise. You can take Eurostar with a connection to Amsterdam and direct train back from Paris.

I haven't seen the TV show, but from what I have heard, it is basically sensationalized. After taking months and months of footage, the most lurid incidents are broadcast. I've taken EasyJet from Amsterdam to London Gatwick, and it all went very nicely (as well as taking a bunch of other EasyJet flights all of which were totally boring so far as any exciting events occurring). BMI is another carrier you could use, which goes to Heathrow.

Our most recent Easyjet experience consisted of a flight from Athens to Gatwick.

It went without a hitch. They did exactly what they said they would do, enforced the luggage weight restrictions, etc., and we had planned accordingly.

We would, without hesitation, use them again.

Easyjet are fine.

Don't forget its a TV programme - showing all the millions of journeys that go without a hitch of any sort would be a pretty boring programme. Then of course, most of the people shown having trouble have brought it on themselves by turning up late, not booking correctly, not having valid passports, being drunk etc.

I have flown easyJet many times, and can assure you they are reputable and reliable, probably the best of the budget airlines. The Summer 2008 easyJet timetable should appear online soon. Keep an eye out for it, as the earlier you book, the cheaper the price.

For your return from Paris to London, recommend you consider the train, as janisj suggested - it is actually quicker to get from central Paris to central London by train.

As many others have said, Easy jet are ok.

The cost is low so obviously they operate very tightly.
You must be there to check in at the time they say, there is little flexibility, but you know that when you book.

Let's face it, if the tv program was a true representation of a day in the life of EJ they would be out of business by now.

I wouldn't hesitate flying with them again. Don't believe all you see on the tv.

My only arguement with EJ is that they do not allocate seats, there is a bit of a free for all at boarding. However if you get checked in first you will enter the first group to be boarded club.So check in early !!
Plus you can pay extra for priority boarding now I believe.
Good luck
Muck

Regarding where to board, Gatwick and Stansted can be reached easily by train from London, Luton by airport bus, which would take a little longer. I have to say, though, that Luton is a smaller airport, and less of a 'zoo' than the others.

Dear Odin

What does the Airline AF/KL represent I know what BA is I think British Airways.

Thanks

For the low cost air carriers in Europe, try first searching www.kayak.co.uk or www.whichbudget.com for your destinations and dates. Easy Jet is not the only one. And even the bigger carriers often match the discount ones where they compete.

At a guess AF/KL would be Air France or KLM (I think they might be one company these days)

Add www.skyscanner.net as a way to search all budget airlines simultaneously.

Add yourself to Easyjet's e-mail list and you'll be notified when new schedules are opening.

AF=Air France KL=KLM but they are one company now.

BMI Baby also fly in and out of Heathrow to Amsterdam but not to/from Paris. You can check British Airways too, as sometimes the cost of getting to the airports can outweigh any saving on low cost carriers such as Easyjet.

If you want to check UK train schedules, you can view them on www.thetrainline.com

Forgot to mention another option which is to fly from London city airport.

VLM fly from LCY (London city apt) to Amsterdam and AF back from Paris Orly to LCY. Of all the airports in London it has to be easiest and you can reach it on Docklands Light Railway.

>>sometimes the cost of getting to the airports can outweigh any saving on low cost carriers such as Easyjet.<<

So where does easyJet land in Amsterdam? Schiphol, of course, the same airport as BA, KLM, and all the other major airlines. The above satement may be true of Ryanair and some other budget airlines, but not of easyJet.

<<< So where does easyJet land in Amsterdam? >>>

So where does Easyjet land in London?

GAtwick, Stansted, and Luton. Of the three I prefer Luton.

Heimdall-
Indeed the airlines mentioned may all use Schiphol however they all use different departing airports ex UK which all have varying journey times and costs associated with getting to each airport.

Thank all for the information. It does make sense when paying transfers to airports. I am staying near Hammersmith station might be cheaper to go from Heathrow.

Beargirl

Easyjet have just started booking their summer flights from some airports, but the ones from London are not yet available. I don't think there is any need to book as soon as the flights are announced, but certainly the earlier you book the cheaper the price.

Easyjet are a budget airline, not a full service one. Their market is mainly Europeans going on short trips for business or pleasure, so baggage allowances are limited, and you have to be at the airport on time. Their planes are new and clean, and their staff are helpful. You pay for refreshments, but the prices are reasonable.

For us, the only downside is the scramble for seats, since these are not allocated in advance.

Beargirl, if expense is your primary concern, suggest you wait until easyJet publishes its summer timetable. I can't tell you what prices will be in May 2008, but a quick look at easyJet fares from London to Amsterdam in Mar 2008 showed one-way for around £23. If you can beat that for a flight from Heathrow, go for it. Heathrow is easier to reach from central London, but transfer costs to the other airports aren't significantly higher.

Thank you all for your replies. I have decided on British Midland, it wasnt all that more price wise, and I can get the train from Hammersmith to Heathrow. Your advice was appreciated.

I'm not the original poster, but this thread is interesting.

I'm thinking of using easyJet for London to Prague, and Krakow to London. I didn't think about the scramble for seats... That aspect makes me nervous as I'm afraid of flying, but I fly anyway. I love to travel. So putting up with flying is worth it. But it is so comforting to me to have assigned seats... I guess we could just check in early... I notice they offer early boarding if you pay extra...but I wonder if that really works well? (It would NOT be good to pay extra and then really NOT get early boarding...)

Melissa, the scramble for seats is the only thing I dislike about easyJet. Their boarding policies can be found at: http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Flying/boarding.html. Purchasing 'Speedy Boarding' may be the answer, but I have no idea whether or not they limit the number of SB passes they sell. It wouldn't do much good if <i>everyone</i> had Speedy Boarding. ;-)

Hi, Melissa,

just replied on your other thread re easyjet.

ref speedy boarding - if they bus you to the aircraft, which they often do, any advantage is lost. Don't bother. if you are really worried, get there early.

the flights are so short, so what if you can't sit next to your spouse, friend, etc. If you are travelling with small children, they board you first anyway.

their in-flight food is over priced, so I'd buy anything you want before you go. You can still take food through security on hand-luggage, just not liquids. So sandwiches, pasties!, pies, fruit should be ok. but no yoghurt.

as I said on your other post, the summer schedules are now published.

regards, ann

Melissa, annhig is correct, but once through security you can buy bottled water or other drink to take on board.

EasyJet is an excellent budget airline, and I have used it several times for the 4 hr flights between London and Athens. In my experience check-in is efficient and easyJet flight crew are helpful and friendly. All in all a very good experience.

Beargirl, this is just to reinforce the comment made by an earlier poster about luggage allowances. If you are coming from Australia you will probably travel with a 20Kg allowance but the budget airline you choose may only allow 15Kgs - if you have to pay excess rates it gets very expensive.

Thanks GregY2 I will have to look at the luggage allowance to British Midland. Coming from Australia I will have pretty close to 20kg for mytravel of 9 weeks.