Easyjet - a cut above their peers (easyJet)

Member Name: edinburgher

Product:	easyJet
Date:	06/07/09 (79 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good levels of customer service, fairly competitive prices, reliability

Disadvantages: Added charges/misleading flight times?

With their good levels of customer service, fairly competitive prices, reliability and great range of destinations, it can be easy to take Easyjet for granted. Since becoming established as one of the top budget carriers in Europe they've made inroads into the UK market in particular and now everyone from business commuters to families and an awful lot of tourists rely upon them to get from A to B.

They've obviously worked hard to achieve this and while price is a major factor for most people, I'm a genuine believer in the idea that people won't tolerate terrible service just to save money (at least not with any regularity).

*Better than all the rest?*

Easyjet are a cut above their peers and where possible I fly with BA (if I can get a bargain), or Easyjet. I assume that their flights will be pretty much on time, boarded in a reasonably efficient manner and staffed by people who are good enough at their jobs to pay attention and help out where needed.

*Reliably reliable*

As an anecdotal example of the trust I have in their brand, consider the following. We're going to Germany in September and are flying with Ryanair (we didn't pay for the flights). When hearing who we were flying with we groaned, as said airline has a bit of an iffy reputation. This never happens with Easyjet and like taking a bus or commuter train I never worry about using them, or even give it much thought past booking!

*Shiny shiny website*

Easyjet's main point of sale is www.easyjet.com, their website extraordinaire. I reviewed this recently and it's a great way to book, with plenty of route and background information, value added extras and an easy to use flight finding interface. While the raft of potential added fees means that their 'budget' flights are less deserving of that moniker these days, I won't go into them in any detail here (please see my last review).

Added charges aside, you do see what you're paying for well before the final payment stage and you're free to make up your own mind after comparing the same routes with the competitors. Easyjet are often still the cheapest company for many of the common European destinations.

I believe you can also book through their contact (call) centre, but perversely enough when you look for this number on their website it requires you to register online! Not very helpful for someone who's perhaps looking for the information for a friend or family member who doesn't use the internet or isn't very confident using it...

*Luggage and check in*

Many of the people I see flying with Easyjet take fairly hefty pieces of hand luggage as the airline now charges £8 for a hold bag. This is a little steep for me, as I can easily get enough clothes for seven days into my duffel bag. While I feel a little guilty sticking it in the overhead locker, it's hopefully no worse than some of the women I see with a wheeled case, laptop bag and a handbag.

In theory you can be asked to put large pieces of hand luggage in the hold at cost, but I've never seen this happen. One downside to this trend is the fact that people can hold up queuing and boarding if they're trying to manage large bags that they can't comfortably handle. It's a catch 22 - I wouldn't suggest that they tighten restrictions on hand luggage as I might end up losing out, but it can be annoying.

Check in where required is fine and staff are typically friendly, interested and ask all the questions required.

*(Bored)ing the plane - what's that extra 30 minutes for?*

Boarding an Easyjet flight can be a real nuisance. Their flights always have very short turnaround times, which means that you'll often be queued and waiting to go while people are still coming off the plane that you'll be flying on. This usually results in everyone standing waiting for 20 minutes or so at the gate, which is very dull. In all fairness, however, things go speedily once you're allowed to go out onto the runway. Security checks are always carried out perfectly and staff are on hand to answer queries.

Another trend with Easyjet flights is the fact that they seem to massage their flight times somewhat. For example, the Gatwick-Glasgow flight (50 minutes realistically) is usually marked as 80-90 minutes. It's my belief that this helps to compensate for the fact that boarding is normally late: an airline looks very good when they can board you late and still get you to your destination 15 minutes 'early'. They're certainly not the only airline to do so, but it does seem particularly blatant with them.

*Any drinks or snacks? Fragrance? Gifts? Train tickets? Scratch cards? Inflatable shark? Timeshare in Croatia?*

I might be exaggerating above, but the sheer amount of add on sales that Easyjet cabin crew are forced to take part in is astounding! On my most recent flight we were offered:

Drinks and snacks
Fragrance and duty free
Gifts (announced seperately)
Scratch cards
Gatwick Express tickets
Car hire
Charitable donation

They barely have a chance to draw breath and on occasion it can feel a bit like being glued to a seat in a slightly chavvy shopping centre. I'm sure the cabin crew don't like having to offer it all, but it doesn't make it any less awkward as you ignore them for the umpteenth time. On short flights in particular it can be a bit much.

*Cabin crew in general*

Oh, those orange uniforms! Despite being dressed like the unwanted offspring of circus performers and Oompah Loompahs, the brave men and women of Easyjet are stars. I've never met a surly or disinterested member of staff (honestly) and have been flying with them for many years now. They go about their jobs with courtesy and efficiency and always have an extra moment to chat to interested kids, fetch a bag for someone who really needs their iPod, or anything else that their customers can throw at them.

They are well paid when compared to the average and I feel that they earn it. Many of them seem to speak multiple languages fluently and they all seem to have a knack for diplomacy (which is probably the first thing they're taught).

The announcements from the flight deck are also informative - if infrequent - and it's standard to receive at least one cheery message from the cabin or first officer letting you know how the flight is progressing.

Summary: While they have a few failings as an airline, Easyjet easily surpass the competition