A Tale of Two Extremes (easyJet)

Name: lulu2004

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Product:	easyJet
Date:	26/09/04 (1163 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very cheap, friendly, efficient staff

Disadvantages: Hit or Miss experiences

Easy Jet… a tale of two extremes!

My Story…
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I can’t make up my mind about EasyJet. Let me start from the beginning. In June this year I booked a flight with EasyJet from Belfast to Amsterdam, arrived at 7:30 on the dot to check in, and sat in the departure lounge eagerly awaiting my call to board. It never came. EasyJet had cancelled my flight, without any announcement as I sat in ignorant bliss in departures with priority boarding card number 3. Needless to say when Cancelled eventually appeared on the screen, all the seats on the next available flights had been taken by the people who were last in the queue to check-in. This was very unfair as I’d been there two hours before them. Needless to say I made my complaint known to the staff, managers and anyone who would listen. They told me that they would refund, but that if I wanted to go to Amsterdam I had to book another flight right now. I couldn’t decide whether it was better to cancel all together, or go on holiday for three days instead of seven. As I deliberated they told me in no uncertain terms that I was holding up the queue, and I felt forced into taking another flight four days later by the staff.

After calming down, and getting over my disappointment at home I realised that I should have cancelled the holiday; after all I’d been looking forward to it for months and three days was a miserable summer holiday. Had the staff been more patient I would have certainly reached that decision without the pressure. I got on the case immediately, complaining to head office about the way the staff had treated me. I retold the whole story in a scurry of emails and said that I wasn’t going to shut up until I got satisfaction from the company. A few days later a lovely e-mail arrived from head-office at EasyJet. It said that they were sorry about the experience that I’d had, and that although they would not refund at this stage, they would give me £150 credit as a good-will gesture to use with EasyJet within six months. I was delighted. It was much more than I’d expected, and redeemed my faith in EasyJet.

So Who are EasyJet? What do they do? And Are they any good?
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EasyJet are a super low cost airline who primarily book over the internet. If you book over the phone it costs quite a bit more and isn’t half as efficient. If you go to URL: www.easyjet.com you will be asked to select your preferred language, from there you simply enter your nearest airport and your desired destination (they fly to 55 different airports in Europe) , how many people are travelling with you and the dates you want to travel. Easyjet.com will take care of everything else. Within a matter of seconds the possible times and dates that Easyjet have free will be given to you. These will be in ascending order. Typically a flight will only cost £26+ but sometimes there are cheaper deals. However the later you book, the more expensive the flight will be. There is also a small airport tax fee.

After you select your flights you proceed to a screen where you put in your credit card details and the names of the flyers. You are then emailed a code. You must keep this; as it is your ticket. EasyJet are one of the ticketless airlines. The short code is your ticket. It’s as easy as that! If you book over the telephone they send you out a letter instead of an email, but it is much the same. In my experience the telephone lines are very slow.

The website also links to hotels, car rental and travel insurance which can be booked at reduced rates through EasyJet. However I have no experience of these. My view on the booking process is that it is wonderfully simple and straightforward. I have no complaints whatsoever about EasyJet in this instance.

My Trip
******
After my first EasyJet fiasco I booked my flights for Amsterdam for September. This had to be performed over the phone as I was redeeming a voucher, although thankfully I got the Internet price rather than the telephone price. Flights for myself and my boyfriend from Belfast to Amsterdam cost £157 including tax, and I paid the extra with my credit card. This was actually quite expensive but it was to do with the weekend we had booked- apparently it is a busy period for flights. Anyway, we were happy enough, and just hoped that we would get there this time!

On the morning we checked in two hours before the scheduled flight time. EasyJet have abolished their hand-luggage weight, so as long as your bag isn’t huge, you can bring it on along with you. My hand luggage went through with no problems, but as my boyf had two bags one had to go into cargo. (and they say it’s women who pack too much!) Check-in took under five minutes, and the man at the desk was very cheerful and polite. Things were great so far!

We sat around the departures lounge for the rest of the time, popping in and out of duty free until right on time “please make your way to flight number ****” told us that we were ready for boarding. Friendly flight attendants asked for priority passes 1-30 to board first and luckily we were within that number. A few moments later we were boarding a huge clean plane. We picked the seats near the escape at the wing as these had the most leg room and my boy is 6’3”. But we needn’t have worried, as all the seats were remarkably spacious and the aeroplane seemed new. You just choose where you want to sit with EasyJet. First come first served is their motto. Although the Stewards were very friendly and approachable so I’m sure they would have organised help if you needed it.

There was a five minute delay and the very jovial pilot explained that one of the passengers had got held up at security and that we’d be better waiting for him as it would take forever to take his luggage from the hold. Two minutes later a flustered bob geldof look-a-like boarded the plane and we were all set to go. The hostesses performed the safety ritual (here, here and here- always looks like a bizarre dance routine!) A smooth take-off and flight and one hour five minutes later we touched down in Schipol Airport, Amsterdam. Unfortunately a 12 minute taxi to the terminal was ahead of us. That seemed longer than the flight.

I must add that EasyJet are the ultimate “No Frills” airline. You won’t find a little hot baby-wipe on your meal tin. If you want food, you have to buy it yourself. And you can forget an in-flight film! The European flights are way too short. I also wouldn’t recommend buying the food on the trolley that they wheel through the plane about half an hour into the flight- it is just so expensive. A small beer costs £3 and a bar of chocolate costs almost £1. However, if you want a little glass of water they will give this to you no problem. They also have a Duty-Free shop on board should you want to purchase any perfume or expensive make-up. Cigarettes are not available.

After a thorough check-in at Schipol we were free to enter Holland were we had a weekend of pure debauchery… but that’s another review! The flight home from Amsterdam was every bit as efficient, although the flight itself took well over an hour due to bad weather conditions. But that is no fault of EasyJet.

The Verdict
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I was quite peeved with EasyJet after my first experience, but my second experience was terrific. I think this reflects that the airline is quite hit-or-miss in general. However I will certainly use them again. In the past I have used Ryanair and been happy with their performance, but EasyJet did outshine Ryanair with my most recent venture. I don’t expect to receive first class attention when I book a cheap flight, but the standard of the plane and stewardesses gave the impression that I’d paid £300 for my flight instead of £75. When I flew to Brussels with Ryanair last year it was in a cramped tin plane, and that was what I expected from EasyJet, but the reality was much better.

I have experienced rude EasyJet staff and I have complained about that, but now I have also experienced very helpful staff and I know I should write to inform EasyJet that I withdraw my complaints about their staff. Perhaps the nasty woman I encountered that first occasion was having a bad day. I suppose it must be hard dealing with thousands if people everyday.

I’ll give it four stars because of my bad experience, but EasyJet is worth a try in my opinion!

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