Real life sucks. Just when one thing seems sorted another knocks you sideways instead. Gah. Slowly g...
Real life sucks. Just when one thing seems sorted another knocks you sideways instead. Gah. Slowly getting back to grips on here but can they please stop changing things?
Member since:25.06.2003
Reviews:257
Members who trust:60
Its bright orange, cheap and makes flying Easy, so here's my review of the Easyjet flights to follow up from the review of the easyjet.com booking process.
Arriving at your airport all you need to do is turn up at the check-in desk with your ID and attempt to smile at the person behind the desk, but at 5.35 am after having been driving for an hour and almost being late due to the queue at the check-in for your car parking that is a challenge. So skipping the journey and service at the car park (a review previously) I got off the shuttle bus outside the South terminal at Gatwick just 10 minutes before my flight check-in was due to close, fearing that I would end up like one of the people you see so often on Airline I hurried in to the terminal building and looked frantically in area C (where the Easyjet check-in desks are all sited) but couldn't find one with Glasgow on the overhead screen, which is always going to worry you at that time of day.
Spotting the Easyjet customer services desk I headed across the concourse and saw right next to the customer services desk another Easyjet check-in desk with its overhead sign obscured by a pillar, peering around the pillar I find that this desk is the elusive Glasgow desk, all alone in area D, I swear they are all trying to confuse me and at this time in the morning
its easy to do (long story of 2 closed roads and no sign posts earlier in my journey to Gatwick).
Check in really is as simple as they say, putting my case on the conveyor belt it weighs far less than the limit (as expected given its contents are spare jeans, a t-shirt and clean undies) the guy behind the desk asks the usual questions, Can I see your ID please?, No not that one, a photographic one (apparently they won't take debit cards with a photo on them which is worth noting, but they will accept my Security Pass for work which has just my photo and name, and the army's picture doodah whatsit- if it belonged to a person it'd be a coat of arms but not sure if that's the description when its for something else). Alternatives are you're Drivers Licence or Provisional, or Passport. Anyone interfered with the bag, asked you to carry anything etc. Given that I packed at 3.25 am before leaving at 3.30 am its highly doubtful that anyone can have added anything without my noticing, which is good.
Now feeling more relaxed I head to security and encounter a 15 minute queue to get in to the departure lounge. Ok so I was worrying again now, my boarding pass says I should be at my gate by now, I know they can't go without me but you know the feeling. At the gate boarding is just starting. Easyjet like a lot of airlines now have priority boarding, so there is Group SB which is Speedy Boarding, you pay for this as an extra when booking your flight it costs between £2.50 and £7.50 depending on the airport you are departing from, also there is another priority group for people travelling with young children (under 5) or those with disabilities, followed by groups A-D these are assigned depending on how early you check in. On this occasion I was group D as I was so late checking in. But despite this it took less than 15 minutes to get everyone aboard. If you opt for online check-in you are automatically assigned to boarding group C.
I had heard a lot of complaints about the lack of reserved seating on Easyjet's service but despite being among the last aboard didn't find it a problem in the slightest, I spent my flight to Glasgow sat in a middle seat the people to either side pleasant enough my only problem was a child of about 8 sat behind me who cried all the way north, but of course that wasn't the companies fault, but his parents who put in ear plugs and ignored him despite the stewards asking them to try and calm him!
The cabin crew (as we are meant to be calling them now) didn't push you to buy drinks or items from the catalogue, but it has to be said at that time in the morning the bright orange really isn't easy on the eye!
On landing we were quickly through the security and at the baggage reclaim, the bags were quickly off the plane and by 8.05am I was in my boyfriend's car leaving the airport. So that leg of my trip with Easyjet was fantastic, except the child, can the return journey be as simple?
My return journey was from Edinburgh to Gatwick at a much more humane time of 12.35pm. This meant that my checkin had to be before 11.55 am, once again I was running later than planned, it's a habit of both mine and my boyfriend's to be on the last minute most of the time but this time we did have time to have a walk around the airport and buy some breakfast before I had to join yet another queue to get through security.
Once again being in boarding group D, meant I had a short wait to get on the plane, but as with my outward trip there were plenty of seats available. The flight was slightly shorter than from London to Glasgow and take off felt somewhat hairy as there was a strong wind (as is usual around Edinburgh). But the flight was eventless not even any crying kids this time.
Again the crew were none intrusive but there was one incident that marred my overall excellent opinion of the airline as I thought that overhearing the staff laughing at a passengers outfit was totally inappropriate (especially when they have chosen to work in a bright orange outfit!) and I have complained to the airline about it.
The seats were plenty wide enough and had plenty of leg room, but it is worth noting that I'm not the tallest (around 5ft3) and about average build (size 14) and found that I was perfectly comfortable and was only occasionally reminded that I was sitting beside people when on the return flight when my seat companion who was a tall large man's elbow dropped off the armrest!
On both flights I am ashamed to admit that I forgot to lock my case, but on both occasions my case arrived intact and apparently unmolested, the ground crew at the airports got the cases from the plane to baggage reclaim in less than 20 minutes which I believe is in part due to the size of the aircraft (its easier to unload smaller ones).
As a budget airline they don't serve food onboard, though some may be available on longer flights, am unsure about this certainly there was none on mine, also they don't fly long haul. Easyjet claim to have 27% less CO2 emissions per passenger than any other airline, and have taken steps to reduce this further by for example reducing he size of the inflight magazine and not publishing a catalogue of available products for every passenger instead you can ask the crew for one then hand it back. Also they note that the average age of their planes is just 2.2 years (I think, read it in the magazine but wasn't really paying much attention so could be mistaken) and they have recently replaced several older planes in favour of new ones with more environmentally friendly engines, if a jet engine can ever be called friendly to the environment, their oldest aircraft are between 7 and 10 years old. There is a section on the website with further information on their Environmental Code. For information on carbon footprints can be found on carbonfootrpint.com where if so inclined you can offset your carbon emissions caused by the flights.
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Apr 9th, 2007
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