Speedy Boarding Warning
A word of warning for anyone who purchases easyJet speedy boarding with a view to occupying the extra legroom seats in row one on the right hand side.
At the start of a recent holiday to Italy we flew with easyJet from Stansted to Naples. Speedy boarding worked as it should and we occupied the aisle and centre seats of this row.
The A319 was virtually full but just as the doors were about to close the flight dispatcher came back on to the aircraft and told the cabin crew a wheelchair user had arrived for the flight.
The wheelchair user and the person travelling with him had to occupy the inside two seats of the row so my wife and a young man who had taken the window seat were told rather unceremoniously they had to move - and I do mean unceremoniously - but I appreciate the situation placed everyone involved under pressure from the timekeeping point of view.
At this point I made it clear I had absolutely no objection to moving to accommodate a wheelchair user but I felt we should be allocated seats together as we had purchased speedy boarding to ensure this happened. I'm a realist so I knew there was absolutely no point in mentioning extra legroom.
The best that could be managed was the two aisle seats in the back row of the A319 which are not the most comfortable on the aircraft. We were given a small bottle of water each as compensation and to be quite frank had to endure a few smug comments from those who had been in boarding group B.
I repeat neither my wife nor I had any objection to moving to accommodate the wheelchair user.
However, anyone who has purchased speedy boarding specifically for extra leg room should make row one on the left or the emergency exit seats at the wing their first choice thereby guarding against the same thing happening to them.