Baggage handling and information re allowances very poor
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Introduction ~~~~~~~~~ In May 2002 I flew on Easyjet from Edinburgh to Gatwick with my (then) 4 month old little girl. I had flown many times before but this was my little girl's first flight. Also it was the first time I had used a budget airline and the first time I had flown without my husband. Here is a summary of my experiences. I hope it will be helpful to other people contemplating flying for the first time with young children.
Booking ~~~~~~ Booking online for an infant was very confusing. I couldn't see how to tell the airline how I would have a little one with me. I emailed Easyjet customer services for help and they replied within 48 hours. Apparently on the drop down menu for title they have Mr, Mrs Miss and Ms and then Mr + infant, Mrs + infant and so on.
Fares ~~~~ I thought the fares on Easyjet were very fair. I booked online a month in advance and paid £65 return including all taxes. That was for very popular lunchtime flights on a Friday and a Sunday. Easyjet add a surcharge if you pay by credit card but at these prices you can use a Switch or Visa Debit card and thus avoid the surcharge.
Photo ID ~~~~~~~ One thing you should be aware of when travelling with a child. Unlike BA Easyjet require ALL passengers to carry photo id AND THAT INCLUDES INFANTS. You can use you driving licence but for a child it would have to be something like a passport. So make sure you get one for your child before you travel!!
One thing that bugged me was that having shown my passport at the check-in desk I was then required to show it again with the boarding card when I boarded the plane. When carrying a young child, handbag and rucksack that is practically impossible. I realise that security has been increased since September 11th but BA don't require photo id at all so in my opinion a passport at check-in should be sufficient. If airlines are concerned about passengers swapping places after check-in then ALL domestic airlines should adopt a policy of requiring photo id. If only some are doing this it is like trying to plug a very large hole with a very small finger.
Seating ~~~~~~~ Children under 2 travel free on their parent's lap and in theory are allowed to board the plane first although I wasn't given this option on the way down. If you are travelling with an infant you might like to consider taking a seat at the back of the plane as the loos at the front don't have baby changing facilities.
You are given a special lap belt which fits onto your own and loops around your child. If you have never used one before the staff onboard are very helpful and will help you fasten it. When I flew down they also stowed away my rucksack as well which was great as my little girl can't sit up yet and has to be held all the time.
On the journey down to London I sat by the window. I really wanted an aisle seat but I could see that if I took one it would involve me having to get up again and re-do all the seat belts once people came to fill the other two seats. Having got settled and ready for takeoff my little girl then did a 'number two' in her nappy and it became very evident that I would have to get up and change her in flight, so on reflection an aisle seat was maybe a bad idea. Fortunately the couple who sat next to me were very nice and didn't mind getting up again when I needed to get out to change her. Also on the flight down not many people wanted to buy food so they didn't bring out a trolley, this made it easier to get to the loo.
Nappy Changing ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As I mentioned previously, there are no baby changing facilities in the loos at the front of the plane. If you are changing a baby on an Easyjet aircraft (the whole fleet is 737s) there is a little shelf that lifts down over the loo and the staff will help you get it down if you are struggling. But the shelf is quite hard and you may want to take along a soft towel or fold-up changing mat of your own, if only just to rest your baby's head on. Do also bear in mind that you cannot go to the loo yourself with a baby.
One thing I should mention is that your child is a bit older or quite tall and still in nappies (my little girl was just two when we travelled to the USA recently so still needed to be changed) then the shelf is likely to be far too small to change them. Fortunately Lucy is quite petite so I evolved a compromise whereby I laid her down diagonally with her legs dangling off the edge of the shelf but I could see it was quite uncomfortable for her.
Some parents change toddlers standing up, but there is simply no room in an aircraft loo to do this and quite often if the bloke before you has had trouble with his aim, then the state of the floor will be less than desirable. I guess you could stand a toddler on the shelf, but if the loo has a low curved roof this is often impossible and there is always the danger that they could fall off if there is sudden turbulance.
Baggage ~~~~~~~ I used up my checked in luggage allowance (1 piece) checking Lucy's car seat. This meant I had to carry everything we needed for the entire weekend, including changes of clothing and nappies, in a small rucksack on my back. Infants don't have a seat so they don't get a luggage allowance. Travel light if you can. Fortunately my car seat had a small inside pocket where I stuffed a spare t-shirt socks and pair of knickers for me. I was travelling to a school reunion and wanted to look nice, but there simply wasn't room to carry a dress so I borrowed some clothes and shoes off my sister, who is fortunately the same size as me.
If you don't want a car seat to get dirty en route I suggest you take along a large clear STRONG plastic bag to wrap it in and a plastic cord to fasten it. If you work in an office bags used to collect old toner cartridges or shredded paper are ideal. I used a non returnable plastic tie similar to ones used to prevent car hub caps getting stolen. Get whoever is meeting you at the other end to bring along a pair of sissors so you can cut the tie and re-use the bag for the return journey. DON'T USE A BLACK BIN LINER. For one thing these aren't strong enough, the other thing is that you want the baggage handlers to see it is a car seat. They won't treat it with respect if they don't know what it is.
How Easyjet deal with car seats is that you check it in and get given a stick on label to tell the baggage handlers where it is going. Then you have to truck it round to the excess/oversize baggage desk yourself, much as if it were a pair of golf clubs. At Gatwick this involves a fairly long journey, so leave yourself plenty of time.
One thing Easyjet didn't tell me is that in addition to your car seat you are also allowed to check a small buggy at no extra charge. In fact you can take the buggy right to the door of the plane and they will then take it off you and store it in the forward hold. Not sure if you get it back as the plane lands, or later on the luggage carousel, I imagine it is the former but if so, sitting at the back of the plane sometimes means you disembark from the back steps so make sure one of the cabin crew knows you need to collect your buggy beforehand.
One thing you should be aware of when travelling into Gatwick on Easyjet is that baggage collection is a JOKE. It takes place in a corridor on the way to the arrivals hall. There are no toilets, very few seats and no air conditioning. The luggage is brought up by hand onto a small set of rollers maybe 25 feet wide. There is no baggage carousel. Passengers have to stand 20 deep straining to see suitcases and fighting their way to the front of the belt and and back again.
With luggage trolleys littering an extremely narrow and confined space it is impossible to move close to the belt or to get out again once you have collected your baggage. With a young child to carry I was nearly in tears as I couldn't leave her anywhere as the nearest seat was out of my sight and I couldn't put her on the floor because she would have been trampled. In the end I had to leave my rucksack on a trolley at the back of the room where anyone could have walked off with it and I wouldn't even have known. Getting the car seat off the belt with one hand whilst holding a baby in the other was also fairly interesting.
I realise that none of this was Easyjet's fault directly but the airline really need to exert more pressure on the Gatwick authorities for better facilities. I have seen better baggage collection operations in Third World countries. Also once you have collected your baggage you must wheel your trolley one handed up a very steep slope to the arrivals hall whilst carrying a child on the other arm. Definitely not child friendly. Or disabled friendly for that matter.
Summary ~~~~~~~ The flight itself was not as bad as I had feared for the price. I had expected to be treated like cattle but the cabin crew were friendly and helpful and although there wasn't a lot of room in the seats it wasn't too uncomfortable. The prices for the on board food were a bit expensive but I suppose you could always bring your own.
I would have appreciated priority boarding on the downward flight but again this is up to individuals calling the flight and in the end I managed ok. Not having seat numbers probably made it easier with a young child. I could make a beeline for an unoccupied part of the plane and get organised.
I would have appreciated more information about baggage allowances for families travelling with small children and more help with actually getting the bagage checked onto the plane.
I would probably travel on Easyjet again with a young child. Regrettably, an airline can be the best in the world but if the facilities they can obtain at airports are consistently below standard, it can cause real problems for passengers. Easyjet ought to put more pressure on the authorities at Gatwick for better baggage collection facilities as this reflects badly on the airline and the airline employees end up getting a lot of abuse for something which is basically not their fault. Another thing is that Easyjet flights are notorious for delays and there are rarely enough seats for everyone to wait at the departure gates.
All in all, fairly good value for the price. I wouldn't pay more, though.
More details
Class flown most frequently
Economy
How often do you travel with this airline
First time
Where did you book
Directly with this airline
Safety
Good
How well does it cater for disabled people
It is not one of their priorities
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