Easyjet news

[Tetchytyke]

I notice (not having used them for a while) that they've now sneaked the free large cabin bag off the premium seats so you have to pay for both separately (and a 15kg hold bag now costs about the same as a large cabin bag). Unsurprisingly the price of the premium seats has not been reduced accordingly.

They did that about two years ago, from memory, so not related to the takeover.

But yes, they did sneak it through- it almost caught me out. I wonder if it has softened demand for the premium seats, last couple of times I've ended up with premium seats at check-in (although the time before that I got a middle seat, so maybe it's just luck).

And yes, my experience now is that, generally, a 15kg hold bag is slightly cheaper than a large cabin bag. Clearly EasyJet see the value in putting luggage where it belongs- in the hold- and now price accordingly.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

-- I'm not surprised that they've pulled out, I'd say Jet2 and TUI (and Ryanair) have the bucket-and-spade market sewn up out of LBA.

Yes you are probably right. I had not thought about that.

 

[Bletchleyite]

But yes, they did sneak it through- it almost caught me out. I wonder if it has softened demand for the premium seats, last couple of times I've ended up with premium seats at check-in (although the time before that I got a middle seat, so maybe it's just luck).

I am hoping for that as I have pulled the window-and-aisle trick i.e. where you book the window and aisle and hope someone won't plonk themselves in the middle, but if they do you offer them the choice of window or aisle if they'd prefer, which they usually will as that's an upgrade. There are sometimes people who won't swap so you end up not being able to chat with your travelling companion, but to be honest I can cope with that for a couple of hours when I'll be on holiday with them for a week.

I think we're in with a decent chance, when I was weekly commuting I reckon I got an exit row middle empty maybe 50% of the time or more, people just won't pay for it (to the point that I find it odd that it's the same price to upgrade to it as it is to select window or aisle, as it can be a very undesirable seat if you get stuck between two big hefty blokes). And that was when I was just travelling alone so aisle and middle were both available to pick.

 

[takno]

I am hoping for that as I have pulled the window-and-aisle trick i.e. where you book the window and aisle and hope someone won't plonk themselves in the middle, but if they do you offer them the choice of window or aisle if they'd prefer, which they usually will as that's an upgrade. There are sometimes people who won't swap so you end up not being able to chat with your travelling companion, but to be honest I can cope with that for a couple of hours when I'll be on holiday with them for a week.

I think we're in with a decent chance, when I was weekly commuting I reckon I got an exit row middle empty maybe 50% of the time or more, people just won't pay for it (to the point that I find it odd that it's the same price to upgrade to it as it is to select window or aisle, as it can be a very undesirable seat if you get stuck between two big hefty blokes). And that was when I was just travelling alone so aisle and middle were both available to pick.

I was recently allocated a middle seat between people who'd clearly pulled the window-and-aisle trick, and they didn't offer to switch which was a bit irritating. As you say though, it's a couple of hours and I can live with the very occasional middle seat for the saving on not booking one.

In terms of premium middle seats, my mate ended up in one on Ryanair after they switched the plane from one with a 2+3 formation front row to a 3+3 formation front row. They refused to acknowledge that this was a downgrade and even defended a chargeback on the matter. Easyjet may (for the moment) be better about that sort of thing, but it doesn't lead me to think it's worth paying any kind of up-front money. I end being allocated to an empty extra legroom row on Easyjet quite often, and it's pretty rare for me to end up in a middle seat at all.

 

[Butts]

Who remembers the days of first come first served when there was no seat allocation on Easyjet (or Ryanair) and it was a mad scramble to secure the coveted Exit and Bulkhead Seats ?

Hard to believe that ever happened - how long has it been gone ?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Who remembers the days of first come first served when there was no seat allocation on Easyjet (or Ryanair) and it was a mad scramble to secure the coveted Exit and Bulkhead Seats ?

Hard to believe that ever happened - how long has it been gone ?

It was 2010 or 2011, I was weekly commuting when it changed, and I believe my (and a few others') chat with Carolyn McCall at Geneva one Thursday evening was instrumental in them allowing premium seat selection on Plus cards, which wasn't the original plan.

The trick to get the exit row (particularly the coveted double-legroom seat on the Boeings) used to be to board at the back. The faffers putting bags up at the front tended to block people getting there first who boarded at the front.

 

[Butts]

It was 2010 or 2011, I was weekly commuting when it changed, and I believe my (and a few others') chat with Carolyn McCall at Geneva one Thursday evening was instrumental in them allowing premium seat selection on Plus cards, which wasn't the original plan.

The trick to get the exit row (particularly the coveted double-legroom seat on the Boeings) used to be to board at the back. The faffers putting bags up at the front tended to block people getting there first who boarded at the front.

Was there not a point when speedy boarding was first introduced prior to seat allocation ?

This gave you a head start in the seat grab rush.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Was there not a point when speedy boarding was first introduced prior to seat allocation ?

This gave you a head start in the seat grab rush.

Yes, that was a fair way before, though I forget exactly when. There was never a complete free for all though. It used to be that, Southwest Airlines style, you got a boarding card of group A, B, C or D depending on how early you checked in, with boarding in those groups, A first. It then moved on when online checkin started that you'd always get an A for that (initially I have a feeling they gave you B which wasn't popular!), then I think speedy boarding came in as a group before A, then it was just speedy and non speedy.

 

[Ken X]

The present Mrs X used to quite like the free for all seating on Easyjet as she prefers a window seat.

She regularly popped over to Zurich to visit her family and invariably found that other travellers were keen to exit quickly. They bagged the aisle seats leaving her free to pick the window seat of her choice. At the destination there was a rush to the exits whilst she ambled off to be picked up by the family.

 

[Bald Rick]

It was 2010 or 2011

Gosh was it really that recently?

I first flew EZY in 1999 (LTN-GVA) , and was given the hard plastic reusable boarding token. Next time I flew with them was 2003 (EMA-GVA) and I definitely didn’t have that, but can’t remember if seats were allocated or not. But by 2005 I was flying with them regularly and I swear you had an allocated seat, albeit not that you could choose them at that point I think.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Gosh was it really that recently?

I first flew EZY in 1999 (LTN-GVA) , and was given the hard plastic reusable boarding token. Next time I flew with them was 2003 (EMA-GVA) and I definitely didn’t have that, but can’t remember if seats were allocated or not. But by 2005 I was flying with them regularly and I swear you had an allocated seat, albeit not that you could choose them at that point I think.

No, it definitely changed in 2010 or 2011, it was during my two year weekly commuting stint.

 

[Bald Rick]

No, it definitely changed in 2010 or 2011, it was during my two year weekly commuting stint.

I think we are at cross puproses.

In late 2012 EZY changed seat allocation such that you could pick your seat a long way out, and pay for it, if you desired. Before that, you got your seat allocated at check in (which you could do online) but only up to 24h beforehand. And it was free.

But at some point before that (certainly in 1999), there was no seat allocation at all. You checked in, were given a plastic tokeny thing which was essentially a counted place token, (ie no boarding card), and when you got on the plane it was take your pick.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think we are at cross puproses.

In late 2012 EZY changed seat allocation such that you could pick your seat a long way out, and pay for it, if you desired. Before that, you got your seat allocated at check in (which you could do online) but only up to 24h beforehand. And it was free.

But at some point before that (certainly in 1999), there was no seat allocation at all. You checked in, were given a plastic tokeny thing which was essentially a counted place token, (ie no boarding card), and when you got on the plane it was take your pick.

No, it was a direct change from free seating (with the option to pay for speedy boarding, and before that the check in time based groups A, B, C and D) to allocation with selection. There was absolutely never an intermediate step. I was using EZY twice weekly during 2010-2012 and I remember it clearly, I even chatted with the CEO about it when she visited Geneva!

You had a boarding card but it just said if you were speedy boarding or not, it didn't contain a seat number. There was a number on it but it was just a checkin sequence number, not a seat allocation.

Ryanair was exactly the same - straight from free seating with chargeable priority boarding to allocation with selection. There was never an intermediate step of allocation with no choice on either airline.

 

[Bald Rick]

No, it was a direct change from free seating (with the option to pay for speedy boarding, and before that the check in time based groups A, B, C and D) to allocation with selection. There was absolutely never an intermediate step. I was using EZY twice weekly during 2010-2012 and I remember it clearly, I even chatted with the CEO about it when she visited Geneva!

You had a boarding card but it just said if you were speedy boarding or not, it didn't contain a seat number. There was a number on it but it was just a checkin sequence number, not a seat allocation.

Ok, perhaps I’m confusing it with the transition from boarding token to boarding card then.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ok, perhaps I’m confusing it with the transition from boarding token to boarding card then.

You probably are, I've not been using them long enough to remember plastic tokens, only boarding cards (initially issued at checkin and then online).

 

[takno]

I think we are at cross puproses.

In late 2012 EZY changed seat allocation such that you could pick your seat a long way out, and pay for it, if you desired. Before that, you got your seat allocated at check in (which you could do online) but only up to 24h beforehand. And it was free.

But at some point before that (certainly in 1999), there was no seat allocation at all. You checked in, were given a plastic tokeny thing which was essentially a counted place token, (ie no boarding card), and when you got on the plane it was take your pick.

My recollection of it is that at the very start they all had seats allocated at check-in, because they were basically normal airlines with normal airline systems, albeit that they may have charged for hold luggage from day 1. The thing with boarding groups and free seating turned up a fair bit later, and didn't run for very long.

The only thing that's making me a bit uncertain is that I remember flying Go and Ryanair early on but possibly not easyJet.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ryanair definitely had allocated seating at the start as they were a conventional airline before O'Leary came on the scene. I think easyJet had open seating from day one thought it had a variety of systems for determining who got on first.

 

[Bald Rick]

Ryanair definitely had allocated seating at the start as they were a conventional airline before O'Leary came on the scene. I think easyJet had open seating from day one thought it had a variety of systems for determining who got on first.

Yes EZY definitely followed the SWAirlines model of free(for all) seating and no boarding cards at the start.

 

[TravelDream]

Note that even Southwest Airlines has now moved to allocated seating.

People are willing to pay to sit together, to be near the front, for extra legroom seats, for window seats etc etc. and it's a lot of money the airline is leaving behind if they don't charge.

easyjet, or indeed any airline, would be insane to leave such a huge level of revenue go.

@Bletchleyite is very right above. It was a direct move from free for all the assigned. Ryanair was a different move. From assigned, to free seating and then back to assigned. Hard to believe Ryanair also used to give out free food and drink. Very different in the pre O'Leary times.

And yes, my experience now is that, generally, a 15kg hold bag is slightly cheaper than a large cabin bag. Clearly EasyJet see the value in putting luggage where it belongs- in the hold- and now price accordingly.

Something which some decry, but which I appreciate about low cost carriers and it's good easyjet is doing this.

 

[Alpine Rider]

A minor observation on a recent weekend trip from Geneva to Luton. Outward from GVA I had minimal luggage so the free underseat was ample. However extra shopping meant I needed to pay extra to bring larger bag on the return trip. I was surprised to find that in addition to being allowed to carry the extra large cabin bag I also was automatically able to join the speedy boarding group, which ensured I had no problem finding space for my bag in the overhead locker above my seat.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A minor observation on a recent weekend trip from Geneva to Luton. Outward from GVA I had minimal luggage so the free underseat was ample. However extra shopping meant I needed to pay extra to bring larger bag on the return trip. I was surprised to find that in addition to being allowed to carry the extra large cabin bag I also was automatically able to join the speedy boarding group, which ensured I had no problem finding space for my bag in the overhead locker above my seat.

That is precisely why a large cabin bag comes with speedy boarding - they need to make sure there's space for it. If you get on last and a load of people put their small cabin bags up, then they've got to waste time reshuffling stuff back under seats, or waste even more time putting stuff in the hold and arguing about it.

 

[takno]

A minor observation on a recent weekend trip from Geneva to Luton. Outward from GVA I had minimal luggage so the free underseat was ample. However extra shopping meant I needed to pay extra to bring larger bag on the return trip. I was surprised to find that in addition to being allowed to carry the extra large cabin bag I also was automatically able to join the speedy boarding group, which ensured I had no problem finding space for my bag in the overhead locker above my seat.

Works well for everybody. You will definitely be able to fit it in the overheads, the gate staff find it much easier to check that people's bags are within the right size limit, and once they start letting underseat-only passengers on they know it's safe to fill any empty locker space rather than cramming everything under the seat.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I was surprised to find that in addition to being allowed to carry the extra large cabin bag I also was automatically able to join the speedy boarding group

It helps the gate staff screen passengers. If you have speedy boarding then you're allowed the bigger bag, if you don't then they will properly scrutinise your small bag to make sure it is within dimensions.

It also makes sense as an aircraft will only accommodate so many large cabin bags- I think it is about 90 on an A320- so it's a way of making sure the people who have large bags can get a spot for them.