Major step backwards!

Alot of people would disagree with you there IB.

I agree its another major step away from been a true loco. Its more to do with raising revenue than providing customer service. What would Stellios think

You will find that there are a lot of very unhappy plus card holders easyflyer83, who feel that the recent renewal of their cards at a greatly increased fee, followed by allocated seating is a major change to what you pay for and are looking for refunds, as they feel cheated. You will see this clearly by looking at the comments from the many card holders on the easyJet Community site.

The plus card holders are able to select which seat, even the XL ones for free. And I think you will find routes which already have allocated seating has seen an increase in the sale of plus cards. I sold a few myself last week on flights only £139.

fr-

Are U2 implementing a zonal boarding system to, a la the American airlines, rather than it just being a free-for-all as it currently is? Fill the back and work your way forward.

Definitely a backward step. Essentially now if you want a guaranteed aisle or window seat rather than the awful middle seat you'll have to pay extra. Was never a problem before. Previous system had flexibility. Why can't they just be a normal airline and let people choose their seats for free unless they want extra legroom which costs extra?

It's so disingenuous to say it's about service. It's about extra revenue. People will still rush to be on the plane because of overhead luggage space, as we'll all be travelling without hold baggage to keep costs down.

The original system worked fine - until they stopped implementing it. This was the alternative and it will raise revenue. Consequently, they were always going to take the option.

I'm by charging for seats they are being "normal". Few airlines let you select seats well in advance for free. They may give you the option close to departure but most seats have gone to those who have paid or frequent flyers with status. Try booking an AA flight and the selection of seats months in advance is poor as they have gone to elites. EZ are giving you the chance to book in advance for a reasonable fee. An let's not forget with the current system you risk sitting in the middle if you are held up at security and are last to board. If you don't like it then pay the £3.

It's exactly the same set up as BA (only a lot cheaper). I've never heard many complains there.

One of the major assumptions in much of economic theory, is that you have a bunch of people, each with a collection of different items, and each having different opinions as to how good or bad any single item is.
An example, is a group of kids in a school playground who have each been given different things in their packed lunch by their parents. One kid loves eating cheese (but was given a sausage roll by his mum), while the other loves sausage rolls (but was given a piece of cheese).

Economics then says, that the people in these groups then choose to swap, so that they get a mutually beneficial result.
Or in this case, the kids with the cheese and the sausge roll do a swap, so that each gets to eat the food they like for lunch.

Once easyJet implement allocated seating, will there be anything to stop people openly swapping seats before departure ?

I believe the after takeoff PA includes something along the lines of "please remain seated in your assigned seat until the signs above you have been switched off". I know on Jet2 they stop people sitting in premium seats unless they hav paid for it.

IB4138
 

I don't see how you can say that if you can select the seats you want in advance and for free (as a cardholder).

I'm sure allocated seating will appeal to far more people who would not normally travel easyjet.

You have totally missed the point!

A plus card holder can book a flight today for tomorrow and board first to take the seat he wishes. On the new system, this is denied to the plus card holder as non card holders will have already booked those seats by advance booking. It is a reduction in benefit of the plus card.

IB4138;

You are correct that currently the easyJet pluscard holder can choose the seat that he wants when boarding, but the whole boarding process will become so much more relaxed and stress free when the assigned seating kicks in, as there will not be a stampede for the gate once the annoucement starts.

For me flying ex Belfast this is the distinct difference between EI and EZY and I find the EI experience so much more relaxed and pleasurable than the currrent EZY one.

EI-BUD

Allocated seating
 

I have no doubt tht this has been thought through, and whilst it will affect a few plus Card holders, the very concept will drive more pax towards Easyjet than the previous `herd stampede` ever did. All to do with yields and suchlike. :ok:

Sounds good to me. Unfortunately Easy has almost abandoned Scandinavia, with the exception of a few routes to Copenhagen and one to Arlanda.
By the way, are there any plans to return to Finland? Pax might be slow to react here, but the flights were discontinued simply at too early stage to become popular.

My understanding is that Easyjet ran a London Gatwick-Helsinki route from 03 November 2008 to 22 June 2011
I believe the announcement of the route being cancelled was sometime in spring 2011

I admit to being disappointed that this route was cancelled as I'd been hoping to make use of it later in 2011, but if after two years a route can't establish itself as giving a good return on costs and capital deployed, then it's difficult to blame Easyjet for discontinuing the route

On a separate note, are Easyjet dropping their Lisbon-Barcelona and Stansted-Barcelona route effective Sunday 24 March 2013 ? Ignoring routes touching Berlin with the associated uncertainty as to whether the new airport will be open or not, STN-BCN and LIS-BCN are the only routes across the network that are not on sale beyond this date

I see several people saying going allocated seating is a step backwards. But after seeing the results from the customers from surveys they completed after a allocated flt plus other surveys the results CLEARLY speak for themselves on what pax want, and how much more likely they are to travel with easyJet rather than other major carriers if we have allocated seating.

Davidjohnson, the German press is hinting that the BBI will open in October 2013 instead of March now and some are speculating that this date will slip as well. However, it is only speculation.

For easyJet customers, the difference in location is not that great as the SXF terminals are just to the north of the runway opposed the terminals of BBI being just south of the (northerly) runway. However, the airline may postpone any capacity increase (if any) until the Tegel passengers are forced down south to BBI anyway.

August
 

Monthly traffic statistics - easyJet plc

Passengers up 6% but load factor down 0.5%

I trust the next summers schedule will be a staggered release as per previous years?