EasyJet - 4

[pilothouse]

Hundredpercentplease,

I cannot comment on airline influence over airports, that would seem to be your area of expertise. Anecdotal evidence suggests that some airlines used to use nasty threats, others to blatant bribes, but I doubt if these work any more.

I was indeed referring repeatedly to our passengers' compulsion to join a queue at every opportunity, but I am not criticising them. I am simply amazed at their tolerance. They would seem to be their own worst enemies in this respect. But even if they are willing, surely queueing is still best avoided. Do you really want them to go home and tell all their friends that all you ever do with easyJet is to queue?

I don't think it's respectful to reckon that if your average passenger travels only once a year, that he can put up anything - we are humans, not parcels! And how about your frequent flyers, how can they tolerate this treatment and remain loyal? Simply because they have little choice?

Where has this queueing compulsion come from? Since the birth of the LCC, passengers have had to compete with each other and airlines have exploited this to achieve rapid boarding. Then along came allocated seating and turnrounds started to drag. Now we have a easyJet's revised handbaggage policy, which again pitches passenger against passenger. We return to competition and queues. Quite simply, queueing at every opportunity has become an infectious disease. The likes of easyJet have created it, maybe now it's time to take the lead in stamping it out?

Just because people are ready and willing to join a queue, I don't think it is right to exploit someone's wish to be at the front of a queue in order to send them down an airbridge to stand for half an hour before boarding. There is a post above from an elderly person who tries to get aboard first, simply to get settled down early and avoid any complication from boarding later. I think that it is callous that this person's wish to do so is taken advantage of.

Reference is made above to the no-shows, and that assembling people downstream of the passport and final boarding pass check finalises the loadsheet. Well, from my experience of Jet2 at Manchester, we do not know the final passenger figure until they have actually boarded. The loadsheet is based on passengers who have checked in bags, plus internet no-baggage check-ins. Inevitably a couple of the latter fail to turn up and it takes less than a minute to LMC them, hardly a nuisance. It is completely unnecessary to corral passengers so far in advance simply to finalise the passenger load.

Finally, the queues that the crew can apologise for. When I arrived at Liverpool late on Thursday night, there was not one word from the crew about the 15 minute delay in disembarkation.

The classic is of course the coachful of sardined passengers that arrive too early at the bottom of the steps, usually in the blazing midday heat. It has been sent in anticipation of the cabin being ready and the passengers almost die of stress and heatstroke while waiting. This happens because the handling agent is petrified of sending the coach too late. Resources are always scarce so they send the coach as soon as they can get hold of it, for fear of losing it. The passengers board exhausted and spitting with rage. However, a good PA of explanation can save the day - but how often does this happen?

Maybe it is the lowest level of handling agent that is causing all this queueing. They are so terrified of being disciplined for a failed OTP that they will happily send passengers to hell and back to achieve an OTP. If this is the case, then the pressure under which handling agents work needs a complete rethink. They might be creating queueing by their actions but it is the policies under which they work that are truly responsible, and ultimately these come from the very tops of the airlines.