I would urge families travelling with easyJet to be extremely wary of their "Speedy
Boarding" service.
Recently, my wife and three young daughters flew from Barcelona to Liverpool.
As the children had not flown before we were keen to sit together and so
paid the "Speedy Boarding" fee, which easyJet.com claims "guarantees
you will be called to board first".
No call to board was ever made, nor was their any evidence of easyJet's "strict
priority boarding system" whereby passengers with young children are
supposed to be allowed through early in any event. Furthermore, once through
the gate a bus was required to take us across the tarmac to our plane, thus
negating any advantage which would have been conferred and, in turn, the
whole concept itself.
To our girls' distress, we had to sit apart on the flight. Subsequent written
complaints with a request for refunding of the "Speedy Boarding"
fee have met with no success. Dr Alistair Smith, Stroud
easyJet Press Office Manager, Samantha Day responds: This is what we
state on our website:
Speedy Boarding guarantees that you'll be among the first called to board your
flight, giving you the best choice of seats. Select the Speedy Boarding
option when you book your flights online, and for a small fee (no more than
£7.50) we'll get you through the gate first. And remember: If you're late,
we won't wait: You must be at the gate no later than 25 minutes before the
scheduled departure of your flight or you'll lose your place in the Speedy
Boarding group.
Airports use various methods of boarding passengers onto aircraft, and this is
reflected in the fee you pay - i.e. the fee will be lower if purchased for
airports where passengers are bussed to the plane and higher for airports
where air bridges are used.
In practice when passengers are coached to the aircraft, the speedy boarders
will be asked to board the front of the bus, and those doors will be opened
first when the bus reaches the aircraft.
I don't know why they can't simply allocate seat numbers like most other carriers do, at check-in, so the early birds can catch the worms, or in this case, the seats they prefer. The current "Last helicopter out of Saigon" boarding scenario is frankly disgraceful, and does nothing to enhance the image of the carriers who persist with it. Of course the best way to register one's disapproval of any dodgy business practice is to vote with one's feet, or credit card in this case. There are almost always alternatives.
eurotraveller, Edinburgh, UK
We encountered the same problem flying back from Valencia. My partner is 6"7 and therefore, needs a bulkhead or emergency seat to physically fit into a seat. Leaving the UK is usually no problem, with check in staff waiving speedy boarding and recognising that he really needs to get a seat with more legroom. We ended up buying speedy boarding as it is usually such a stressful process trying to ensure he gets on the plane in the first wave, with the families. ALthough we were called first, we were put on to the bus to the plane - and we were not separated from the rest of the travellers as Easyjet statement says above - and still just managed to get the last bulkhead seat. We didn't complain as it was the end of a nice break, but following this and many bad experiences with Easyjet for this exact reason, we have decided to try to not use it. He can't afford to pay more for a traditional carrier and has a genuine need to board first. why should he not benefit from low cost air travel?
KW, London,
Easyjet always hide behind their terms and conditions stated on the website........but sadly their real life actions are nothing like the terms say. To make so called 'speedy boarding' non refundable whether you get it or not is scandalous. Imagine paying for a meal in a restaurant and being told that they have run out of food, but you couldn't have your money back!! No other business could operate like Easyjet (except Ryan Air) and get away with it.......how do we allow it?
Harry, London,
Like thousands of other people I have flown with easyjet many times. With regards to the comments made by Samantha Day the press officer I can only say that what it states on your web site and what the ground staff decide to put into practice on any given day are poles apart. I challenge her to fly a few different routes incognito and then perhaps rewrite the website.
kevin holt, milton keynes, england
EasyJet and the other low cost carriers have revolutionised travel. Now we can take holidays or travel on business to many places for a very low fee, sometimes for as little as 10% of the cost compared to only a few years ago. However, this kind of airplane travel should no longer be considered glamorous, it's more akin to taking a bus.
As a frequent low-cost flyer, I'm tired of all the complaints about the "suffering" people have to endure because they have to queue for a few minutes or because the £5 extra they spent on speedy boarding didn't get them on the airplane first. Basically, you're getting cheap travel at the cost of luxury. If you really want the luxury aspect, pay more for a traditional carrier.
On the specific subject of speedy boarding, I always add this option. As EasyJet state, there may still be buses and there may be other reasons why you didn't get on the airplane first. Feel free to ask for your money back in these cases, but for £5 is it worth it?
Steve W., Milton Keynes, UK
I recently flew with Easyjet from Gatwick to Toulouse and back and as my grown up daughter was suffering from whiplash we paid the extra for easy boarding. On both flights easyboarding passengers were given priority boarding and on both occasions we were given extra priority (first on) as the staff could see that my daughter was in some distress. So, I guess it is all down to the airport and ground staff,
I would say that the Easyjet flights were a better experience than our previous BA flights when we were offered a choice of museli bar or a packet of nuts as our "meal". Full service airline? What a joke.
John Humphrey, Kent, England
I flew twice with easy jet in the two last months, once from Berlin to Basel and return, once from Lisbon to Basel plus return. There was indeed a separation made between early boarders, families with toddlers and lines A and B depending what time you had checked in. I think it mainly depends on the ground staff, but I agree the airline should be more careful with their own staff in the different cities. I personally would never go on a long-haul flight, although service was smoother than I had experienced on some BA or LH flights where I paid an arm and a leg for the tickets. I would remind those people complaining to spend more money on their airline tickets by buying business class where most airlines are more accommodating than in tourist class.
JD Muenzer; Mr., Freiburg, Germany
The simple answer is not to go with an airline which doesn't permit prior choice of seating, like easyjet (sic) or the awful Ryanair.
Further, why should people with children have prior boarding rights?
James, London, UK
I've travelled all over third-world Asia on some seriously "dodgy" airlines. Some so primitive, darling, they don't even have a First Class. But nothing, nothing prepares for the privations of a UK budget airline like easyJet. On a scale of one-to-10 it hardly rates a zero.
Andrew Milner, Karuizawa, Nagano
Have I missed something? The response from Easyjet doesn't say whether this family was reimbursed, something they are clearly entitled to since they did not get the service they paid for.
S. Delaney, London,
You pay peanuts, you get monkeys...
Dave, Lincoln, UK
The real problem is free seating. Would it be so hard to allocate seating at check-in?
Paul K, Thornton Cleveleys, UK
The "speedy boarding" policy is applied haphazardly. Flying from Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to Liverpool, they kept all the passengers penned up then suddenly unleashed everyone at the same time to fight their way on board, leaving the "speedy boarders" stunned and furious. That was the fault of the Schipol airport ground staff on duty; before take-off the easyJet captain made an announcement apologizing to those who had paid for speedy boarding.
Flying back from Liverpool to Amsterdam a couple of weeks later, the speedy boarding policy was strictly enforced. Best thing is to keep emphasising to airport staff at check-in and at the gate that you have paid for it.
melanie, Liverpool,