I am around though doubt if I'll get chance to do much reviewing of my own!
I am around though doubt if I'll get chance to do much reviewing of my own!
Member since:27.06.2004
Reviews:39
Members who trust:64
Well this review will be constructed in two parts. Firstly, it will cover Easyjet in a more general sense, talking about it’s services and everything. I will also within this review cover my own personal experiences of Easyjet and tell you more about the quality of service I found.
As you may or may not know, Easyjet were one of the very first Low-fare airlines. It led the way in changing the cost of travel to places such as Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Amsterdam and many more. The idea of Easyjet is that it is a no-frills airline, i.e. you basically pay for a seat on a plane, there is no form of entertainment, no meals, nothing extra, just your seat. Now though this may not suit some on say a flight for two hours to say somewhere like Madrid or Barcelona, I personally find it extremely efficient.
The company started out running only certain services from certain airports to certain destinations. Mainly, it started out at two airports, which were Liverpool Airport (now Liverpool John LennonAirport) and London- Luton Airport. Over the past few years, due in part to increased competition; they have expanded the number of airports you can fly from, as well as the destinations you can fly to. Firstly it must be made clear that they do not fly from airports such as Heathrow or Manchester, simply because the use of the airport is greater and so prices would be higher. I live in Widnes, which is literally 15 minutes drive from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, so for me it is very convenient. Easyjet now fly to the following places from LJL Airport, Basle, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris Charles de Gaulle,
Palma de Mallorca and Amsterdam. As well as Nice and Belfast.
As some of you already know, I have recently been to Paris and so I decided to use Easyjet as I already knew of a great hotel to stay in so basically I only needed my flight over there. I went to Paris in Christmas of 2002 on Easyjet and was impressed then so I decided to book with them again. The ease of booking is remarkable. You can do it by the phone but it is cheaper to book via the Internet. All you need to do is access the Easyjet website at www.easyjet.co.uk and then you are automatically presented with the booking screen. From here you choose the destination you want to fly from and to. After this, it takes you to the next page, which gives you a choice of flights and times on the dates you have selected and the same for your return journey, if indeed you make one.
When we went to Paris, the Easyjet flight times were extremely convenient. We booked for a Friday flight out at 8am, which meant we arrived in Paris at 10.15am (CET) or 9.15am (BST). That way then, it meant we still had a full day in Paris because all we had to do is get a half an hour train into the centre and then we had the day to ourselves. Similarly, the time of our return journey on the Sunday was really convenient. We left Paris at 10.15pm (CET) and arrived at Liverpool at 10.50pm (BST). Therefore we had a full day on the Sunday to ourselves too.
As far as I’m aware, Easyjet offer the same sort of convenient flights for other destinations too. They also offer you the chance to hire a car via their website. We in fact did this when we went in December (as I was with my mum and dad then) and the company we used was Europcar. This time it was just me and my girlfriend Claire and although I can drive you have to be 21! Plus, the French public transport system is so cheap and efficient; a car seems a pretty pointless thing really!
Anyway, I made my reservation and it was cheap. It cost me £45 return from Liverpool to Charles de Gaulle airport. Now you can actually do it cheaper than that but the cost is higher because I had the more convenient flight times. Any mid-afternoon flights would be £35 or so.
So, I arrived at the airport two hours before my flight (6.00am- how tired was I?!). In fact with Easyjet you don’t have to arrive that early, they recommend only an hour before but it is better to be earlier as you get preference on when you board the plane so you can get better seats. Plus, we wanted time to have a breakfast too! Check-in itself is dead easy. All you need is your passport and possibly your confirmation letter although I was never asked for it. They then just input your name(s) into the computer and give you your boarding cards and tell you what time boarding commences. Simple! Just one note on the letter as I failed to say it before, you don’t get a letter via the post, it is merely via e-mail and then you can print it out. Whether this is the same via the phone I don’t know. Remember furthermore that telephone bookings are subject to a higher price.
We then just waited around in LJL Airport until it was boarding time. When it came to boarding, we were early so we had passes 13 and 14 so we were called in the first lot. In fact the first call is for numbers 1-30 and people with small children. So we boarded the plane, got good seats (together) and sat back to enjoy the flight. The planes themselves are comfortable. Having also flown transatlantic this year, it felt quite small, but that was because I’d been on a Boeing Jumbo Jet! That said the pitch (i.e. leg-room) you received was actually very good. I am about 6’3” and I cant honestly say I felt uncomfortable or squashed, which shows that it is a fair size you get.
Once you are up in the air, there is a kiosk where you can buy food and some perfumes. You can pay in both Pounds and Euros. To give you an idea of some of the prices, I’ll list what I can remember!
Small can of Pop (150ml): £0.60 Bottle of water (330ml): £1 Can of Heineken (330ml): £3 Small tube of Pringles: £1 Bar of Dairy Milk: £0.60 Ribena (Carton): £1
There was other stuff but I can’t really remember what else (to be honest there isn’t much more in the way of food or drink). I feel that these prices aren’t that bad really considering it is on the plane. Some stuff is better value than others. To be honest we all expect to pay higher for the stuff on planes and I though that Easyjet was similar if not slightly cheaper than most other airlines. I must also comment that I found the staff on both flights to be extremely helpful and courteous.
Once we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, we were transferred into Terminal 3. now this is the only drawback I have found with Easyjet and to be honest it isn’t even their fault, more the actual airport. This airport and more specifically this terminal is pretty rubbish to be honest. Considering it is so big, this efficiency and the standard of the staff is pretty damned poor. Very few can even speak English! For example (I’m not talking about the start of our return journey now by the way) we went back to the airport once again via train. The train itself arrives at Terminal 2. Now, the train station going out of Charles de Gaulle was in a good position, possibly 5 minutes walk from Terminal 3. However, the inbound train station is miles away from Terminal 3! So you have to get a bus from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3. This bus is complimentary but rubbish. We weren’t sure what bus to get and the driver didn’t speak a word of English! Thankfully, both Claire and me have done A-level French and could manage to ask how to use the bus and where it went. God knows what someone who can’t speak French would have done!
Nevertheless, as I say this is more the airport than Easyjet but at the same time it is part of using Easyjet so I thought a warning would be good! Once we arrived at Terminal 3 (finally!) we checked in at the Easyjet desks, which were easy to locate (unlike the Terminal) and we then followed the same check-in procedure as at Liverpool. I’ve just thought about something critical I have missed! With Easyjet you no longer have a weight restriction on your hand luggage, so as long as the bag is no bigger than 50cm x 40cm x 20 cm and you can lift it on your own, you can take it on. This means avoiding a queue for your suitcase if you are only staying for a long weekend and can’t be bothered with the wait! This is applicable on all flights from all destinations.
Once we had checked in we went through customs, which were particularly strict I might add! They even had a curtained room for strip-searching! Not good! We also went to the duty free, which was rubbish and extortionate and waited for our plane. Now another complaint about the airport and it’s staff. They haven’t a bloody clue! We got on a bus to take us to our plane but the driver duly took us to the plane going to bloody Luton! Anyway, when we finally got to our plane, the pilot told us that Charles de Gaulle thought our plane was the London-Luton one and theirs was the LJL one. So they had to transfer luggage onto different ones! Fortunately the delay wasn’t long and Easyjet (despite it not being their fault) were extremely apologetic and everyone realised it was the inept workers of Charles de Gaulle and not Easyjet.
So, once we were in the air, it was the same thing again, including prices in kiosk and everything. The staff were again superb and overall it was a pleasant return flight. I have to say, for what you get Easyjet are very good. I was well impressed by the efficiency with which the service is run and that I more than had value for money. I wont give them 5 out of 5 because at the end of the day if we are being honest its not quite first class or anything. Furthermore, you have to fly to Charles de Gaulle if you want to go to Paris and although it isnt their fault, it is part of flying with them and I didn't like it. Nonetheless, taken for what it is, Easyjet is really good.
Of course, not everyone will have had the same experience as I had with Easyjet. As with anything of this type, some people will have had problems and accordingly will not like them at all. However, I can only say that having used them twice, they have been great and I would and will most definitely use them again in future. If you want to know anything more about Easyjet or any part of its service then either visit their website on www.easyjet.co.uk or just drop me a line in my guestbook and I shall see if I can help you out!
PS those expecting my next review to be of the Amber Spyglass, apologies. I have lent the book out and so cant do the review properly until I get it back. However, I’ll receive it back this weekend so it will not be too long! Cheers!
A pal of mine has just flown out to italy with easy jet and she hated them. She said everything was shabby !! Maybe they were having an off day lol !
Heidi xx
fun2night4us 01.10.2004 16:19
Great review.... I might have to be flying to Italy monthly and have been meaning to check into the Easyjets reliability... sounds pretty Good...
mrsxopher 26.09.2004 22:47
We need easyjet in America. I have never flown easyjet, but I DO think they get a worse rap than necessary. I mean, everytime I watch their program or hear complaints online or anything, the problem is usually the caused and drawn out by the CUSTOMER and not the company. I really think that. It is nice to see someone finally standing up and talking about their good points, for example they are CHEAP and they get you to your destination. There you have it, low cost, and performance...the two factors highest on my list of priorities when making purchases! Lets fly in the orange tin can!
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Advantages: Can be cheap, wide variety of destinations and routes, online booking, friendly cabin crew Disadvantages: Can be pricey, no frills, not so good check in experience, out of town airports
Katieshaz 27.12.2007 (29.12.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of EasyJet - EZU
Advantages: Low cost travel at its best, plenty of destinations, fly into centrally located airports Disadvantages: Seats a bit cramped, lack of product on board.
KELLYLOUJ 13.12.2007 (12.11.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of EasyJet - EZU
Advantages: Online trading - should be extremely advantages Disadvantages: get it wrong and you're heavily punished both psychologically and financially
corky 14.07.2000 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of EasyJet - EZU
exceptional by (5%):
very helpful by (95%):
