Yes, bring on network-wide allocated seating!!:D

I love everything about EZY...apart from their seating policy. I'm over 6ft in height, and I really struggle to sit (comfortably) in a standard seat for 4/5 hours. Given that I fly to PFO 3/4 times a year, booking extra legroom is a must.

Currently I fly Jet2/TCX from GLA, however, I'd be more than willing to travel through to EDI (or indeed MAN, BRS, LON depending on cost) if I can pre-book extra legroom seats on EZY.

Nobody likes a stressful airport experience. Sounds pathetic I know, but when I fly EZY, I'm always paranoid about being at the front of the SB queue and hell bent on getting to the overwing exit seats!! The amount of fights I've almost got into!:eek::=

Knowing exactly where I'm sitting on a flight, makes my time passing through the airport all the more relaxing. Like I said, EZY are (imo) perfect in almost every single way...just the seating policy, which will hopefully change!:ok:

And that makes all the difference particularly when going on/returning from holiday.

So isn't that just an added cost? I have rarely not gotten a decent seat so unless I fork out more money, I am at the whim of Menzies or Servisair? Pay up or back to the 1980s would be my take out.

I think allocated seating is much better than speedy boarding so i think this is a good move by EasyJet. Speedy boarding is pointless if you are using a bus gate as they put on passengers with speedy boarding and without speedy bording on the same bus so therefore wasting money.

The family with small kids flying to Malaga for their annual holiday gain significantly from a move to assigned seating.

The solo frequent traveller who lives near a major airport, flies with only hand luggage, pays for the ticket from their own money (i.e. no expense account claim) and who doesn't have any special mobility needs really loses out with a move to assigned seating. Being a frequent traveller in a major airport, he/she may use a variety of airlines, so doesn't see a benefit from a Plus card.

Apart from when a flight really is full, there always seems to be a sole unoccupied middle seat near the front exit regardless of how late you board, which makes it easy to get off the plane quickly, be near the front of the queue for any kind of immigration control, whizz through customs (no need to wait for a baggage carousel) and get out of the airport and onto a final destination as fast as possible.

Being assigned a seat at the back of the bus would *really* annoy this kind of passenger.

Not if he/she purchased the seat of their choice.

Even the self employed business passenger would just put it on expenses plus for your average seat it won't be very expensive at all. £3 as per the current trial.

In truth, many (by no means all) of our regular passengers prefer the free seating system and in the vast majority of cases the seating policy works. However, it does cause some travellers to be anxious/worried and it does detract from an otherwise good product. As i mentioned a few pages back, in some, albeit few, cases people won't book Easyjet because of that where as I don't believe people wouldn't fly EZY because they have allocated seating. So in essence it is designed first and foremost to improve the overall experience aswell as to mop up any passengers who wouldn't normally consider the airline because of the seating policy.

I'm pro allocated seating, always have been and never really championed the speedyboarding product. It's never really been needed from a pax point of view in my opinion, even though I am a Easyjet plus card holder.
However, there is no reason why the bussing of passengers should turn speedy boarding into a failure. A few airports, I'm sure don't grasp this but most do. You'll find SB's either have a separate bus or a cordoned off area. The problem with SB is more to do with passengers conduct in the terminal to be honest and even that can be solved if staff manage things correctly....and again many do.

What about staff travel, I use staff travel and more often than not, you have to wait depending on the time of year and selected route,so it could be down to 3 or 4 days before seats become available, if trail uptake has been popular I could be struggling to get seats together,thats not a whinge just an observation.

Isn't that the risk of staff travel on any airline though?

Lucky enough to get seats at all in some cases, but seats together is highly unlikely when assigned seating comes in to play.

Ask someone to move so the staff travel people can travel together. I've seen it done elsewhere.

Last weekend, a parent and child stood in the aisle were told that "all we can do to enable you to sit together is to ask someone to move". Cue - puzzled faces.

What about staff travel?

If you are lucky enough to get an opportunity to travel on a bargain ticket price, you have to appreciate that the price is a perk and not a right. If seats are available a couple of months out, great, if they are not available until a few days before, it is likely you will still be able to book seats together.

In other companies, most staff travel is restricted to a limited number of confirmed seats and then your company may offer (or be offered by other airlines) standby seats. You could be in the airport, at the gate, and not able to fly. I guess at least then you can get seats together in the terminal if the flight leaves with out you ;)

If you want to guarantee it, nothing stops you paying a full fare :eek:

You obviously don't know what EZY charge staff for Staff Travel - have found it cheaper on a normal pax seat if there are discounts offered.

I've always found staff travel to be very cheap. £5 flat fare plus tax. It means even Tenerife and Paphos can be £35 return if both sectors are on staff travel fares.

The problem is of course that the seats get released onto staff sale using historical data (I.e last years sales) and so there are times when the day before the flight departs only 90% of seats are booked and it still doesn't release staff fares because the 'the computer' thinks it will sell those remaining seats. This isn't usually the case and combined with no shows some flights are departing with a fair few spare seats that could otherwise be filled by fare paying staff fares. Albeit very cheap fares.

This is where standby staff travel will help when it gets rolled out at the end of the year.

Sometimes staff travel is not available and on less frequent routes in peak season can be hard to find, though I find from Belfast if in the case that I cannot get staff travel to where I am going directly, I sometimes do a connection somewhere in UK or on continent as appropriate, AMS, LGW, STN, LTN, MAN etc. Still represents good value for money. And if the direct flight comes up nearer the time I can ring and for £5 change to it and move the 2nd flight of the connection to a different route and different day.

I find staff travel great for host of reasons, not only the price but the avoidance of admin fees, credit card charges and very low prices for suitcases, it also means certainty ie not on standby. well done easyJet.

EI-BUD

Hang on groundagent , I said it was an observation and not a whinge.

Easyjet + Mondial have launched a new insurance product called "Missed Flight" cover. Essentially, if you miss your flight, but are in a fit state to fly (i.e. have passport and not drunk) and turn up at the departure airport no more than 4 hours late, you get a seat on the next flight for free or a full refund. Cost is £7.50 per single flight or £9.50 for a return. No scaling of premium to allow for varying ticket prices. No proof needed - saying you overslept is a valid excuse. No exclusions. Not even any excess.

Thinking through all the possible scenarios, this seems too good to be true and a clever passenger could use this as part of a strategy when booking.

Wanna do a trip, flying home on an 8 pm flight ? Is the 8 pm flight home looking expensive, but the 4 pm flight is much cheaper ? Why not
1 - Book the cheaper 4 pm flight
2 - Pay for the insurance - no more than £9.50 for a round trip
3 - At 3 pm, check that flights for the 8 pm flight are still on sale - i.e. there is still space on the evening flight home
4 - "Accidentally" miss the afternoon flight
5 - Turn up at the departure airport at 7 pm and make a claim at the sales desk.
6 - Get on the 8 pm evening flight (which you always wanted) instead

Yes, there's a risk that the 8 pm flight home is full, but if you're willing to take the risk, it makes flying much cheaper (and trashes the yields for Easyjet !)

Alternatively:
Booked a weekend trip away, but decided you don't want to go any more ?
Paid for a non-refundable ticket because a refundable ticket cost much much more ?
Just turn up at the airport with your passport after the flight has departed but within 4 hours of scheduled departure, tell the sales desk you want a refund, and your ticket magically becomes refundable !
Why pay the extra for a changeable non-refundable Flexi ticket, when just £9.50 for a return gets you a refundable ticket ? Oh yeah, and those Easyjet yields might take a bit of a tumble again...

In technical terms, this seems to be insuring for "disinclination to travel" and potentially allows for someone to profit from insurance, rather than just being covered against loss.

Am wondering how many days it'll be before Easyjet pull this insurance product from sale or give it a significant modification, while citing technical issues...

Any of the pricing / yield gurus out there want to comment ?

Any new routes from Manchester

easyflyer83,
Did I hear somewhere that NAP was also being considered or is this off the table for now?
DomyDom

Thanks easyflyer83, you're tit-bits are appreciated. DomyDom:)

I am waiting for anyone to tell me why davidjohnson6's brillant ideas will not work, apart from the lack of alternative flights on many routes.
If I'm booking an early morning flight out of LGW and getting a more expensive mid-day flight for less than £10 - fine - on the other hand are EZY really losing anything? EZY get a share of the insurance premium and are filling a seat that would be empty in any case. Unless thousands choose to take advantage I think they are on to a winner.
In my own particular case, STN-ALC, for most of the year, there is an early morning flight and a late afternoon and/or late night flight. Why turn up at the airport at 10:00 and then sit around for 6 hours in order to get a supposed bargain?
On routes with multiple departures, it may be possible to expoit the system, but for most pax I fear that there are insufficient flights to make this idea a goer.