Putting The Spotlight On EasyJet – All You Need To Know

Everything you need to know if if you are flying easyJet for the first time

For those of you living in Europe, easyJet will need no introduction, however for those who hail from further afield, this airline may be as alien to you as Yorkshire pudding and treacle. This short guide will tell you everything you need to know when booking flights with one of Europe’s biggest budget airlines.

EasyJet

EasyJet was the pioneer of European budget airlines in 1995. Initially, the airline operated two flights from Luton airport to Glasgow and Edinburgh. International flights followed in 1996, and today 802 easyJet routes operate between 132 airports in 31 countries. This gives travellers in Europe a viable, cost conscious alternative to the long distance buses of my youth.

EasyJet Booking

You book flights online easily, and you can save your details for future bookings. Everything is clearly priced and it is easy to add extras, such as designated seating, bags, meals, hotels and hire cars during the process.

It genuinely should be child’s play. Five stars from me.

★★★★★

EasyJet Prices

Prices start from £18.70 one way allowing travellers the option to bag weekends away at affordable prices. All extras are payable including hold bags, selecting your seats, priority boarding and in flight food and drink. Even so, it is still possible to bag a bargain if you book far enough in advance. We paid just £252, for two people and three hold bags, on our recent trip to Milan for a winter ski break.

Just be sure to price up your entire requirements before committing to that swanky hotel you are dying to stay at.

Maybe not as cheap as some airlines, but they fly to more convenient airports and have a better service. Yes, Ryanair I am talking about you.

I give the pricing options four stars.

★★★★

Typical costs

These costs look quite reasonable, especially when compared with what British Airways charge for a bag! EasyJet also seem quite sensible when weighing, combining the collective weight to determine if you are over, unlike some that insist you repack each bag within weight limits.

• • Hold bag: 15kg costs £10.49 per flight, 23kg costs £14.99 or 26kg costs £26.99. Note these fees seem to vary depending on route so please check
  • Seat selection £3.99 for a standard seat to £16.99 for an extra legroom seat. You can skip seat selection and easyJet will allocate seating at check-in
  • Extra legroom in the middle of the plane costs £9.49 a seat
  • Extra legroom at the front of the plane costs £16.99
  • Travel insurance from £8.68

One cabin bag is included free of charge, with a maximum size of 56cm x 45cm x 25 cm.

By the way, we opted not to pay for seat selection and the system automatically allocated us seats together on both legs. We checked in over a week in advance, which probably helped, but personally I wouldn’t bother with this extra unless you are adamant you must sit together.

EasyJet Check-in

Check in is surprisingly fast in the UK. You print your boarding passes at home and weigh your bags at the airport. Your baggage tags will print automatically and once you’ve attached them to the bags, you simply drop them on the luggage belt. It’s easy to use and staff are on hand if you need help.

Both your outbound and inbound boarding passes print at the same time, so no need to worry about checking in for your return journey whilst you are away. You can check in up to a whopping thirty days before the flight giving you the best chance of getting seats together, even if you did not pre-pay for the privilege.

★★★★★

Boarding

Boarding can be a little chaotic. In a bid to avoid paying baggage charges, the number of people bringing hand luggage has multiplied.  This then creates problems with luggage loading and seems to be a hold up whenever I fly a budget airline. It may also be because there is a lack of clear direction to indicate which stairwell to take to get to your seat. We were in row 18 and boarded at the front, but in fact should have boarded at the back.

If you want to avoid the stress of tracing your bag in a bin which is nowhere near your seat, you may wish to consider speedy boarding, or wait at the front of the queue. Sorry, easyJet only two stars for this aspect of your service.

★★

Food and drink

As mentioned, all food and drink is chargeable. You will pay a slight premium over and above pub and shop prices, but the prices aren’t ridiculous. For instance, here are some of the items you can purchase inflight. Given they are not outrageous, I have scored 3 stars for food and drink.

Item	Price	Notes
Pringles	£1.80
Moma Porridge	£2.50
Kit Kat	£1.20
Meal deal	£7	Main meal, drink and snack. You can choose from a selection of hot and cold sandwiches for your main meal.
Main meal	£4.50
Coffee	£2.50
beer	£4.50
Wine	£4.50
Prosecco	£6.50

★★★

Service

Thanks to delays due to air traffic control (not the pesky French striking again?!), the staff have a plane full of grumpy passengers to contend with. They do a great job nevertheless, of providing an efficient service and customers seem pretty mollified.

Payment can be made by both credit card and cash.

★★★

The plane

Unlike Ryanair, the seats have pockets, the chairs recline and the seat pitch is better than any chartered flights I’ve ever flown. Has to be four stars!

★★★★

Verdict

For a budget airline, I think easyJet are a quality outfit. I would give them 4 out of 5 stars. Yes, you may hear a lot about delays, but every airline seems to be plagued by those, and in the league tables they certainly aren’t the worst. We arrived at both our destinations on time and enjoyed the flight.

★★★★

Now, all you need to do is decide where you want to go.

What is your experience?

Maybe you have flown easyJet and have a view. We would love to hear them.

Disclaimer: please note this is NOT a sponsored post. I wish!