EasyJet - 4

[FRatSTN]

People who don't pay extra to reserve seats are allocated seats when they check-in online (as all passengers now have to do). Therefore if you have a look the night before or a few hours before a flight leaves, it gives a pretty reliable and accurate guide as to how full the flight is.

[Hangar6]

Maybe but say there was only twenty pax on flight with three days to go it is not uncommon to then restrict the seat selection option in line with trim requirements , I have seen this done more than once also seas are routinely restricted from advance seat selection for other reason but overall I went rely on seat plans to gauge loads

[Cahlibahn]

easyJet purchase Flybe's Gatwick slots (25 pairs) for £20m. Flybe to exit LGW.

Flybe Group PLC : Exchange of Gatwick Slots | 4-Traders (http://www.4-traders.com/FLYBE-GROUP-PLC-6978595/news/Flybe-Group-PLC-Exchange-of-Gatwick-Slots-16903651/)

[racedo]

EasyJet's Egypt deal remains up in the air - Features - Al Jazeera English (http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/05/2013515163158541205.html)

Shifting sands of Egyptian Governments has done no favours to Easyjet.

[Drive4it]

Hi all.

Im travelling out to Rhodes for a wedding May 2014 (best man duties).

Weve got 45 people on the guest list.

30 from East Midlands Area (JET2 far to expensive for next year £300 RTN)
and 15 from Paris.


So the Q's are. When can i expect both UK & France routes to Rhodes for next Summer to go on sale? Hoping more than just LPL & LGW. And am i right in thinking EZY fly from Orly to Rhodes this year? And hopefully next Summer?

[TSR2]

Basic Jet2 fare from Manchester next May £196 return

[AP1995]

Have a look at Jet2 Leeds Bradford

[Drive4it]

Thanks.
Yes, MAN to Rho coming out at £200 approx.
I will hold out for EZY. Even though FR are flying twice a week from EMA this Summer season to RHO, but i would imagine they wont be on sale till the Winter, and anything on FR over 3hrs is a punishment to the human body.

[FRatSTN]

It's not bad. I've done 4 hour flights from EMA-FUE and STN-RHO before with FR and it was fine. I've done EZY with slightly shorter routes from LGW-ATH and LGW-RAK and it's not really any different.

It's basically the same except you don't get a seat pocket or a reclining seat on FR (but in my experiences there's a much greater choice of food and drinks with FR and only slightly more expensive nowadays).

The only major drawback really is like you say, you have to wait a long time for the schedule seasons to be released! You could get a very good price and times with FR from EMA-RHO but it depends if you want to wait that long.

EZY will be just as cheap and a very similar flying experience but flying times may go more into the night and since you have 30 people from the East Midlands; Gatwick or Liverpool is a bit of a trek, especially if you have a 01:30 arrival at Gatwick for example.

[Serenity]

Have done a 5 hour flight on Easyjet before to Egypt.
Never again as the seats do not recline and after several hours in this position, bolt upright, my back is killing.

[ajamieson]

I have also done a 5 hour flight on Easyjet to Egypt.

I would happily do it again, as nobody was able to recline their seat into my already-limited legroom, which would have crushed my knees and made the journey unbearable.

If sitting in an upright position hurts your back, you need to see a chiropractor as this is the correct way to sit all the time.

[Serenity]

You can sit this way for 5 hours solid and not feel uncomfortable??
Don't think most people can.
Nothing otherwise wrong with my back. I'm a slim, fit person.

Even National Express coaches have reclining seats!

[ReallyAnnoyed]

I am with ajamieson on this. Am very happy that the inconsiderate person in front of me can't put his seat in my face.

[Barling Magna]

Yep; reclining seats in Economy class are a bad thing. It's amazing how inconsiderate some people can be.

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

For me, an airline which does NOT have reclining seats is offering a premium feature. I would actively select an airline with NO reclining seats rather than one which provides them. Having some selfish buffoon with big hair full of chemical hairspray reclined into one's face for hours is deeply unappealing. Having ones knees scrunched up by a passenger who has not paid for YOUR space is annoying. Having the seatback table (where applicable) stuck at an awkward angle is well ... awkward. All this, and many deluded airline PR types STILL consider reclining seats in economy a selling point. Wake up and face reality. Seat pitch in first and business may allow for reclining seats, but in economy layouts categorically not so.

Well done EasyJet and Ryanair for phasing out these monstrous reclining seats. I know passenger comfort wasn't your primary motivation, but the outcome is a huge improvement anyway. Maybe EZY and RYR should market the advantages of non-reclining seats and embarrass afew dinosaur airlines along the way. Does anybody here genuinely believe that the ability to recline to a moderate degree outweighs the gross inconvenience of the passenger in front reclining into your space?

[Barling Magna]

I can understand folks getting stiff and uncomfortable sitting for five hours in an airliner's seat. The answer, of course, is to get up and visit the loo a couple of times (even if you don't want to). Walk to the far end of the cabin - you have to time your walk for when there's no food trolley blocking the way, unless you've been really uncomfortable in which case the trolley gives you an excuse for standing up for a few minutes. This will also combat any risk of DVT.

[EcamSurprise]

And now you can sleet your seats, so for a 5 hour flight the over wings are in proportion quite in-expensive for such leg room, or you could careful pick your seat on a 320 for the same leg room without cost.. :cool::E

[mikkie4]

EZY 3104 from nice will become southends 4th aircraft,will transfer fom STN TO SEN arriving 23.30,also last alicante flight from STN today,all future flights will be from SEN

[ReallyAnnoyed]

The new fleet order has been announced: Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/18-06-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

35 current generation A320, 100 A320NEO plus 100 options for NEOs.

[Bishop of Hounslow]

Big announcement from easyJet today -

Following a highly competitive fleet selection process, easyJet plc ("easyJet" or the "Company") announces that, subject to shareholder approval, it has entered into arrangements (the "New Framework Arrangements") with Airbus S.A.S. ("Airbus") to acquire 35 Current Generation A320 Aircraft for delivery between 2015 and 2017 under its existing agreement and 100 New Generation A320neo Aircraft for delivery from 2017 until 2022, under a new agreement. Under this new agreement, Airbus has also granted the Company the right, but not the obligation, to acquire up to 100 further New Generation A320neo Family Aircraft.

Key highlights of the transaction:

Allows easyJet to continue to execute its successful strategy. New generation aircraft sourced at highly attractive prices and at a greater percentage discount to list price than the Company’s existing Airbus contract. Enhances easyJet’s cost advantage and mitigates against inflationary increases; the 180 seater New Generation A320neo Aircraft is expected to deliver a cost per seat saving of between 11% and 12%, compared to a 156 seater Current Generation A319 Aircraft. 85 of 135 ordered aircraft will be used to replace ageing aircraft as they leave the fleet and return to lessors, with the remaining aircraft used to continue easyJet’s existing strategy of capacity seat growth of between 3% to 5% per annum. Continues the high level of fleet flexibility provided by the current arrangements. Whilst the announcement today will deliver a fleet of 276 aircraft by 2022, as of today, the new arrangements also give easyJet the ability to manage the fleet size to between 165 and 298 aircraft in 2022 depending on economic conditions and opportunities available. Total expected fleet acquisition and overhaul expenditure as a percentage of revenue is expected to fall from 18% in the period 2005 to 2012, to 10% to 12% in the period 2018 to 2022.

[commit aviation]

"Subject to shareholder approval"
I suspect there will be at least one significant shareholder who won't approve!
Stand by for incoming!

[pabely]

So will we see an order for a smaller aircraft as well for the thinner routes????

[ReallyAnnoyed]

HIGHLY unlikely, Pabely. 135 A320s will join although 85 are replacements, so there is no reason to buy smaller aircraft. It will only murk the water.

[Larrylaz]

Absolutely definitely not!!!!!

[rowly6339]

What will happen to SEN once the A319s have all been replaced with bigger craft.

[canberra97]

Easyjet are not replacing all of their A319 fleet with the larger A320.

[Expressflight]

rowly6339

I think EZY may have something to say about SEN tomorrow and perhaps any effect of this week's orders might get a mention.

[scr1]

Easy jet replacing some of the fly be flights to INV one of which will be a night stop

BBC News - Easyjet guarantees Inverness routes (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-23058917)

[edinv]

A 5 year deal agreed between EZY and HIAL Inverness which effectively means supported and approved by Scottish Government, HIALs owners.

[Wycombe]

As this very much represents a departure from the "holy grail" of the low-cost model, of no night-stops away from base for crew or aircraft, you can bet that EZY have got the overnight hotac and aircraft parking expenses up in INV paid for by HIAL/Scottish Govt. as part of this deal.

Out of interest, is there anywhere else on the EZY network that nightstops down-route happen?

I wonder if they might strike a similar deal down in NQY?

[manx crab]

I imagine the Isle of Man Airport are desperate to get a similar result at this moment.

I wonder how much it will cost the Manx taxpayers :{

[Flightrider]

The LGW slots which EZY have acquired from Flybe are all scheduled for aircraft overnighting away from base and arriving into LGW between 0755 and 0855, then departing between 0830 and 0930. It's inevitable that you will see some more EZY nightstops away from the LGW base next summer, and although some might be used for services to LGW from other EZY bases (maybe NCL?) then not all can be.

They do already operate some nightstops away - from memory, I think LGW crews overnight MAD and BCN and I'm sure someone will be able to correct me or add more to that list.

[Captain_Caveman]

Yes Wycombe

Madrid, Barcelona, Copenhagen currently for Gatwick crew, over the past few years upto 15 routes around the network had night stopping crew so it's not really something new... At one point crews from Luton used to night stop in Aberdeen !!

[easy]

Yes, we used to stop in Paris, Palma, Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Dortmund.... don't ever remember stopping in Aberdeen;)

[compton3bravo]

I see the airline has issued a short statement announcing their displeasure in the proposed increase in landing fees at London Gatwick which will be RPI +1.5 per cent. The thing is what are you going to do about it with 50 plus aircraft based and the largest operator. How many times have we seen this at airports when one airline is by far the largest operator i.e. Ryanair at Stansted with BAA. It was only a matter of time that this situation would raise its ugly head at Gatwick.

[Captain_Caveman]

easy... I remember doing many of them myself :)

[easyflyer83]

Yep, nightstopping really isn't a new thing for Easyjet at all. There's never been a firm and steadfast reluctance to nightstop AFIK. In fact if it wasn't for the bases across Europe I reckon there would be more night stoppers. There has to be a business case for it though, like everything. BA, LH etc don't nightstop crew to be nice. Certainly on a short haul basis it's all to do with getting early flights into the business centres and feeding into the network. Easy doesn't interline or feed and the European bases often assist in getting early departures and arrivals. That said, nightstopping isn't as expensive as everyone makes out.

Nightstops were also prevelent in Easyjet's infancy aswell.

[Wycombe]

Thanks to those who have put me right re. nightstops in EZY.

If the charges are going up at LGW, it might make sense to do a bit more of it...especially IF someone else is picking-up the tab.

[Flightrider]

The economics of nightstops versus no nightstops at LGW have changed in the last year as GIP have restructured the charges.

Before, you used to pay a landing fee only and that varied based on your time of arrival - so the charges for an aircraft which landed at 2230 and then departed at 0700 were based on an off-peak landing fee only - which was about £400.

As of 1 April 2013, they have split the charge into separate fees for landing and take-off. You now pay a £247 charge for landing at 2230 and a £752 charge for take-off at 0700 as that's a peak departure - so basically for every nightstopping aircraft, your runway charges have shot up from £400 to £1000 (in broad terms).

Assuming easyJet are paying fees based on the published structure of charges at LGW - which is not a foregone conclusion - then with 50 based aircraft x 180 days in the summer season, it's £5.4m extra. Nasty.

[chaps2011]

That make it a very big ouch or a couple of quid extra per pax

Chaps

[Ramper1]

Captain caveman...... I've been at Easyjet for 13 years and have never nightstopped in Aberdeen. Gla, bfs and edi yes, but NEVER Aberdeen. So don't know where you got that one from

[Captain_Caveman]

Ramper I've been at easy a couple of years longer than you then and we used to do split duty night stops in Aberdeen on the 737-200 fleet !! That makes me feel old.
We also used to nightstop in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Athens, Amsterdam Liverpool Barcelona Geneva Nice Belfast Madrid & Palma as well !!

Another nightstop for the current list is Palermo. This is for Milan based crew.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Not entirely sure, but I think there may be Napoli nightstop for the Malpensa crews as well and Linate nightstops for the fiumicino crowd.

[cornishsimon]

So basically if U2 took on some of the to be dropped BE routes it's beyond the realms that aircraft will night stop where a U2 base doesn't exist !


cs

[davidjohnson6]

Mobile boarding cards are now being trialled at 37 airports. At what point does the super-base Gatwick come on line and when does the whole scheme cease to be a trial and instead become part of the mainstream operation ?

[peppo_8787]

Naples is nightstop for Malpensa
Palermo is nightstop for Fiumicino

[EI-BUD]

Belfast City x 4 daily first arrival 0820 LGW
Bergerac
Guernsey x 5 daily first arrival 0805 LGW
Inverness x 3 daily first arrival 0850 LGW
Isle of Man x 4 daily first arrival 0820 LGW
Jersey x 4 daily first arrival 0805 LGW
Newcastle x 3 daily first arrival 0755 LGW
Newquay x 3 daily first arrival 0825 LGW

Above is a typical Monday in Summer timetable for BE at LGW, 7 early morning arrivals. Each of these arrivals (slots) would require an aircraft overnighting outside of LGW. Unless the slots are used at base airports, can we expect:
(a) additional nightstops
(b) new base (s) being set up and
(c) that some of the existing routes will be maintained.

I have a strong feeling that IOM will reach a deal to secure an INV type arrangement, given that BE were the most frequency London service and it being an Island etc, the IOM gov will want retain it. Clearly GCI will be out, BHD unlikely to be picked up, JER well served by BA so not convinced this market would appeal to EZY, NCL has been canned from STN previously, cannot see EZY going after that, that leaves NQY as a potential, they may see 319 are too big to allot to an early morning slot. So my feeling is that they wont go for NQY.

On a final note BFS had daily night stop, coming in from LGW and doing an early departure from BFS when EI started ops on BFS LHR in winter 2007/8. That continued for 2 seasons until the BFS based machine operated.

[Jordiejet]

Easyjet in the sun newspaper today over 30 hour delay to Sharm flight.

Doesn't sound too good!

[BusBoy]

sounds fine under EASA FTLs

[Airbourne-Adamski]

LGW crew will be night stopping in INV when we take over the slots next year.

[MKY661]

EasyJet will now become the second airline in the UK to operate A320's with Sharklets fitted. All EasyJet A320 delivered from September (G-EZWM onwards) will have Sharklets fitted. :)

[Ramper1]

First A320 with sharkets will be delivered 21st August!

[eu01]

Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/02/us-easyjet-stelios-idUSBRE9610A520130702) has dispatched this news:Easyjet's estranged founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou said on Monday he would vote against the budget airline's plan to buy 135 new Airbus planes because they were not needed
I feel very sorry for EZY folks, it's ridiculous.

[easyflyer83]

Don't feel too sorry. Have you seen the share price?

[eu01]

Don't feel too sorry. Have you seen the share price?
Slightly down today, but what's the point here? The shareholder's short-term gains do not necessarily support job creations nor the future growth of the enterprise, what's more important?

[Sark]

Friends have just been advised that their fortcoming flight to TFS will be operated by Titan Airways. The email does not make it clear if this relates only to the outbound flight on 14th July or to their return on 29th July also.

The email states that the cabin crew will be Titan Airways but an Easyjet rep will be onboard. Allocated seating is to be abandoned with refunds where necessary, but Speedy Boarding will be in place for those who have paid for upfront or extra legroom seats.

The reason given is 'due to an increased number of passengers travelling during the summer season we will be working with Titan Airways, who will be operating the flight on our behalf.'

Anyone know which aircraft will be doing the run?

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

Hi Sark -

What is your point of departure? EZY serve TFS from a number of airports.

[j636]

Titian B757 will be operating out of LGW for the peak summer, the email means that both flights will be a B757.

Wouldn't take much notice of the reason given either.

[Sark]

Shed-on-a-Pole the departure point is LGW.

It looks as though the subsequent response answers my question. Any further info would be welcome however.

What is the seat pitch on a Titan 757?

[GingerC]

According to Titan's website, seat pitch is 31 inches

[EI-BUD]

The email states that the cabin crew will be Titan Airways but an Easyjet rep will be onboard. Allocated seating is to be abandoned with refunds where necessary, but Speedy Boarding will be in place for those who have paid for upfront or extra legroom seats.




As stated there will be operations by Titan at LGW for peak months made up of a single 757. This is described as an extra line of flying...

The aircraft will be fully manned by Titan and also a 'supernumary' member of staff from easyJet cabin crew. This will be to ensure a consistent on board experience for the customer. I would suggest there will be little difference to flying on usual easyJet service except you get to fly on 757...


EI-BUD

[Sark]

EcamSurprise

Thanks for that.

[Seljuk22]

17th Oct LGW-OTP 4 weekly
29th Oct BSL-KRK 3 weekly
30th Oct BSL-HRG 2 weekly
02nd Nov LPL-LCA 2 weekly
06th Nov NCL-TFS 2 weekly
14th Dec MAN-LYS 1 weekly
16th Dec SXF-SZG 5 wekly
13th Feb LTN-VCE 4 weekly
Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/04-07-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)
Aktuelle Neuigkeiten - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/04-07-2013b-de.aspx?sc_lang=de-DE)

June figures:
Passengers: 5,537,275 +1,9%
Load factor: 89.9% +0.0 p.p.

[davidjohnson6]

Can London-Bucharest really sustain 5 different airlines ?

[LGS6753]

DJ6 -

From next January when Bulgarians and Romanians are free to settle in the UK, the market will expand noticeably.

[davidjohnson6]

LGS - I agree EU labour mobility will expand the market. Howevere 5 carriers competing and needing to make a profit suggests a vicious battle for consumers. The only EU routes I can think of from the UK where 5 carriers survive typically have 12 or more flights per day - routes like London to Rome, Alicante, Palma or Malaga.

Maybe Easyjet will make money on the route but I just don't see room for 5 profitable players - best guess is that 1 airline will end up being squeezed out after a price war.

[LGS6753]

DJ6,

You may be right. Time will tell, so watch this space!
I would have thought that Blue Air would struggle against Wizz, but they are maintaining their schedule at present.

[danielson81]

Didn't EZY do LGW to OTP in 2007/8?

[Flightrider]

Yes, they did - it didn't work due to low yields and poor ancillary revenue (next to no on-board spend) and so they pulled it. I can't see why either of those two factors should be any different this time round!

[isitcheerie]

Any body heard if U2 are actually going to fly LGW-JER or LGW-GCI next year?

[cornishsimon]

Or even NQY ?

On the subject, does anyone know how LPL & SEN are doing at NQY ?


cs

[eu01]

I think Stelios has even admitted him self in one of the articles that he thinks the deal will go through... as I'm sure it will too!
It went smoothly, in favour of the deal were cast about 57 percent of votes.
Between 2015 and 2017 35 current A320s will be taken, then between 2017 and 2022 are to be delivered next 100 aircraft, all of them re-engined A320neos.

[LGS6753]

Report from the meeting:

Sir Stelios cuts easyJet holding as Airbus order wins backing - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/10173694/EasyJet-survives-aircraft-vote.html)

Note this comment:

The bigger planes will predominantly be used in existing markets to snatch further share from legacy carriers, easyJet’s chief executive Carolyn McCall said. Any new routes will simply be “joining the dots in our current network”, she said.

[LGS6753]

Questor share tip: Buy easyJet shares as they continue to fly - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/10180737/Questor-share-tip-Buy-easyJet-shares-as-they-continue-to-fly.html)

Interestingly, the same columnist tips Ryanair today.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

The summer is doing better than expected. Profit before tax for the fiscal year ending September 30th. 2013 now expected at 450-480 million pounds.

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/24-07-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Must admit having flown FR and EZY within a week of each other EZY in my humble view stands out miles better particularly if cost is equal. The onboard experience on EZY is just much much better and I could understand the pa which helps...The pre assigned seating is also a winner in my humble view

[racedo]

Must admit having flown FR and EZY within a week of each other EZY in my humble view stands out miles better particularly if cost is equal. The onboard experience on EZY is just much much better and I could understand the pa which helps...The pre assigned seating is also a winner in my humble view

What is the price differential that would alter your viewpoint assumming you travelling alone ?

[FR-]

Depends on the distance, but I would pay an extra £20 to fly EZY for mainland Europe trips. Saying that I did use FR a few times early in the summer season to Ibiza to visit family, ticket was only £20rtn.

[Drive4it]

Hi All

Does anyone know of EZY looking at basing an aircraft in Greece at both HER & RHO?
Hoping there is truth in it. Maybe look at doing a domestic route followed by an international each day? For Example RHO - ATH -RHO - MAN - RHO

[davidjohnson6]

Routes between NW Europe and Greek islands are very seasonal - plenty of traffic in July, zilch in January. I'm not saying it won't happen, but if an airline wants to set up a base, it's usually better to do it in a location which has demand all year round.

You can probably find some statistics showing how much demand varies between summer and winter if you're interested at
???????? ????????? ?????????? - ??????? Web Site. (http://www.hcaa.gr/content/index.asp?tid=15&lang=2)
(Note - sorry about the question marks, but the Greek alphabet doesn't show up well on here)

Alternatively, look at
Rhodes International Airport - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhodes_International_Airport#Airlines_and_destinations)
You will notice that virtually every single route is listed as "Seasonal"

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Bases are made where there is a business demand. Purely leisure trafic is interested in price alone, which means you can fly in the middle of the night and people will still book if the price is right. Further to that, as DJ mentions, Greek islands are extremely seasonal. There is virtually nothing going on in the winter.

[FRatSTN]

Anybody know when EasyJet will put flights after March 2014 on sale?

I thought they usually released up until mid-June from around late July/early August, and then the rest of the summer from around September/October time.

Are they doing it differently this year?

[Drive4it]

According to there Facebook page:

Apr May Jun to go on sale 1st week of Sept13, with Jul Aug Sep Oct to go on sale in Oct13.


They say they're going to announce routes before sale which doesnt give them much time............

Im holding out for BHX - RHO with the continuing problems with Small Planet Airlines and others before covering BHX Summer routes on behalf of Olympic Holidays.

Surely the routes will be there for grabs.

Also, anyone ideas on FR releasing dates for Summer14?

[GayFriendly]

BHX-RHO? I wouldn't hold your breath for RHO or indeed any new route by EZY from BHX! Do EZY fly on behalf of Olympic from other airports?

For reasons best known to themselves, EZY and BHX just can't or don't want to get into bed with each other. Guess we have to be thankful for the year round BHX-BFS route.

Why Olympic Holidays continue with these third rate carriers to operate (or not!) it's summer programme from BHX is beyond me. At least CY seem to be doing a good job for them this year after a fairly bad start with Enter Air.

[VickersVicount]

"Why Olympic Holidays continue with these third rate carriers "
Now I think we all know the answer to that.....:rolleyes:

[FRatSTN]

Also, anyone ideas on FR releasing dates for Summer14?

Ryanair is always later than EasyJet. It will probably be November before we see anything but they tend to release right up until October in one go. New route announcements from them however can be announced before flights go on sale as early as October, but tend to follow up into December/January.

I'm surprised EasyJet haven't already released April, May and June 2014 as they tend to do that in late July into early August, with July-October following in mid September.

I wonder what the possible new routes will be? Hopefully not just Gatwick to here, there and everywhere. Would be nice to see Glasgow, Liverpool or Luton or Stansted get something new, or possibly Birmingham?

[marko1]

It would be nice to see some new routes from bristol . Eg rhodes and venice

[VickersVicount]

cant see GLA getting anything, rumours are of a base cut

[fa2fi]

What do you mean by base cut? Do you mean a reduction in aircraft or a base closure?

[j636]

Don't expect LPL will get anything either, will be lucky to keep their current size I expect. Overall would say growth from the UK will be small..

LGW will see most capacity increase with the extra slots to fill. EDI and MAN will probably see a new route or two also. These bases seem to be getting a lot of focus from EZY over the last while.

[EI-BUD]

It will be of interest what plans materialise for post end of March 2014 for the LGW slots that are to come from Flybe. Inverness confirmed for a night stop and early flight to LGW, besides that nothing so far.

They have said the slots would be used to increase frequency on existing routes. Though remains to be seen, there are additional peak early morning arrivals times there in the mix, and unless these are used on flights from existing bases, additional night stops to come.

IOM though has be debated somewhat, lies in the balance regarding frequency to London, I sense that EZY will fill the gap being left, but this all remains to be seen.

On an entirely separate but related note, what are Flybe going to do with the freed up capacity from the LGW services?

EI-BUD

[ReallyAnnoyed]

9 airframes will join the fleet for growth in the next financial year, so there will not be massive growth other than the LGW Flybe slots.

[Skipness One Echo]

What do you mean by base cut? Do you mean a reduction in aircraft or a base closure?
Yes Cassandra, do share the rumour please....

[HH6702]

I would suggest that is gla is to loose an aircraft it will go to either edi or man.
Lgw will grow as they have the extra slots but they may be able to better use the aircraft they have by reducing turnaround times there?

If lpl loose and aircraft it will go to man!

I would expect a little play around with the routes of the other bases. Would be nice if TFS was offered at ncl throughout the summer too

[barry lloyd]

Don't except LPL will get anything either, will be lucky to keep there current size I expect. Overall would say growth from the UK will be small..


Don't EXPECT LPL will get anything either, will be lucky to keep THEIR current size (whatever that means!) I expect.

(Translated into correct English for the benefit of those who may not understand WTF the poster is talking about!)

[barry lloyd]

I would suggest that is gla is to loose an aircraft it will go to either edi or man.
Lgw will grow as they have the extra slots but they may be able to better use the aircraft they have by reducing turnaround times there?

If lpl loose and aircraft it will go to man!


GLA is about to LOSE an aircraft...

Reducing turnaround times? They are standard throughout the EZY network!

If lpl loose and [sic] aircraft it will go to man - please state the source of this information - do you work in EZY route planning or are you writing this from your bedroom?

When you can put forward a reasoned argument in acceptable English, I'll be happy to listen to your points of view, until then I suggest you spend your spare time learning how to put forward a reasoned argument in a form of English that we can all understand.

[Jack1985]

WTF the poster is talking about!

Chillout mate, I understood fully what the poster said.

[barry lloyd]

Well, that's fine for you, but I also studied English at School, (I AM English!)but I just find it difficult to understand what some of these posters are trying to say. I'm willing to listen to their point of view. It just helps to be able to read people's postings without having to translate them first!

[cornishsimon]

I find it always helps not to be rude !

but back on the subject, I also will be interested to see what U2 do with bases, routes and aircraft etc.

Obviously my main interest will be NQY and what if anything is offered to NQY from bases next year.

I get the feeling that LPL will offer a NQY rotation again, maybe a longer run and might be 4 or 5 weekly.

I can also see potential for MAN-NQY in addition to the current summer time daily BE route, something which worked for BMI Baby and Air Southwest.

The interesting thing for NQY & U2 will be what if anything they decide to offer from LGW-NQY




cs

[barry lloyd]

Not being rude. Simply asking the posters to put their points in a way which we can all easily understand, given that this is an international forum. I believe English is the first language of the current posters - what's rude about that?

I too hope that routes will be offered to NQY from the north of England next year. It's a long drive from anywhere north of Birmingham, and frankly I would rather fly to NQY than drive there.

[j636]

If lpl loose and [sic] aircraft it will go to man - please state the source of this information - do you work in EZY route planning or are you writing this from your bedroom?

When you can put forward a reasoned argument in acceptable English, I'll be happy to listen to your points of view, until then I suggest you spend your spare time learning how to put forward a reasoned argument in a form of English that we can all understand

I have made no reference to Manchester getting an aircraft from Liverpool, what I did say was that LPL won't see growth. EZY have shown they are not overly committed to Liverpool in the last few years and this won't change. Just to be very clear a new route from MAN doesn't mean a new based unit.

I don't work for EZY planning department but I have sources not specific to the route planners.

I do apologize for my spelling mistake which clearly has upset you more than most posters!

[barry lloyd]

EDI and MAN will probably see a new route or two also. These bases seem to be getting a lot of focus from EZY over the last while.

Please explain your rationale for this comment and what routes you think will be introduced to the network.

[GnRdL]

9 airframes will join the fleet for growth in the next financial year, so there will not be massive growth other than the LGW Flybe slots.
I would add STN.

Stansted: easyJet sign long-term deal to double traffic at Stansted (http://www.stanstedairport.com/about-us/media-centre/press-releases/easyjet-sign-long_term-deal-to-double-traffic-at-stansted)

[dwlpl]

Continuing the quoting theme regarding expansion, here is one from last month regarding expansion from Liverpool.

easyJet and Liverpool John Lennon Airport (JLA) have confirmed the signing of a new 9 year agreement that will see the continued expansion of the UK’s largest airline from Liverpool.

To coincide with this long term commitment to Liverpool, easyJet have also announced the addition of a new destination from JLA, with flights to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus starting this winter. The airline is also celebrating its inaugural flights to Newquay and Nantes this week.

This new contract will enable easyJet to look at new route opportunities to grow their business from JLA over the long term, building on their already well-established Liverpool base.

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/04-07-2013h-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[FRatSTN]

Based on what we've heard over the last few months, Liverpool and Stansted should be the ones seeing the growth but I now don't think either will in 2014, but maybe beyond that.

About the Flybe slots at Gatwick, EasyJet will station one aircraft in Inverness as previously said.

Gatwick itself has about 55 based aircraft as it is, which probably allows for a quite a bit of wriggle room in the schedule to add a number of other slot pairs with the existing fleet at Gatwick.

The point I'm basically making is that maybe only a few additional aircraft would actually have to be added to Gatwick to take over all the Flybe slots, if the efficiency of the current aircraft at Gatwick is increased.

With 9 aircraft joining the fleet, there could still be a few left over for potential growth and some other bases.

And there's always the strong possibility that one base may gain aircraft at another's expense, such as Glasgow losing one to Edinburgh for example.

[Skipness One Echo]

@HH6702 when you suggest GLA is to lose a based unti to EDI or MAN is this based on inside knowledge or your finger in the air?

Much of the quotes are standard prattlings from marketing who are paid to commmunicate such twaddle.

[Larrylaz]

No a/c based at Inv. Will be a night stop from LGW. Also LGW looking at up to 10 extra a/c for summer 14.

[j636]

Barry llyod

I didn't go in detail about exact routes just that those airports I stated might see a route or two added and that LGW will see increase in based unites next year.

In simple words 2014 will be more less all about LGW for EZY.

[The Flying Cokeman]

EZY has 58 planes based in LGW at the moment and expect to increase the fleet there by 7 to cover the newly acquired slots from Flybe from March 14. As mentioned earlier 1 plane from LGW will be overnighting in INV using a Flybe slot.

[PAXboy]

Have just got my boarding passes for a trip this weekend and seem to see a change from my last on EZY in June.

Following the download there was no 'you are now checked in'. No change of status. Is that the way they do it now?

Thanks.

[airadio]

Thats just a load of company spin very much doubt Liverpool will see any expansion

[mikkie4]

What about SEN,with the lose of the belfast flight we have a gap for another destination, also anychance of a 5 based aircraft?

[BAladdy]

What about SEN,with the lose of the belfast flight we have a gap for another destination, also anychance of a 5 based aircraft?

Or a increase in frequency to EDI and another existing destination,

[Barling Magna]

Yes, BRS has four flights per day to EDI. SEN could viably offer more than the single service currently.

[Aero Mad]

Easyjet will operate LGW-JER 3x daily from 30 March 2014, but not LGW-GCI because of runway restrictions.

channelonline.tv - News, Weather & Information for the Channel Islands - EasyJet launches Jersey Gatwick service (http://www.channelonline.tv/channelonline/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=506968)

[FRatSTN]

I emailed Ms McCall of EasyJet yesterday regarding their network at Stansted, since it has seem some significant capacity cuts in recent years. I wanted to get to the bottom of what they are actually doing and what this "growth framework agreement" actually means.

I firstly made it clear I was not unhappy about capacity cuts as such, but instead at how they had completely axed such core routes like ALC, BCN and FAO and cut capacity by a massive 40% in two years by saying it was completely inexplicable to remove so much capacity so rapidly, regardless of what their reasoning is.

I told them also that regardless of current yields, I think they are losing potential customers (both future and historic customers) by moving traffic away from a major airport like Stansted to a smaller, more local airport like Southend. This is because I don't believe it widens their catchment area or gives greater coverage of the UK market as a whole, but in fact quite the opposite (undoubtedly it gives a greater coverage of the London and local markets, but certainly not the UK in general and the regions further outside the capital).

I highlighted that whilst significant reduction at Stansted may not be a problem now because of the current financial climate, it may damage future growth opportunities and customer loyalty, especially in the more distance catchment area that Stansted covers (Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Norfolk, Suffolk as well as parts of north/east London and parts of Essex more locally).

I also said that I was very disappointed that they had continued to downsize despite potential new opportunities and services the new owners MAG could offer to both EZY and their customers.

I even mentioned that a simple Google search for one of the axed Stansted routes eg. "EasyJet Stansted Alicante" shows a number of pages and forums expressing disappointment and inconvenience caused amongst people across a large expanse in the UK, and that it may harm EasyJet's image and custom in these areas if decline at Stansted continues.

I emphasised the geographical expanse and quantity of people who it actually disadvantages and said it is almost a right kick in the teeth to some loyal customers with a rapidly deteriorating choice and service available.

Earlier I got a response on Ms McCall's behalf, and this is what it said:

"Thank you for your e-mail to Carolyn. Unfortunately, Carolyn is very busy, however I can confirm that she has seen this and has asked me to respond on her behalf.

I would like to inform you that easyJet signed a long term growth framework deal with the Manchester Airports Group that own Stansted Airport in June 2013. The deal is worth an estimated GBP1.5 billion and we are planning to increase our capacity from 2.8 million passengers per annum to potentially 6 million within the next five years. This will consequently increase the number of aircraft operated from the current eight, as we recognise the potential of the airport and the region.

No decision and changes that have been implemented are made lightly, without considering the impact on our customers that build the foundation of our business. Customer Service and experience build our business model and we are always looking at ways to further increase our customer satisfaction. We pride ourselves on the level of service we offer, so naturally I was disappointed to read your feedback and comments.

Please be advised that the Scheduling Department are aware of this and the matter is being discussed internally. Our flight schedules are due to be released in September. You may follow this in order to find out more about new routes that we will be implementing.

I wish you a pleasant day."

It was not quite the response I was expecting as it was actually more encouraging than I expected. It seems to suggest that the growth framework agreement is perhaps more concrete than some of us thought it was.

It talks what looks more definitely about the number of passengers growing and consequently more than eight aircraft as they see potential in the region, and also interestingly that the matter is being discussed internally, which is a massive step in the right direction from when I last emailed them several months ago.

The response I got then which was before the growth deal was announced in June, just said that Stansted had seen increasing landing charges, further weakening EasyJet's yields and told me that they recognised that their response was "not what I was actively seeking for."

I still think 2014 is ambitious but it certainly looks a lot more interesting for 2015 and beyond.

[EssexMan61]

FRatSTN -

You do seem to have a bit of a downer on Southend. So -Easyjet have moved a few (3????) routes to exclusively operate from Southend instead of Stansted. I read a post recently - I think it was on SKYTRAX Airport Reviews - bemoaning the fact that the author now had to travel to SEN instead of STN to travel to Alicante (if I remember the destination correctly).. Well I would like to bemoan the fact that I have to travel to STN for certain routes when there is a perfectly good Easyjet base at SEN!! Trust me - getting the X30 bus from Southend at 0300 or 0400hrs is not cheap, convenient, or enjoyable!! Nor do I like the cavernous Stansted when I arrive there. Buy - hey - live and let live!!!!

I would imagine that SEN is always going to be a fairly small player in the overall scheme of Londons airports but - please - let us look forward to its expansion to full potential. I travel far more on EZY since they started operating from SEN and am very grateful to both EZY and SEN for the great opportunities provided by this expansion. The size and ambience of London Southend offers a much more pleasant travel experience than some of the other options. I am off to Amsterdam next week from SEN and am very happy to have this option. I did my time travelling to STN and -to be honest - I did not like it!!

Now - if Greater Anglia / Abellio could finally play ball with some extended early / late trains then that really would be the icing on the cake.

[FRatSTN]

Yawn!

You are one person who strangely enough lives locally so of course are going to prefer SEN.

You even complain about having to travel to Stansted within Essex!

Think about all of those who would have to travel past a major and better connected airport like Stansted right down to Southend because we no longer have the choice to use Stansted!

The truth is, very few people will. I have nothing against Southend, but it covers only a much more local catchment area.

EasyJet may well fill planes ok at SEN, but the people in them will be generally a lot more local, hence EasyJet has reduced it's catchment area as it seeks a way to increase yields.

And by the way, Fuerteventura, Madeira and Tallinn also no longer available from Stansted and massively less choice of flights to Malaga, Palma, and even city routes like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Munich, amongst others!

[fatmed]

surely if there were this huge potential from stn that ezy has thrown away then another airline would have jumped straight in?

[wowzz]

fatmed - who do you imagine would 'jump' into STN?
Why didn't EZY just fly to, for example, BCN from both SEN and STN and let the market decide which is the most popular route

[Drive4it]

If EZY pull routes from LTN where would that make the nearest considerable airport serving Yorks, E.Mids & W. Mids?

We are surrounded by Regional airports but non served by EZY.

[LAX_LHR]

If EZY pull routes from LTN where would that make the nearest considerable
airport serving Yorks, E.Mids & W. Mids?


For Yorks and the northern edge of the West Mids, MAN will be their easiest option with direct trains, coaches and motorway links.

[easyflyer83]

Indeed, MAN has always been one of the (if not the) primary airport for much Yorkshire. Many folk in South Yorkshire particularly would never dream of using LBA. Despite some congestion at peak times, MAN is a very easy airport to get to by road together with good rail links.

[BHX5DME]

BHX are crying out for a EZY base and probably came close to getting one until the FlyBe slots at LGW were bought be EZY.

Hope I am wrong and BHX will still get EZY SOON.

[FRatSTN]

surely if there were this huge potential from stn that ezy has thrown away then another airline would have jumped straight in?

There already has been. It's called Ryanair!

Ryanair may have cut back as well (although nowhere near as much as EZY has) but they now serve Barcelona and Tallinn and have more flights to Alicante, Faro and Fuerteventura since EZY dropped those routes, but admittedly still not sufficient enough to cover EZY's withdrawal.

And Thomas Cook have added another aircraft and new holidays, where EZY's cutting back may have made it more attractive for them? Especially as Thomas Cook said this:

"We believe that this area of the country is currently underserved with respect of airport departures to holiday destinations and that demand exists to make our partnership with the airport a continued success."

[Drive4it]

Surely if FlyBe share holders are happy with the sell off at LGW, they would also look towards a mass sell off to EZY at BHX?? Thats my hope.

On another note: I would love to see EZY back at EMA, but thatll never happen: FlyBe are not doing a great job of time keeping at EMA with commuter flights. For example yesterday they cancelled the mid afternoon Glasgow to EMA flight, and then the evening flight was delayed by an hour. Much the same this lunchtime too.

[j636]

Surely if FlyBe share holders are happy with the sell off at LGW, they would also look towards a mass sell off to EZY at BHX?? Thats my hope.


Why, BHX isn't at capacity and not restricted all when it comes to slots. EZY could apply for as many slots as Flybe have there and get them no problem if they wanted to.

[chaps2011]

Different market at bhx as well

chaps

[North West]

Different in what way ?

[chaps2011]

Most of Flybe ex BHX are domestic or low volume France with a few major
European Cities. If you look at Manchester there is virtually no overlap
except Belfast and even they are different airports

Chaps

[FRatSTN]

I heard elsewhere that EasyJet flights up to June 2014 will be put on sale tomorrow. I thought it was Thursday but could be wrong.

Should certainly be this week anyway.

[Drive4it]

FRatSTN

According to EZY Facebook page they go on sale tomorrow for Apr/May/Jun.

Does anyone have any ideas of additional routes at all?

ALSO - FRatSTN, when would we expect to see FR Apr-Jun flights go on sale?

[BFS BHD]

Quote from easyJets FB page:

We hope to release our Spring flights schedule tomorrow.

:)

[FRatSTN]

ALSO - FRatSTN, when would we expect to see FR Apr-Jun flights go on sale?

Ryanair are quite late. Probably in November but unlike EZY they release right up until October rather than just to June.

[davidjohnson6]

Spring 2014 seats now released until 15 June
No new routes yet though - not even LGW-JER

[cornishsimon]

Nothing for NQY ?


cs

[Expressflight]

Perhaps too early to say for NQY as the timetable issued today runs only until 15th June 2014 and the new LGW-JER route isn't shown at all at present, so there may be other new routes still to be announced.

[FR8364]

Some slots in LGW will be used to increase frequencies on LGW-SVQ route. It goes from 5 weekly to daily from 26th March 2014.

Regards :ok:

[easydan319]

All bases which fly into Gatwick will now take over most early morning flights (Base - LGW - Base) except Nice. (BFS,EDI,GLA, SXF, MXP, FCO,BSL, GVA, TLS, LYS, LIS)

LGW based crew currently do night stops in BCN, MAD and CPH. This will be joined by AMS and INV for Sum14.

What is interesting though is that Hamburg has outbound flights to LGW in the early morning but the plane then flies back to Hamburg. Anyone know if Hamburg is going to be a new base for easyJet?

[ATIS]

Just sold my shares. Thank you Easyjet. Not bad for 8months

[CCFAIRPORT]

NEW ROUTE FROM SUMMER 14

Belfast Intl to Bordeaux

[GAZMO]

Also BFS to JER

[Ramper1]

easydan319

The hamburg will operate as a W pattern hence plane going back to hamburg.

[Capetonian]

I had to laugh .........OK it's the DM. They can't even write 'easyJet' properly.

EasyJet captain asked for volunteers to leave overbooked flight in exchange for later journey, hotel stay and 400 Euros | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2416758/EasyJet-captain-asked-volunteers-leave-overbooked-flight-exchange-later-journey-hotel-stay-400-Euros.html)

It wasn't overbooked, it was above MTOW. Then you get the reader comments from the idiotic :
100 seats = 100 tickets, how can you over book, someone needs maths lessons.

to the more intelligent :
.... the pilot obviously acted accordingly, by ensuring that the plane was safe to fly. I'm unsure of what is being reported here. Although I have noticed that the DM consistently prints negative comments regarding low cost airlines.

[gilesdavies]

It wasn't overbooked, it was above MTOW.

Please forgive me if this is a stupid question and don't shoot me down...

But how can a flight like Gatwick to Brindisi exceed the aircrafts MTOW? easyJet operate far longer sectors than this, and these fights are full too. The only cargo would be customers hold luggage, as the airline doesn't carry other cargo - Does it?

We have had no hot weather to effect take off performance in the last few days, and Gatwick's long runway should not restrict a fully loaded A319/320.

Im just asking out of curousity, as my technical knowledge on what caused the issue is limited. :)

[j636]

To many fat passengers on the aircraft.:D

It is strange with it being quiet a short sector. It would be understandable if it was going to TLV or TFS for example.

[gilesdavies]

Just sold my shares. Thank you Easyjet. Not bad for 8months

Ohhhh no!

Have you seen the share price today? They closed up 91p (7.18%) at 1358p...
easyJet plc: LON:EZJ quotes & news - Google Finance (http://www.google.co.uk/finance?q=LON%3AEZJ&ei=1aMvUqi0BseYwQOg5gE)

I would be interested to know why the huge jump today, wonder if there is some rumours in the city on some possible anouncement tomorrow, that has caused some excitement?

More new aircraft, new markets/routes?!

[davidjohnson6]

A special dividend is thought to be coming soon - ie return of spare cash to shareholders instead of sitting in an easyjet bank account.

[Capetonian]

But how can a flight like Gatwick to Brindisi exceed the aircrafts MTOW?I am sure someone with greater knowledge than I will be able to answer this, but when I worked at an airport MTOW would sometimes be exceeded if runway temperature increased above the expected, if weather conditions changed suddenly causing extra fuel uplift to be required, or fuel supply down route problems meant having to tanker. Or simply, a c*ck-up! It happens.

[Tagron]

I am certain this problem is not related to the performance capabilities of the aircraft either in respect of the runway or the sector length . The issue will almost certainly revolve around the certificated MTOW of the aircraft, which is a flat line figure. It is common practice for airlines to certificate MTOWs well below the theoretical maximum attributable to performance considerations. They do this in order to save costs because landing and en route charges are frequently based on certificated MTOW. In the case of easyJet I believe most of their A319s are certificated to 68 tonnes MTOW though some are only 66 or 64 tonnes,whereas some airlines use up to 75 tonnes.

There is nothing wrong with this practice, except that it gives the airline less headroom when circumstances on the day exceed the schedule planning assumptions. For example no-one knows for sure how much baggage will be checked in until it has all been weighed. There could be other factors such as a higher than usual fuel requirement e.g. due to alternate weather issues. Whatever the cause there seems to have been a disconnect within the system in that the problem was not identified sooner.

The issue also surfaced recently in the context of BA A319 operations from LGW to/from the Canaries where MTOW appears to have been the culprit, resulting in tech stops for fuel. .

I understand that easyJet use A320s for their longer sectors . Their A320s appear to have MTOWs of 73.5 or 77 tonnes and I imagine they only schedule the 77t aircraft for their Eastern Med services such as TLV and SSH.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Ramper1, how do you know that the HAM flights will be operated as a w pattern? None of the existing routes will work with a w and there are currently not enough flights ex HAM to support a base either, so further routes are due to be announced some time in the autumn, I reckon. I am, however, curious to know if you are just guessing or if you have some knowledge from our commercial department that the rest of us do not?

[LGS6753]

Apparently, the reason for the large increase in share price was a $6 drop in the oil price, in the hope of no action over Syria. IAG shares increased too.

[Keyvon]

EZY is to axe a number of routes from Lisbon, over the next few months. These are Venice, Rome, Asturias and Valencia.

A couple of other Italian routes seem also to cease at the end of this summer timetable, including: Verona-Paris Cdg and Rome Fco-Venice.

[SouBE]

Hamburg is more likely to be a nightstop by other bases, rather than a new base.

[wallp]

I'm interested to know people's thoughts on where they see EasyJet's relationship with Luton in the coming years?

Obviously the base is very well established over many years and the airline has strong links with the town in other ways too.

On the flying front, I know a new route to Venice is planned whilst the Istanbul route will cease. Is there likely to be any significant growth at Luton in the coming years, particularly as the economy improves? If so, where could work in terms of new routes or increased frequencies from Luton?

[gilesdavies]

My pennies thought if it is worth anything, is that future growth will come to Luton, but more in the longer term and is going to be at a far slow level that we have seen in previous year...

Going by all the growth that is taking place at Gatwick and that the airline has all the FlyBE slots it recently purchased to fill, this is probably going to hinder growth from the other London airports for the next year or so, as new aircraft delivered will be required to fill these.

A lot of the recent growth from Gatwick has been on business routes, and we have not seen this at Luton. So Im getting the impression that easyJet, might be taking Luton back to its grass routes and focus the base on primarily holiday/city break destinations. With a sprinkling of traditional routes that are used by both tourist and business travellers like Amsterdam, Paris, Berlin, Zurich and Milan.

While also offering the niche routes like Tel Aviv, which is specifically flown from Luton to capture the huge Jewish market of North London.

There was concern when easyJet announced they will grow Stansted this might come at Luton's expense... But so far the Summer 2014 schedule that has been released, has alleviated these concerns and is pretty much the same schedule as present. The main changes were, the loss of Istanbul, the new Venice route, Reykjavik increasing to six times weekly, Minorca being reduced to once weekly and Budapest going to four times weekly. There maybe room for a twice weekly route to be announced to summer sun destination.

I don't think too much needs to read into the loss of Istanbul, this route is also being dropped from Basel, which was the only other base they flew to Istanbul from. It is probably a case the likes of Turkish Airlines and Pegasus have squeezed the airline out of the market, as they have grown.

The airline is supportive of expansion for Luton, but has been vocal and made it clear ground transportation and general infrastructure within the airport terminal needs to be improved.

When the announcement of Luton being sold to AENA last month, the airline gave quite a muted response:
“As London Luton Airport's largest airline, easyJet bases a fleet of 15 aircraft on site serving 38 destinations across Europe, Northern Africa the Middle East and Iceland carrying almost 5m passengers each year on our easy and affordable flights.
"We look forward to working with AENA and AXA to deliver enhancements to London Luton Airport which will result in sustainable growth, long term development and an improved customer experience which will help the airport to reach its full potential."

There is definately some hopes in there for possible future growth!

There is lot of talk that Luton is currently full and no room on the apron to base further aircraft, but there is atleast a couple of spare stands if easyJet did want to grow immediately, also if the airline wanted to, they could operate flights into the airport from other bases. Outside of the morning rush, there is plenty of room for growth.

While Luton is classified as a London airport, it also serves a huge area outside of London, with it being the nearest/local airport for people as far away as Northamptonshire and the southern section of M1 corridor. Also for easyJet, once you go passed Luton on the M1 heading north, they don't have another base until you hit Manchester/Liverpool. So I'd imagine you also attract some traffic from the Midlands area too.

[Ramper1]

really annoyed

I work in the commercial department, so I am in the know. Just because you don't know everything doesn't mean that it's not happening. The schedules are not finished yet, so nothing is firm enough to announce it public ally to all staff. Just wait and see :=

[Ramper1]

capetonian

They spell it EasyJet due to branding issues with the easy name. Every news article uses this to avoid being sued over ' bad mouthing ' a name or mis use of the word. It's a legal thing

[Capetonian]

Thanks for that, Ramper1, wasn't aware of it, and it seems pretty pointless, but then legal things often are hard for mortals to comprehend.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Ramper1, which is why I asked. I am fully aware that we operational personnel get told nothing until it is announced publically. As I have already mentioned in the previous post, none of the existing routes on sale work for either W or a base (not enough flights), which is why more routes are very likely to be announced in the autumn.

By the way, your attitude sucks.

[AviationNE]

Ramper1 - working in the commercial department and discussing route info on a message board should be gross misconduct. Attitude is
Nice to have in your ivory tower

[wowzz]

Going back to the thread about the future relationship between Easy and Luton, does anyone think that the continued poor customer satisfaction levels [recent 'Which' survey, 'airlinequality' website] for the airport, may have a bearing on Easy strategy ?
The decision to develop future routes from an airport that has a bad reputation for customer care may not be the best way to build traffic numbers on new routes.

[wallp]

There must surely be a knock on effect for the airlines using Luton if the airport is subject to poor customer satisfaction levels?

Whilst the service at the airport is distinguishable from the service delivered by the airlines, one does affect the other so I'd be amazed if the airlines at Luton aren't encouraging the airport to resolve the customer satisfaction issues it appears to have & quickly.

As a consumer, I'd choose another airport over Luton if my perception is that the overall level of service will be better elsewhere

[davidjohnson6]

Luton has a number of issues - a terminal busting at the seams in the early morning in a long strung-out shape which can be found at the end of a cul-de-sac road with a train station a mile away and lack of overnight ramp space are but some of them. You can pay the security screening staff to smile a bit more, but that's not going to solve Luton's problems - the only thing that really will help is a lot of money being spent on building work.

Right now, Heathrow is full, Gatwick is close to full, City cannot take an A319 / B737, so the only credible options for additional flights are really Luton or Stansted.
An airport like Shoreham gives a fantastic customer experience, but with a tiny terminal and runway far too short for a 150-seat aircraft, Luton are unlikely to be too worried.

[Barling Magna]

Well Southend will soon have more room with its expanded terminal and additional ramps. And it did top the Which? passenger satisfaction survey, of course.......

[j636]

Easyjet will be working with the new owners of LTN to improve the airport and there operations. EZY know full well the problems at LTN and want to improve passenger experience.

[BAladdy]

Daily LGW-NQY flights will start from end March

BBC News - Easyjet 'to keep Newquay-Gatwick flights' (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-24057837)

[Dannyboy39]

I've never had a problem at LTN; certainly no worse than any other airport both here and abroad. One of the worst recent experiences has been trying to get through LGW North arrivals at 1am on a Friday morning! And even then the customer service wasnt terrible.

Busy airport = constraints = unhappy pax. Its reality Im afraid.

[LTNman]

Well Southend will soon have more room with its expanded terminal and additional ramps. And it did top the Which? passenger satisfaction survey, of course.......

All very true but easyjet can only use Southend for 18 hours a day and there are no transport links to and from London for easyjet's early and late services.

[Skipness One Echo]

All very true but easyjet can only use Southend for 18 hours a day More than others use Heathrow you mean? Good point! :)
Daily LGW-NQY flights will start from end March
Not quite, they're consdering it, I suspect angling for some form of taxpayer subsidy dressed up as a start up discount.
the only thing that really will help is a lot of money being spent on building work.
It's the old gag about how do you get somewhere, well I wouldn't start from here if I were you! LTN is now what LHR did ages ago, sticking on adhoc bits willy nilly to an old terminal as far as budget will allow. Like EDI and a few others, the end result over decades is a nightmare that really needs a small fortune spent to sort it out. My definition of a good arrival experience is cold water in the bathrooms on a hot day to splash on your face and refresh, something 20th century primitve airports used to have yet we seem to have forgotten.

[davidjohnson6]

I notice that 11 days ago Easyjet released seats from late March 2014 until 15 June 2014 for routes which are already being flown or whose start date is no later than mid March 2014.
New routes which have been effectively announced like Gatwick-Jersey are not yet on sale.
There do not appear to be any extra flights on sale at Gatwick yet to cover the increase in slots due to Flybe.

I imagine there will be a sizeable number of new flights / routes for summer 2014 that are yet to go on sale. Is anyone *knowledgable* (I'm capable of guessing mid/late October) able to indicate roughly when these extra flights are likely to be made available for sale to the general public ?

[insuindi]

Easyjet with press conference on 25SEP in HAM, to announce their new HAM base.

[Saab2000 Freak]

Easyjet staff have been spotted in Guernsey over the past few days, are there concrete plans to operate into the Island?

[ReallyAnnoyed]

It is now listed on the easyjet.com page as well:

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/25-09-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[virginblue]

Funny that easyjet announced the HAM base today but refused to give any route info - this in order to protect their commercial interests. They must be really scared of Lufthansa/Germanwings who have a history of capacity dumping when a LCCshows up on their doorstep.

[MKY661]

EasyJet will also Expand Operations at Berlin (But not open a base):
EasyJet to expand operations in Hamburg and Berlin | World Airline News (http://worldairlinenews.com/2013/09/25/easyjet-to-expand-operations-in-hamburg-and-berlin/)

[ReallyAnnoyed]

What do you mean with "but not open a base"? The SXF base has been there for close to a decade now.

[MKY661]

What do you mean with "but not open a base"? The SXF base has been there for close to a decade now.

Oh I apologise for that it just went straight out of my head :) I am on Holiday so maybe that's why :)

[Ramper1]

I'm hardly going to announce something on here before it has been made public now am I??? Lol. Now it has been made public, I can answer any questions you all may have.......

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Well, it leaves two options Ramper1:

a) You misinform on purpose, making any information you write here utterly useless as you can not be trusted.

b) You are a pathological liar who tries to attach importance to statements by claiming credentials you don't possess.

I know which one I think it is, but either option renders you without any credibility anyway.

[EcamSurprise]

I'm hardly going to announce something on here before it has been made public now am I??? Lol. Now it has been made public, I can answer any questions you all may have.......

You did announce something, you said it would be a W pattern and you also said you work int he department and boasted that you're 'in the know'.

Getting the info wrong / misleading wouldn't really matter, but the way you put down others just sucked.

[Cyrano]

Here are a few quotes from past posts by Ramper1:

I work in the commercial department, so I am in the know.

but also

I've been at Easyjet for 13 years and have never nightstopped in Aberdeen. Gla, bfs and edi yes, but NEVER Aberdeen. So don't know where you got that one from
Are qantas still recruiting? If so, where can I find the application form? Looked on website and there's nothing about f/a
I've worked exclusively in the 320 this winter from LGW and I can truthfully say that I have never had less than 176 pax on any flight.
Does anyone have the telephone number for recruitment at Cityflyer? Have emailed them, but to no avail :-(. I need to contact them urgently.

So I think Ramper1 is a member of the "Commercial department" in the broadest sense, i.e. those members of the Commercial staff who wear uniforms and work on board aircraft, rather than what we might naively :cool: have imagined: head office staff who are responsible for network, pricing, marketing etc. and who are therefore "in the know" by virtue of their jobs.

See also the definition of "sciolist" at the bottom of this page... ;)

[ReallyAnnoyed]

A few more routes announced:

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/30-09-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[kriskross]

If I remember right from a previous incarnation, I bet a lot of the pax from KEF will be Icelanders coming to UK for Christmas shopping and the New Year, can't see a lot of tourism from UK in December!!

[cornishsimon]

BBC News - Newquay-Gatwick flights to end says Easyjet (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-24349088)

No NQY-LGW route but LPL back twice weekly seasonally and SEN 4 weekly seasonally.

[Wycombe]

.....whilst at the same time they seem to be prepared to enter into a competition on LGW-GCI, a route which may be operationally restricted by the runway on the island.

Never mind, I'm sure they know what they're doing.

[cornishsimon]

Can GCI actually handle a fully loaded A319 ?

[Evanelpus]

Ramper1 is incredibly quiet!:ouch:

[StoneyBridge Radar]

Ramper1 is incredibly quiet!

NDA must have kicked in...or EAH...embarrassed as hell :E

[kcockayne]

Wycombe

I'm sure that there's more (or less) than meets the eye to Easy Jets GCI-LGW application.
Time will tell. Don't be surprised if it doesn't happen !

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Trading update for the FY that ended on September 30th. 2013. No surprises and very good numbers: Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/03-10-2013-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

The profit is expected to land between 470 and 480 million pounds. Final numbers out on November 19th. 2013.

[ReallyAnnoyed]

Some of the Flybe slots will go to increased frequency on IOM flights. From March 2014, the weekly flights go from 7 to 12.

Latest news - easyJet plc (http://corporate.easyjet.com/media/latest-news/news-year-2013/07-10-2013a-en.aspx?sc_lang=en)

[GLIDERMAN]

Anyone any idea when Easyjet are likely to load the summer 2014 flights for booking? I think we had booked by this time last year.

[FR8364]

^ This week easyJet will release Summer 2014 flight schedule.

[nclairportfan]

easyJet saying on Facebook that 2014 summer flights now on sale

[strawberry Ribena]

Anyone know when the lgw-Jer seats are released?

[easydan319]

New base in Naples just announced with 5 new routes:

Hamburg
Brussels
Catania
Mykonos
Corfu

Flights on sale now.

[easydan319]

Other new routes:

Berlin - Faro
Basel - Bastia, Brindisi, Montpellier and Reykjavik

[j636]

Basel - Bastia, Brindisi, Montpellier and Reykjavik

And ninth aircraft.

[pabely]

I hear EZY looking at A350Lite for high density routes, could be routine as they have considered other frames in the past.

[strawberry Ribena]

No way! Where did you read this??

[pabely]

The Lite version was discussed officially by Airbus at Paris Airshow this year, so not really a LONG time.

[Airbourne-Adamski]

When the new Airbus order was done did the press release not say X amount ordered with X amount option on 'Airbus family aircraft' read into that what you will :-D

[apaul]

EasyJet's booking and online check-in have been down most of today. If they are the way you do business you should make sure they work.

[davidjohnson6]

apaul - I used to work for a large retail travel company that did approx 99% of its sales over the interweb. Senior management usually took strong interest whenever the website went down for more than a few minutes - the loss of sales revenue was typically of great concern.

[Cyrano]

When the new Airbus order was done did the press release not say X amount ordered with X amount option on 'Airbus family aircraft' read into that what you will :-D

See here (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=easyjet+airbus+order):
Following its shareholders’ approval, easyJet has firmed up the purchase of 135 Airbus A320 family aircraft

That took several seconds of googling. But hey, why let facts get in the way?

[Throat]

Just seen a interview with a easyjet representative on itv news, whom seemed to be sitting in front of a easyjet liveried 787 model

[easyflyer83]

That took several seconds of googling. But hey, why let facts get in the way?

Why the attitude?
You're absolutely right in what you are saying but Airbourne made an honest mistake and even then within what he said he questioned himself what he was saying....

did the press release not say X amount ordered with X amount option on 'Airbus family aircraft'

[racedo]

EasyJet's booking and online check-in have been down most of today. If they are the way you do business you should make sure they work. Still down which is a surprise.............................I presumed they would have a contingency mirror site in the event of this occurring.

Hacked or DBAse error ?

[BFS BHD]

Website now back to normal and 'up to' 25% sale extended to Wednesday midnight!

[FRatSTN]

Have heard that EasyJet will be announcing new routes for Summer 2014 on Wednesday. Probably a shed load of new Gatwick routes, but anybody know any details as of yet?

[VickersVicount]

Would be good if some other UK airports got some more substantial EZY expansion for next summer ie NCL / GLA.

[davidjohnson6]

At the very least, Gatwick-Jersey has to be released for sale pretty soon given that flights begin in late March 2014

[The Flying Cokeman]

New routes from LGW Will be Jersey, brest, Newcastle and Paris CDG.

All of them coming on sale tomorrow apparently.

[FR8364]

^ And also some new routes from Italy.

[pamann]

Will Stansted get a look in at some new routes I wonder? Some great gaps in the market to be exploited and if they re-introduce Faro and Alicante that would be a definite thumbs up. :ok:

[peppo_8787]

U2 opens Palermo-Nice from July 6th

PMO-NCE --3---7

[mikkie4]

Faro,Alicante,along with Barcelona were transfered to Southend

[easydan319]

18 new routes altogether:

Nice - Palermo, Marrakech, Lisbon
Lyon - Palma, Split
Bordeaux - Amsterdam, Marrakech, Brussels
Gatwick - Newcastle, Paris CDG, Brest, Jersey
Belfast - Bordeaux, Jersey
Edinburgh - Bodrum, Heraklion
Glashow - Kos, Split

[nclairportfan]

I thought EZY had bought 25 LGW slots from BE from end of March. The new routes so far announced don't add upto to 25 so I assume there will either be more new routes or capacity increases on popular routes?

[LGS6753]

When they acquired the slots, EZY said that they would be used both for new destinations and frequency increases.

[pilothouse]

easyJet, you have what is basically a good quality, affordable product, thank you. And I'm grateful that you and others are giving us route choices that we would never have thought would happen.

But I can see absolutely no sign that you are trying to make the ground journey in any way tolerable. Last night in Berlin, for example, the 2135 SFX-LPL. I notice as I pass Arrivals that the inbound from Liverpool is due at 2107. I reach the departure lounge at 2040 to read that my flight is apparently "boarding" and the gate will "close" at 2105.

Well, I always take this stuff with a pinch of salt but I am not going to risk getting the gate after 2105 in case someone decides that this is an excellent way of taking more money off me. So I go to the gate immediately and amazingly the queues are tiny. All the other suckers are way ahead of me!

The departure lounge is like a prison and stuffed with a full load of passengers. No proper food nor drink nor water, no toilets and seating for well less than half. It's 2050, and there is still nearly 20 minutes till our plane is going to land. A lot of people seem to think that the plane outside is ours and some are queueing for it (despite the allocated seating, so they must be worried about bag space) but it's on the next stand, not ours.

I'm not of an age where I can stand up for ever, so I sink to the hard floor and open my final German beer, eyed enviously by the friendly student slumped next to me. I read quietly, and eventually our plane arrives. The passengers have not even started to get off but half of us get up and join the queue. At least I now have a chair.

After what seems an age, the doors of our prison open and everyone charges out, to join... yes, another queue. Soon just two of us are left in the departure lounge, the other being a pleasant and very pregnant lady.

I expect us to be ejected but we sit there until the backs of the queues reach the bottoms of the steps, and then wander out. On board, we queue while crew and passengers achieve miracles with cabin baggage. I have to say, the cabin crew are excellent considering they were on a lunchtime GVA beforehand.

At Liverpool, as soon as the engines shut down, everyone gets up and yes, you've guessed it, they queue to get off. There is nobody to meet the aircraft so they queue for 15 minutes. Unbelievably, nobody complains. The girl behind me, on her phone, tells her mother but seems to think this is just normal.

The tolerance of all these people is remarkable. Do they not notice all this unnecessary queueing? Do they not query that they are being suckered, just because easyJet is petrified of the passengers not being ready? Do they not object to the abysmal discomfort of the departure lounges? Have they been dumbed down to expect such inconsiderate treatment? Because that is what it is - there is nothing here that a bit of thoughtfulness couldn't solve.

How about business passengers? In the old days, even in economy, ground handling was nothing like this. To be a frequent flyer in Europe now must be a fate worse than death.

It's all in the hands of easyJet. Come on, somebody high up in the airline who has the power to make changes, take a flight on your own airline and count up how long you stand queueing unnecessarily. At the moment, it feels like you are videoing the best queueing moments and you play them back to the Board over a few Friday night beers and have a lot of laughs. What suckers all you passengers are, you exclaim!

And fellow passengers, play them at their own game. Join the tiny handful of people that only join a queue when it has almost disappeared. If we all do that, then easyJet will have to do things differently. And not before time.

[GAZMO]

Pilothouse

Fantastic......I like your thoughts

Just like the ark we queue, but I would not just say its an EASYJET thing. Even in LHR pax are like vultures hovering around the departures board and dashing to the gate as soon as the gate number appears

When flying with EZY it depends. If a have a shoulder bag then sit relax and go on last and put shoulder bag under the seat. If I have a carry on bag yes I probably will be one of those vultures!!!

[pilothouse]

Not just an easyJet thing, I would totally agree.

However, easyJet is the airline most likely to get a grip and change things for the better.

There's absolutely no point in having a similar rant about Ryanair, is there?!

[racedo]

There's absolutely no point in having a similar rant about Ryanair, is there?!

Why ?

Is that because their OTP is a bit above U2 ?

[BusBoy]

Pilothouse Fair point about SXF. Clearly not a direct EZY issue but any company complaint would be directed by SXF to the shiny new facilities over the runway. The current facilities are run down and not fit, but they were due to close a year or so ago.
Your point about 'boarding' so early according to the departures board. The company are striving for On Time. The percentage of those who don't make it to the gate on time is low, but every day some don't make it. An average 4 sector day that I do, we have 10 pax who have not shown for whatever reason. Obviously EZY want to get everyone to where they want to go, by getting as many at the gate, ready to go by STD -25 any delay caused by luggage / passenger no show is minimised.
Not a perfect system but they're really working hard to be on time.
Your comments are intelligent and well put, email easyjet and let them know your experience and thoughts.

[Mr A Tis]

I just wish they didn't "board" when the aircraft isn't even at the gate.
Fed up with being "penned" in a corridor at Malaga for 30+ minutes, I won't fly EZY from there anymore. This is where of course a substantial number of pax were recently abandoned & locked in a corridor whilst the flight left without them.
EZY take a leaf out of MOLs latest adventure & "improve customer experience"

[fa2fi]

I'm just interested. How is the boarding different for other UK/Ireland airlines board their aircraft saying as they use the same piers as EZY?

[pilothouse]

One reason I've pinpointed easyJet as a possible pathfinder to sort out this industry-wide idiocy is because they are big enough to take control of their airports, yet not so big as to make a change impossible.

I imagine that they can do pretty much what they like at all their UK bases and therefore (for the UK traveller) the potential is there to "enhance the customer experience" on 50% of occasions. That's a very good start.

And they have a fair few European bases too, though (as mentioned above) somewhere like the current SFX is a basket case for understandable reasons. At the end of the day, it is all down to local staff. I never cease to be amazed at the inability of contracted handling agents to simply do what their airlines ask, even when there is an airline station manager in close proximity. And even locally recruited direct employees can often get it wrong.

Anyway, just sorting this out at the UK end would make a lot of people much happier. I don't know what's worse, the boredom and physical pain of queueing, or the feeling that one is being treated as a complete mug. Not nice either way.

[compton3bravo]

It is definitely not just an easyJet thing. Some years ago I travelled back from Aberdeen to Heathrow with BA and was lucky to get a jump seat ride in the days prior to 9/11. When we landed at Heathrow - 10 minutes early - we had to wait for a stand to become available. After a couple of minutes the No.1 came into the cockpit and asked what was going on. At that juncture I turned round and all I could see was a mass of people standing up and waiting to get off! Two years ago I was on a Spicejet flight and most of the passengers were up while the aircraft was still taxying off the runway!

[IB4138]

Mr A Tis

Boarding at Malaga is no different to Gatwick.

The statement "penned" in a corridor, is simply untrue.

The difference at Manchester, is that you are called to an A/B/C gate and kept in a cold area prior to walking to the aircraft and boarding by stairs. I know which I prefer.

[Surreyman]

Just reading through the various posts re 'Quality of EJ Boarding experience'.
As has been said, this is usually down to the airport concerned rather than EJ.
Based on my own personal experience I avoid flying EJ out of Glasgow & Amsterdam, both these airports 'herd you' into a dedicated boarding area, that at Glasgow is solely for EJ departures, at AMS it is the 'Low fares' terminal.
I often fly into Glasgow but always ensure I return from Edinburgh, so unpleasant is the 'pig-pen holding area at Glasgow, presumably EJ have some policy control/decision making influence at Glasgow?
To echo the feedback aimed at MOL, Why make the passengers experience so unpleasant?

[Barling Magna]

In the last three months I've boarded EZY jets at Bristol, Southend, Rome, Edinburgh and Amsterdam. At none of those airports did I have a particularly unpleasant experience although the bussing at Bristol was rather slow. SEN was the best, but that's not surprising with its size and modernity. At whichever airport, folks do leap up as soon as the aircraft stops on the stand, but there's no need to do so and you lose little time by staying in your seat. EZY do a good job in my experience and the queues are no worse than for other airlines. Brits just like queuing - it's in our genes.

[pilothouse]

Very interesting Mr Surreyman.

I was just thinking about Amsterdam, where there is barely a single seat in the departure pen and you can be trapped in there for ever.

Above is a reference to Manchester. easyJet only transferred to Terminal One quite recently, and it is indeed appalling to be sent down down those 1960's stairs from that inadequate pen into the freezing pit to await the eventual release into a Manchester downpour.

In UK I don't believe it is down to the airport at all. Airlines these days have a lot of clout with airports. And even if the physical facilities are tight or prehistoric, the airline can easily add a human touch to make it bearable.

An example is Jet2's check-in area at Manchester. Arrive at the door and your heart will sink as you view the usual 0600 heaving mass of humanity... until you find yourself welcomed by one of an army of red-fleeced assistants who will smooth your path. Suddenly you realise that the whole thing is under control and it doesn't seem so bad.

In summary, I'd say that easyJet has complete power to move passengers around just as they would like to. Either they are choosing to do it as they are now, which is appalling, or it has evolved like this because nobody has really given it a thought.

[Skipness One Echo]

It does depend, departing domestic at GLA can be from the old domestic which has a big communal seating area with food and drink or if the inbound arrived from abroad boarding from international pier. Occasionally they do use airbridges, and allocated seating means I can saunter on last as I travel light enough to get the bag under the seat in front.

[HundredPercentPlease]

easyJet... I can see absolutely no sign that you are trying to make the ground journey in any way tolerable.

You had my attention with this. We all believe that the changes we have made to the product have left our contractors looking a bit below par. So I read on...

A lot of people seem to think that the plane outside is ours and some are queueing for it

OK, so passengers queue unnecessarily. I don't get it either, but I just hang back to the end, as if I were on a legacy airline....

After what seems an age, the doors of our prison open and everyone charges out, to join... yes, another queue.

Hmmm, more complaints about uneducated pax...

At Liverpool, as soon as the engines shut down, everyone gets up and yes, you've guessed it, they queue to get off.

And again.


It's all in the hands of easyJet.

Eh? Did I miss the logic link here? How on earth can the airline control this?

Most of our pax fly once a year, so it's going to be a good year before they work out that there's no need to queue any more.


An example is Jet2's check-in area at Manchester. Arrive at the door and your heart will sink as you view the usual 0600 heaving mass of humanity... until you find yourself welcomed by one of an army of red-fleeced assistants who will smooth your path. Suddenly you realise that the whole thing is under control and it doesn't seem so bad.

Sounds like an advert from someone who works for Jet2! What? Ah, you DO work for Jet2! Next thing I'll read is that Jet2 are "user friendly and smooth"...*

To be fair, you should know that the airlines can exert very little real difference on the monopolistic airports when it comes to major infrastructure change.


* Contemporary internet meme.

[hampshireandy]

Why on earth do people queue at the gate now that easyjet have allocated seating?? Surely the idea of that was to stop the cattle stampede to be the first on to get the best seats?! And its not just punters with enormous carry ons who want to ensure there is space in the overheads, it seems that nearly everyone still queues, it must be our british love of queueing, if there is a queue, join it, if there isnt a queue, form one.. There is a seat for everyone and it aint going to take off until the last person has boarded! And on the subject of enormous carry ons, why do easyjet not enforce the size and weight restrictions? Some of the suitcases people carry on now barely fit in the overheads, and then they have the cheek to ask if you can help lift it up for them! You pack it, you rack it sister.

[racedo]

Why on earth do people queue at the gate now that easyjet have allocated seating?? Surely the idea of that was to stop the cattle stampede to be the first on to get the best seats?!

Herd Mentality

[fa2fi]

Just watched a FR flight turn on to stand. AS it was doing so an announcement was made for Priority Q and reserved seat pax to board. So absolutely not an easyJet only issue.

[Surreyman]

My 10 penny'th on this, - Selfish I know, bigoted - probably, neurotic - certainly; -
I am not as young as I used to be, like everyone, I do not like stress/hassle/queuing etc, the worst part of flying is the boarding process, so my reasoning is, get on first (few people in front of me to block the aisle, seats, or just irritate me), put my hand luggage in overhead or on floor, get into my seat with reading material, watch everyone, else board, hope that whoever is due to sit next to me isn't fat/loud/very young/smells of alcohol, stale tobacco or worse.
Having tried every conceivable seat on a short haul plane, I usually opt for the rearmost seats (no one behind you) Easyjet the exception as no window.
From this point on it is usually fairly painless, (unless Ryanair, where your ears are assaulted by loud audio ads).

[M-JCS]

I first noticed this years ago while travelling in the US, and while there was still assigned seating. The only thing I could think of was it was an attempt to secure a place for the vast array of hand luggage that was going onboard. I don't know if it's still that way over there, but perhaps the idea spread beyond US borders. The only other reason I can think of is habit borne of LCC boarding practices. I agree it has made boarding genuinely unpleasant so much of the time.

[racedo]

I first noticed this years ago while travelling in the US, and while there was still assigned seating. The only thing I could think of was it was an attempt to secure a place for the vast array of hand luggage that was going onboard. I don't know if it's still that way over there, but perhaps the idea spread beyond US borders.

Remember flying from Washington DC to Chicago about 14-15 years ago and they started announcing whom should come forward, FF Platinum plus, FF Diamond, FF Gold, FF Silver, FF from Partner airlines etc etc..............they all boarded by whatever FF class they had.
Ultimately it was just myself and a young lady left after all FFliers had boarded

We were called forward and the two of us looked around and asked you sure you got all your FFliers.........fit of giggling hit the 2 desk people.
They said its always this way as taxpayers pay their fares, you have to read out every single one as someone will get upset, this being Washington.

They tickets were taken off both of us and they said well neither of you are FFliers with us but seems we have some upgrades, introduce yourselves as you both just got upgraded.

Of course when boarded there was no space in overheads as people down the plane seem to always want to leave their bags as close to front as possible..........seems a US thing though.

[Captain_Caveman]

I've just flown on 5 us domestic flights on delta and American in the last two weeks and can confirm that boarding is still a nightmare.
There are 5 different boarding groups on Delta and 6 on American. Everyone in the everyday coach class which is last to board blocks the boarding gate even though they have allocated seats. It's all because no one wants to be the last one on and have their hand luggage at the other end of the cabin or worse in the hold.

European airlines are developing the same problems, the root cause of which is because of charging for a hold bag.

Saying that has anyone ever tried boarding a flight from The Middle East to India/Bangladesh & vice versa ... Some people queue at the check in / boarding gate for hours

[racedo]

Saying that has anyone ever tried boarding a flight from The Middle East to India/Bangladesh & vice versa ... Some people queue at the check in / boarding gate for hours

Is that not caused by an ........er alledgedwillingness of airline employees to sell on seats already booked to people turning up with wads of cash or to friends of senior employees within the company.

[pilothouse]

Hundredpercentplease, I'm so pleased that someone who appears to have influence at EZY has joined the debate.

First though, may I please diffuse the idea that I am trying to inspire an easyJet v Jet2 debate? Yes I do work for Jet2, that much easily detectable in 10 seconds of research, and I have no doubt that overall Jet2 inflicts just as much unfortunate stuff on passengers as any airline. And I have already recognised, right at the top, that you have a really good product at EZY. But why not try and make it even better by utilising a bit of thought and care, both of which cost nothing?

Re Ryanair too, above is a reference to Jet2 v Ryanair OTP. I had made the point that trying to get Ryanair to improve its treatment of passengers would be a waste of time. Well, since I wrote that, I've read that MOL suddenly wants Ryanair to move towards warm and cuddly.

Could it be that the LCC's are suddenly in a race to give people not just a good price, but care and quality too?!

Hundredpercentplease, thank you, and later on I'll respond to your specific points.

[wallp]

I'm intrigued why easyJet hasn't done more to target the Scandinavian market from at least one of its London bases, other than its flights to Copenhagen? Is it because BA, SAS & Norwegian are just too dominant?

[Shed-on-a-Pole]

I would speculate that it is because they anticipate higher profits from dedicating their finite resources to less saturated markets.

[strawberry Ribena]

The BGO route rarely hits the triple figures. They tried Gothenburg and Helsinki but again they were never popular. But saying that, I walk past the DY gates everyday and they are heaving. It's strange.

[j636]

People in Scandinavia tend to support their own more than other carriers. The UK has limited services outside DY and SAS, Ryanair have very small presence form UK bedsides STN and EDI. Outside the main cities Ryanair have low presence and its going South to the med. As you say DY is doing great and SAS do well to.

It's probably the hardest area of Europe for many carriers to crack with limited opportunity to get a share of the market and going head to head with DY and SAS makes it harder.

[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.