EasyJet - 4

[VickersVicount]

Don't get the bit about the flapping toilet doors at the rear?!

[fa2fi]

A very clever use of the space. I get how it works but I don't understand the pivoting door. How does it is secure and lock closed?

[Gaza]

A few weeks ago while booking my regular EDI-STN-EDI flights an obscure 18:00 STN-EDI was showing on the booking system. It only seemed to be operating on 21st May. As it is far better than the normal 16:10 or 21:40 STN-EDI flights I booked it.

On Wednesday I received an email saying my flight was being operated by a 186 seat Titan A320. Having looked at the EZY flight tracker it appeared to only be operating STN-EDI with no obvious return flight or another follow-on.

At the gate I could see that it was fully booked with at least 3 pax on standby. Normally STN-EDI is a A319 so the far more sociable flight time must have proved attractive.

The aircraft is Titan liveried but the crew were wearing what looked like a hybrid Titan/EasyJet uniform with easyJet name badges. Even the LCD display for the cabin crew was easyJet branded. The seats are all leather and seemed more comfortable than easyJets. I was in row 1 and got chatting to the CC. They said the flight was a positioning flight to EDI as the aircraft was to be based at EDI for the summer. Whether this means an A319 has gone elsewhere on the network or EZY are adding an additional aircraft to minimise any delays is unknown.

[GoEDI]

The Titan A320 is an additional based aircraft at EDI providing extra capacity until the end of July.

[Captain_Caveman]

The Titan A320 will be in EDI for 8 weeks, then move to FCO to provide extra capacity for 7 weeks and then finally to LGW for 6 weeks. A Titan B757 will also be operating over the peak summer months to provide extra capacity in LGW.

[Gaza]

In what way is it providing "extra capacity"? Replacing an EDI based A319 or as a completely additional aircraft allowing them to add extra schedules on certain routes?

I've since received another 3 emails saying my flight is being operated by Titan. All the flights on the same reference are EDI-STN or STN-EDI.

[GoEDI]

It's an additional based aircraft as said, meaning 8 a/c at EDI. Frequency increases on the majority of Euro city routes.

[Seljuk22]

MAN-DME cancelled from 10th September
SXF-MAD cancelled from 23rd October
FCO-LIN not bookable from 25th October


Flights from CIA to ORY and BRS will be moved to FCO from 1st June.

[FR8364]

Will easyJet announce any new route for WS15/16?

It's nearly mid-June and any new route has been announced yet. All bases are already fully scheduled? Can't believe that...

[FR8364]

easyJet to cancel CMN-LYS & CMN-CDG routes at the beginning of November. Seems quite dramatic the Winter Season while no new routes are being added to the map.

[GAZMO]

New base BCN


Increase in bases at Venice, Naples and Milan. Rome FCO down
source easyjet website

[racedo]

Bit surprised about the retreat from FCO to be honest.

[toledoashley]

FCO retreat explains why Milan/Rome is being dropped.

[airhumberside]

Heavy competition in Rome maybe, alongside the ability to maintain quite a few routes using aircraft from other bases?

[FRatSTN]

Another example of one's gain (or 3 in this case) at another's expense.

FCO has 8 aircraft. VCE and MXP will get 3 each and NAP will get 1, so I make that 1 less aircraft in Italy next year? So surely no growth for Italy at all, if anything a reduction!

To think how its always been about primary airports for EZY and they've now closed bases at both MAD and FCO. Wouldn't be surprised if they eventually cut back in SXF now FR are up against them.

How can they say what a strong competitor they are when most of the time they just shy away from it and closing relatively large bases at such key airports?

I think at some point they're going to have to stand up to the others a bit more or they could find themselves in a dangerous place a few years down the line.

[easydan319]

FRatSTN: EZY have said they will move the 8 a/c based at FCO to:

3 moved to MXP
1 moved to NAP
4 moved to VCE

Which equals 8 a/c. I don't see that as a 1 a/c reduction!!

[FRatSTN]

Fair enough I thought VCE was 3. Nonetheless my point remains.

[Skipness One Echo]

You say "most of the time" they shy away from a strong competitor, based on a sample of......*two*

How about LGW? Did they flee the mighty BA? Or is it the case the markets they are stepping back from are in countries where the economy is perhaps, um, how to put this, under-performing? Ryanair can make money where no one else can as they have a the lowest cost base of the locos. It's a surprise to me too but we haven't seen the books and like Ryanair, the numbers likely show the assets can be deployed elsewhere more profitably.

[Jamie2k9]

Did they flee the mighty BA?

Can you really put the competition of BA in the same basket as Vueling and Ryanair.

Suspect Vueling is the driving force of the shift in capacity some major city pairs both are head to head on and where they are moving aircraft have near zero Vueling presence for now

[CabinCrewe]

we haven't seen the books
There was us thinking you had...

[EI-BUD]

easyJet do not typically stay in the market where intense competition exists unless the competitor is less strong, i.e. it will go up against higher cost OR weaker competitors. Examples include putting it up to Flybe or Aer Lingus, however, where Norwegian, Ryanair or Vueling (and Wizz I guess, but no big cross over), they will bow out rather than make small or no returns. An unwavering interest in shareholder return. And to date the company is performing strongly and returning good profits, so clearly some merit in its approach.


easyJet is a prudent operator and do not waste time losing money in markets that long term will not be profitable or secure.
Nonetheless, as the saturation of the market by the lower cost operators continues a pace easyJet may find this competition more prevalent, hence, they need to continue to focus on areas that are more fruitful, I.e. hitting the legacy carriers and focusing on hub airports etc.


EI-BUD

[Captain_Caveman]

Jamie 2k9 I don't think you can accuse easyJet of running away from Vueling when they have announced a new base at Barcelona which is Vueling's main hub when I last checked !

[FRatSTN]

they need to continue to focus on areas that are more fruitful, I.e. hitting the legacy carriers and focusing on hub airports etc.

Yet closing FCO to move aircraft to MXP, VCE and NAP goes entirely against that.

It seems now they just make changes depending on current yields and market conditions with I think a lack in longer-term consideration. FCO was also one of EZY's fastest growing airports this year so that wasn't particularly sustainable.

With FR's changing strategy and the likes of VY, W6, DY and 4U all having become major players in Europe, EZY can't avoid them forever. There will come a point they will crumble if this act carries on because it's only going to make them weaker against the strongest competitors.

I also can't see any value in the point they make about FCO having poor customer satisfaction. They're still going to fly to the airport. I'd say that's nothing more than a swizz to try and make it look as if they are putting their customer needs first when in actual fact that has little if any bearing in this at all!

[Captain_Caveman]

Yet closing FCO to move aircraft to MXP, VCE and NAP goes entirely against that.

It seems now they just make changes depending on current yields and market conditions with I think a lack in longer-term consideration. FCO was also one of EZY's fastest growing airports this year so that wasn't particularly sustainable.

With FR's changing strategy and the likes of VY, W6, DY and 4U all having become major players in Europe, EZY can't avoid them forever. There will come a point they will crumble if this act carries on because it's only going to make them weaker against the strongest competitors.

I also can't see any value in the point they make about FCO having poor customer satisfaction. They're still going to fly to the airport. I'd say that's nothing more than a swizz to try and make it look as if they are putting their customer needs first when in actual fact that has little if any bearing in this at all!

FratSTN, when was the last time you flew through FCO ? The place is currently a nightmare, the terminal fire has not helped, airlines are being required to reduce their flights by up to 40% flying through FCO on some days because the airport infrastructure can't cope. Some flights are cancelled in advance at the request of airport authorities and some operate through Ciampino. Delays are commonplace due to lack of stands and congestion made worse by the fire and Yields are low due to lots of domestic competition. Customers sometimes have to check in at one terminal, get bussed to another terminal for passport checks and security and then head off to the aircraft. I think it's a sensible option that's been announced although of course it's not nice for crews and the ground teams who have their home and livelihood there.

[Seljuk22]

There was a fire at Terminal 3 at FCO some months ago and many passangers have to go through Terminal 2 now which is not the best solution. Also there are a lot of delays at FCO due to construction workings at the terminals and runway closure. My EZY flight was delayed by 2 hours (as aircraft has to wait before take-off as just one runway was open for take-off) and back half an hour (due to heavy traffic).

Reliability at FCO is not the best at the moment. Maybe once constructions are done EZY will come back?

Increasing competition from VY, FR, DY and W6 is also a good point. EZY should be the market leader at MXP, VCE and NAP. Fair enough to look at those points. Sicily is left out a bit, maybe CTA and PMO will join the EZY bases?

[evergreenlondon]

Airport facilities at FCO have been limited by the fire, no idea when terminal 3 will be fully reopened. Lots of terminal changes and diversions to other airports. Even BA have had to cancel two flights a day from LHR. Seems a sensible move on Easyjet's part.

Which Easyjet routes from FCO are likely to be axed?

[Seljuk22]

I guess all flights from FCO to non-EZY bases like MUC, PRG, VIE, CPH and all the leisure routes to Greek and Spain.

FR announced some years back they would increase their base at FCO to over 10 planes. Right now they also just got 2 based planes at FCO with operating a lot of flights from other bases to FCO.

[EI-BUD]

I'm guessing post Carolyn's statement about the Barcelona move (I.e. We are not going to be #1 or #2 at BCN), suggests that putting a base there will allow for cist effective early morning business timings ex BCN...? given the very competitive landscape there, I can't see a lot of new routes starting by easyJet..

[tws123]

Year round:

Amsterdam - 4 weekly
Naples - 2 weekly

Winter Seasonal:

Belfast International - 1 weekly (Sat)
London Southend - 1 weekly (Sat)

[BFS BHD]

Where did you hear this? Not on sale yet?

[Jorik]

Lyon: easyJet ouvre quatre nouvelles destinations (http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-eco/2015/06/24/97002-20150624FILWWW00129-lyon-easyjet-ouvre-quatre-nouvelles-destinations.php)

[BFS BHD]

Thanks for the link! :)

[Seljuk22]

LIS-LIL 3 weekly from 27th October

AMS-Grenoble from mid-December every Saturday

[nivsy]

Anyone know why EZY 8599 diverted to CGN when due inbound DUS from LGW? Have a pax on board who said no reason given...am sure that not the case...the aircraft was late in departing LGW.

[Jack1985]

Anyone know why EZY 8599 diverted to CGN when due inbound DUS from LGW? Have a pax on board who said no reason given...am sure that not the case...the aircraft was late in departing LGW.

Wouldn't have had sufficient time to depart before the curfew at 22:00L. The jet-ban is strictly enforced at DUS without exception, thus U2 opted to divert into CGN and bus pax to CGN.

[nivsy]

Eh? What strictly enforced jet ban after 22.00l? There are numerous jet arrivals on the board after that time...at least from what I can see...:confused: do you refer to departure only ?

[Jack1985]

Departures.

[Seljuk22]

6 new routes from AMS next winter

eff 26OCT15 Amsterdam – Tel Aviv 4 weekly (Day x257)
eff 27OCT15 Amsterdam – Milan Linate 6 weekly (Day x6)
eff 12DEC15 Amsterdam – Grenoble 1 weekly (Day 6)
eff 15DEC15 Amsterdam – Tenerife South 2 weekly (Day 26)
eff 17DEC15 Amsterdam – Lyon 4 weekly (Day x236)
eff 18DEC15 Amsterdam – Salzburg 3 weekly (Day 567)
easyJet Adds New Amsterdam Routes in W15 | Airline Route (http://airlineroute.net/2015/06/30/u2-ams-w15/)

[tws123]

Belfast-International - Lanzarote begins 7 November 2015 (2x weekly, year-round)
London-Southend - Lanzarote begins 6 November 2015 (2x weekly, winter season only)
Amsterdam - Tenerife-South begins 15 December (2x weekly, winter season only)

[LandingConfig]

Glasgow - Milan Malpensa begins 2nd December 2015 (2x weekly)

[Seljuk22]

23rd Oct LTN-VIE 2 weekly
29th Oct SXF-VIE 4 weekly
5th Nov MAN-VIE 2 weekly
6th Nov BRS-VIE 2 weekly
17th Dec AMS-VIE 4 weekly

[yeo valley]

brs to bsl 4 weekly. starts november 15.

[MerchantVenturer]

easyJet cabin crew planning pay strike that could bring misery to holidaymakers - Mirror Online (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/easyjet-cabin-crew-planning-pay-6003757)

Reported that easyJet cabin staff may strike next month in a dispute over pay.

[wallp]

Seems a strange schedule, only twice weekly from LTN-VIE which makes me wonder if it's merely a seasonal thing aimed at the Christmas marktets?

Surely the route could comfortably sustain at least 4 or 5 flights a week, or even a daily service as it did once before?

[Severn]

Just been looking at the number of destinations served from each EZY/EZS base, and found the results quite interesting.

The bases with the more than 30 destinations served are as follows:

LGW - 110
GVA - 69
BRS - 56
LTN - 52
BSL - 51
MXP - 51
SXF - 44
MAN - 41
CDG - 40
FCO - 37
AMS - 35
LYS - 35
EDI - 34

[wallp]

I'm surprised that LTN isn't second behind LGW, as it has more aircraft based than any other airport except LGW and possibly MXP I believe. I guess whilst BRS has more destinations, routes are typically served less frequently.

[pabely]

wallp - I think you have answered your own question - trunk routes. The recent LTN - VIE is an exception but I believe this will be built up over time.

[Severn]

wallp - I'm surprised that LTN isn't second behind LGW, as it has more aircraft based than any other airport except LGW and possibly MXP I believe. I guess whilst BRS has more destinations, routes are typically served less frequently.

Correct. Below shows the number of based aircraft at EZY/EZS biggest bases.

LGW - 56
LTN - 19
MXP - 18
GVA - 15
BRS - 12
SXF - 10

[Seljuk22]

@Jamesc909
Do you have a full list of number of based aircraft at each base? Thanks :ok:

[FRatSTN]

04 Nov STN-KEF 2x weekly

[22/04]

Quite a lot of LTN destinations take the aircraft away for a while

Quite a few short routes are relatively frequent

[Musket90]

STN-KEF was in the past operated by GO FLY in 2002, a night flight I think.
Easyjet bought them soon after so some might say it's not a new route for Easyjet !

Iceland Express also operated the route for a time a few years later.

Hopefully it will be a success for Easyjet.

[LGS6753]

Will EZY continue to fly LTN-KEF?

[Severn]

@Jamesc909
Do you have a full list of number of based aircraft at each base? Thanks

EZY

LGW Total: 62
A319: 29
A320: 24
+ 1x 757 opb AWC
+ 3x A319 Night-stopping in BCN, CPH and INV
+ 2x A320 Night-stopping in MAD and VCE

LTN Total: 19
A319: 13
A320: 6

MXP Total: 18
A319: 13
A320: 5

BRS Total: 12
A319: 7
A320: 5

SXF Total: 10
A319: 8
A320: 2

MAN Total: 9
A319: 3
A320: 6

CDG Total: 9
A319: 7
A320: 2

FCO Total: 9
A319: 7
A320: 2

EDI Total: 8
A319: 4
A320: 4 (1x A320 opb AWC)

LPL Total: 7
A319: 5
A320: 2

STN Total: 7
A319: 6
A320: 1

ORY Total: 6
A319: 0
A320: 6

BFS Total: 5
A319: 4
A320: 1

LYS Total: 5
A319: 5
A320: 0

GLA Total: 4
A319: 3
A320: 1

LIS Total: 4
A319: 3
A320: 1

AMS Total: 3
A319: 0
A320: 3

NCE Total: 3
A319: 0
A320: 3

HAM Total: 3
A319: 2
A320: 1

NCL Total: 3
A319: 2
A320: 1

TLS Total: 3
A319: 3
A320: 0

NAP Total: 3
A319: 3
A320: 0

SEN Total: 3
A319: 3
A320: 0

OPO Total: 2
A319: 0
A320: 2


EZS

GVA Total: 15
A319: 9
A320: 6

BSL Total: 9
A319: 4
A320: 5

Please note: These numbers are accurate, however at the biggest bases (LGW, MXP, LTN and SXF) where there are standby/spare aircraft based, or where there is maintenance the aircraft based count can be slightly different.

Hope that's of some interest to some!

[Ian Brooks]

Tks James

Ian

[pabely]

How easyJet is overbooking thousands of flights ? and flouting EU rules in the process - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk (http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/travel/how-easyjet-is-overbooking-thousands-of-flights-and-flouting-eu-rules-in-the-process-31396468.html)

[paully]

The big question is why do they need to overbook at all??..If the seats have all been sold that should be it...ah yes silly me, maximise the profits and help the shareholders...I still like Easyjet,the flight deck and cabin crew are excellent but sadly the rest is pants these days

[LandingConfig]

Heard rumours of a second based A320 from next year at GLA

[Alsacienne]

My Easyjet flight from EDI to BSL on 19 July was a wet-leased Titan Airways ... nearly had a fit when I saw non-orange livery and when we entered via an airbridge! Good flight and delightful cabin crew.

[FRatSTN]

Looks like EZY is closing its FCO base from 28th February (previously guided as April).

From then on EZY will serve the following from FCO:

BRS - 7x weekly (daily)
GVA - 5x weekly
LGW - 17x weekly
LTN - 5x weekly
LYS - 11x weekly
MXP - 12x weekly
ORY - 21x weekly
TLS - 1x weekly

That means they'll be dropping 29 routes from FCO. Ouch!! :ouch:

[toledoashley]

Also sees the Linate-Fiumicino disappear, something EZY really put up a fight for.

[PAXboy]

EZY join the queue to change hand luggage and if this ain't a further pitch at the Biz pax - I don't know what is. No wonder WW doesn't want them at LHR! :p

easyJet baggage allowance rules changed so only 'premium' passengers get to keep their bags - News & Advice - Travel - The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/easyjet-baggage-allowance-rules-changed-so-only-premium-passengers-get-to-keep-their-bags-10449810.html)

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/easyjet-baggage-allowance-rules-changed-so-only-premium-passengers-get-to-keep-their-bags-10449810.html

[FFHKG]

This rule has applied for some time - I flew LPL/LIS in June and it was in place then. The allowance is actually printed on the boarding pass if you purchase tickets in the first few rows

[RAT 5]

Looks like EZY is closing its FCO base from 28th February (previously guided as April).
And what is happening to the crews based there? In one LoCo's speak you are a contractor and can be moved whilli-niilly to where-ever. easy jet guys are employees and have certain protections. If your based is closed and you are 'made redundant in FCO' and are now 're-located to LIS' what is on offer? In some LoCo,s' it would be naff all as you are a contractor (of sorts), but what happens to an employee? This is an important question for our industry.

[Walnut]

What happened to U2 3870 from RAK to CDG after reaching circa 10000ft it turned back North of Casablanca and after several loops diverted into CMN?

[RAT 5]

What happened to U2 3870 from RAK to CDG after reaching circa 10000ft it turned back North of Casablanca and after several loops diverted into CMN?

Sounds exciting. Hope they kept it all +ve g. Perhaps over stressing the airframe caused the diversion. Boredom can cause pilots to let off steam in different ways.

[Keyvon]

EZY is to give up all CMN routes altogether. Flights to Paris Cdg, Lyon and Milan Mxp will be terminated by the end of November or even earlier.

[racedo]

Passenger Tasered on Easyjet plane at Gatwick - BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-34003547)

U2 applying the 2 bags rule................

[racedo]

Girl films Cameron eating Pringles on an Easyjet flight - BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33973394)

Bet he wouldn't have got tasered for 2 bags.......

[EI-A330-300]

U2 applying the 2 bags rule................

Better than forcing passengers to sit beside a pool of sick with FR ;)

[GAZMO]

Abide by the rules or book flexi fare or speedy plus!!

[HeartyMeatballs]

Thankfully people don't book based on a plane's colour scheme. They look at things like route structure, frequency, punctuality and price and when people consider these things U2 can be attractive. With the same/similar legroom as BA and better punctuality than BA and with BA now charging for bags, it's easy to see why people are happy to skip the 'free' snack (20g packet of 'hand cooked crisps' or a small sandwich at best).

Watch any UK/FR domestic or any CDG/AMS/CPH/NCE/BCN/MAD flight on U2 and you'll notice there's no shortage of suits who happily travel U2.

[BCALBOY]

Since when has BA been charging for bags ?

[davidjohnson6]

For shorthaul flights, BA offer a hand-baggage-only fare and a with-checked-baggage fare. You can spin it as a price reduction or any other way you choose, but this looks, sounds and smells like BA charging extra for checked-in luggage.

[canberra97]

HeartyMeatballs

When was the last time you flew BA?

In the last 7 weeks I have flown BA 8 times, three times on early morning flights where for breakfast I had a lovely raspberry muesli, ham croissant, orange juice and endless amounts of coffee (if I wanted it), twice on mid afternoon flights where I was served a chicken pasta dish (which was so nice I was given two), a lemon cake and coffee followed by a Bloody Mary, and three evening flights where I had a large ham and cheese sandwich and a few coffees as well as any alcoholic beverage if I had wanted it.

So where was my 20g packet of crisps, if you travel BA as regularly as I do you should know otherwise.

Even though I use other airlines when needed for either cost or convenience I still prefer to fly with my favourite airline knowing I am going to get a consistently good service and of course earning and spending

And no BA are not exactly charging for bags in the way your saying, they are just offering a hand baggage fare only which is ideal for business people and those on short hops who don't have the need for checked baggage, these fares are limited but you haven't seen the full basic fare go up only go down with the new hand baggage only fares.

I travel a lot at least 20 times a year and once you add the fares, baggage, reserved seating, any onboard food & beverage purchases I can assure you Easyjet come out either as more expensive than BA or about the same price, I know who I would prefer to fly with and it has nothing to do with the Easyjet colour scheme either :)

Sean

[HeartyMeatballs]

No matter what way BA spin it, if you want a bag in the hold it will cost you more.

Your catering experiences are certainly not consistent with mine in Domestic/EuroTraveller.

Maybe I was a little unfair. I did get a small ham and croissant on CDG-LHR recently on the first flight out. NCL-LHR, mid morning was a packet of crisps.

On AF (which they would be competing with to and from CDG) it was a pain au chocolate for breakfast to CDG and then on to TXL it was a drink and a packaged savoury snack. Half a wrap on the return to CDG and then 2 bite sized macaroons on the connection to NCL.

You may have been given a full meal but that would have been on a longer flight, either that or your in club. If EJ were to have a premium class it would be the short flights in the region of an hour. And it is on these flights you get very little on the competition.

Unless you have status or a premium fare you can only check in for free on BA within 24 hours. Otherwise you run the risk of not getting seats together. If you want to guarantee seats together, you have to pay.

With the competition becoming ever more a la carte in terms of pricing, it's easy to see why U2 aw carrying more suits than ever before.

[ScotsSLF]

Regular flyer on GLA - LCY / LGW / LHR. Breakfast is OK but tends to be swimming (sorry exaggeration floating) on some sort of fluid but the sausage is tastyish. After 0900 its the packet of crisps / nut selection / biscuit so not exactly appetising albeit its free as is the drink. As regards the scrum to get on the plane its now like the early days of FR / U2 with my fellow BA Executive Clubbers being the worst in terms of queuing early to rush and cram their cases into the overheads. I also use U2 between GLA and BFS and to be honest the service is on a par with BA these days. In fact the OTP of U2 now in my experience is better than BA of late. BA do need to pull their socks up a bit because the product isn't that much different from the former low costs

[CabinCrewe]

The new boarding trials will make an impact for the exec members when enforced. Isnt the domestic breakfast cut off 0930?

[The96er]

The new boarding trials will make an impact for the exec members when enforced.

The new BA boarding trials are not about providing an enhanced service for Executive travelers as is being made out, but all about speeding up the turnaround time. And early statistics are showing that it has made jot-all difference to the turn around time.

[RAT 5]

How has this thread been hijacked by BA pax?????

[Skipness One Echo]

any onboard food & beverage purchases I can assure you Easyjet come out either as more expensive than BA or about the same price,
Agreed I also find this, which with a lower cost base is.....er a win for EZY !

[HeartyMeatballs]

Apologies. It's my fault for the BA drift. I was merely trying to show that attitudes are changed and nobody will select an airline based on the rather basic (in my opinion) catering that U2's competitors offer and that the product differentiation is a lot more blurred that it once was.

I see no reason why a premium section won't work on U2. But with some of the highest load factors in the industry, maybe they feel they don't need to.

[EI-BUD]

I see little point in an EasyJet premium section, apart from the obvious piece of adding complexity to the model, they don't need to have it to collect higher fares, they charge a fortune on the last tickets per flight, in their successful yield management approach.

They have very good facilities for those who want fast track etc...easyJet plus is great value for me, adding a premium service would simply look like a seat closed off in the middle and an increase in price of at least 50%.

Let's also not forget a high proportion of easyJet flights are quite short ie 1-2 hours...

[FRatSTN]

EZY will release their late spring/early summer 2016 flights (March 21st - June 26th) on Thursday.

[Tonyq]

I note that LGW to DME has not been extended beyond 20/3/2016 in the new flying programme released today.

Does anyone know if this route is to be canned (having already been scaled back) or are their further releases to come?

[The Flying Cokeman]

TonyQ,

I wrote that in the Gatwick thread, but yes DME route will be stopping. That has been confirmed by the CEO due to political unrest between Russia and Ukraine etc.

[wallp]

The S16 programme from LTN looking impressive with some interesting frequency increases on routes like AMS, CPH & VIE.

Hopefully the schedule will allow for more routes to be added

[electrotor]

This is Easyjet related but prompted by the recent BA 777 fire in Las Vegas and in particular obeying the cabin crew instructions.
In June I flew ABZ to LTN return twice and had issues with three of those flights. By far the worst was a lengthy announcement made by an oriental FA whose accent was so strong and speech so fast I could only make out about 5% of what she said. Initially I thought it was just me, but looking around there were many others giving sideways glances to each other in bewilderment but holding back lest they make fools of themselves. Eventually about half the passengers burst out laughing, the most hysterical one being, ironically, an Oriental man. I wrote to Easyjet describing this and the other issues and about a month later received a reply completely ignoring the intelligibility issue. I wrote again expressing my disappointment at their failure to take a cabin safety issue seriously and about a month later received a cursory reply. Why did I bother? I was an affected passenger and work with cabin safety on a daily basis in my job.
And my point is.........if you cannot discern what is being said, how do you obey and how do you take subsequent announcements seriously? VERY POOR show Easyjet.

[HeartyMeatballs]

Well, the most important PA would be the safety demo. The safety demo is pre recorded on most occasions. If it is read, it is read by the cabin manager. I don't believe for one moment anyone would make it to CM if they were that unintelligible. Crews are also regularly assessed and provided feedback with any safety related concerns being escalated to base management.

All crew go through an English language test as the first part of the assessment, all training and assessment is done in English so anyone would need a good command of the English language to pass the course. I'm struggling to see how she made it to the line if that's the case.

It doesn't make it right, but they don't listen anyway, BA at LAS is an excellent expample of this. The Southwest evacs too.

[RAT 5]

All crew go through an English language test as the first part of the assessment, all training and assessment is done in English so anyone would need a good command of the English language to pass the course. I'm struggling to see how she made it to the line if that's the case.

True, but how many times do you hear the safety PA being made as if a speed record is being chased. It's sector 4,5 or 6 of a long day. repetition, repetition and yet do it again. Yawn, get it over with. It's human nature.
In my local national airline the purser does the PA from memory standing up and talking to the passengers face to face eye to eye. It is professional, respectful and demands attention. I hate it when I see pursers making PA's deliberately standing behind the bulkhead and not engaging with their audience as if they are scared. These PA's about duty free etc. are done from memory. It is dreadful. It might be that the SOP is for the safety PA to be read from a script so there is no error. OK, but it still can be read intelligently and intelligibly. A purser should project themselves as being in charge of proceedings and not a frightened rabbit.

[HeartyMeatballs]

With nearly all easyJet demos being played on the pre recorded announcements in a very slow and deliberate manner this should be extremely rare and due to the config of the easyJet A320 there is no bulkhead for the CM to hide behind, unless they stretch the inter phone to the other side of the cabin. It's all personal preference and not an airline specific thing. There are those who will sit and read it, those who'll stand, but there's not much room when CC4 is doing the demo and the CM is reading it. The CM will always be behind and to the side of the Cc4, and if they're tall then their face will be hidden by the over head locker.

[mart901]

Does anyone have an exact release date for summer schedule/fares? I know its said to be early October. Cheers

[111KAB]

EasyJet to recruit over 1,000 staff (http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2018946&c=setreg&region=2)

[Seljuk22]

First routes from Venice launched:

eff 03FEB16 Venice – Edinburgh 4 weekly
eff 04FEB16 Venice – Prague 3 weekly
eff 23MAR16 Venice – Bristol 4 weekly
eff 24MAR16 Venice – Copenhagen 3 weekly
eff 24MAR16 Venice – Olbia 3 weekly
eff 29MAR16 Venice – Stuttgart 3 weekly
eff 17APR16 Venice – Bordeaux 3 weekly
The airline also plans to launch service to Mahon/Menorca, Mykonos and Thira/Santorin
easyJet to Launch Venice Base in 2016 | Airline Route (http://airlineroute.net/2015/10/09/u2-vce-w15/)

September
Passengers: 6,610,844 +7.6%
Load Factor: 93.1% +0.9pp

[FRatSTN]

Summer 2016 flights (27th June - 4th September) will go on sale this Thursday, 22nd October.

[StevieW]

How can easyJet not make Gatwick-Dusseldorf work? Two massive population centres with only BA and Germanwings for competition. I've flown the route 8-9 times this year and it's been full every time.

[wowzz]

Can I just say that on my EZY flight yesterday, the safety announcement was made by recorded male voice, spoken slowly and clearly. The message clearly stated that in an emergency, all hand luggage should not be taken off the aircraft - I would guess that 95% of the pax never heard that part of the announcement, as it was 'buried' in all the other routine information about seat belts, life jackets etc.
Perhaps this particular safety message could somehow be exaggerated by being given in person by the cc, rather than by the recorded voice?

[HeartyMeatballs]

The easyJet demo is fairly standard in that very few make a big point out if what to do with luggage. It's been many a year since I flew them but I'm fairly sure United would mention in before take off and then once again on approach "if an evacuation becomes necessary, leave everything behind". Still, you could advise people individually or have a big flashing sign telling them not to haul their carryons off in an emergency. Life is cheap nowadays, and people are more self centred and lack any sense of responsibility, particularly in the UK.

[alasdair1]

Hi i know this is a bit in the future but is anyone aware if Ezy will operate the sucessfull EDI-BJV in may 2017? And operational days as they changed for S16.
I use the route a lot and using it again in.S16

Also do they plan a glasgow-bodrum service as their are empty slots available where prev sucessfull flights to bjv were ?

I ask this at this early stage as need to book dates for 2017 before they go on sale in sept 16 as my new employer wishes to know the accurate dates as they dont usually guarantee dates after around aug the year before for may and sept
as we travel usually may and sept is their any way of having a heads up on 2017 via Easyjet as we only have Easyjet to bodrum now from Scotland and it is important to us.

I also note they are joined with Tc holidays in S16 on the Edi will this continue in S17
sorry if it is off topic.
Also for the advance interest in the route.

[MKY661]

It appears a lot of EasyJet Switzerland aircraft will be transferring back to EasyJet this winter according to jethro. You think a merger is possible here?

[EI-BUD]

Mky661,

I wouldn't have thought so, being Swiss registered gives them rights to fly from GVA and BSL to non EU destinations...

[daz211]

Easyjet cancellations from Southend to ALC, AGP and FAO.

I see the inbound ALC and AGP diverted to STN due fog last night Easyjet look to have simply cancelled 3x holiday flights and sent the aircraft out empty from STN to operate the return leg only.

All the passengers stranded at Southend had their flights cancelled and were not bussed to Stansted.

This is very poor customer service by Easyjet, Southend to Stansted by coach is not that far and looking at the cancelled flights they were all holiday routes.

Easyjet should advice passengers at point of booking that Southend is poorly equipped operationally, to deal with standard UK weather issues and thus if you want a better chance of your flight departing to a long planned, payed for Holiday, taking into account a hotel is fully paid for at destination then you are better to book from London Gatwick, London Stansted or Luton.

As far as the law goes Easyjet will put the cancellations down to an act of God but in reality how many passengers knew when booking they had a poorer chance of going on holiday when booking from Southend than they would have had from other London Airports

I think Easyjet should make passengers aware that Southend in not
In the same position as other Airport to deal with normal Autumn/winter UK
weather.

Very poor Easyjet

[Expressflight]

..... in exactly the same way that all airlines using LCY should also advise their passengers presumably?

[daz211]

No as Airlines at LCY when diverting to STN coach passengers to STN and operate out of STN instead of positioning empty.

[AndyH52]

So, you would rather inconvenience passengers on every subsequent EZY flight in and out of SEN today by bussing pax to STN just to make sure the first flight of the day operates?

[daz211]

A operational decision should have been made last night knowing the expected weather this morning win win

And if I was a passenger at an out station I wouldn't mind an hour or two delay knowing that 500+ passengers at Southend could have a holiday they payed for and have been looking forward to

It seems lack of planning or decision making has upset a lot op passengers.

[daz211]

So with weather conditions set to be the same tonight and in the morning are we to expect the same tomorrow, if I know the weather is going to be bad I'm sure Easyjet know but do passengers booked from Southend know :*:*

[wallp]

Great to see EZY expanding their ops to Jersey with the addition of 5x weekly flights from Luton next year

[edi_local]

A operational decision should have been made last night knowing the expected weather this morning win win

And if I was a passenger at an out station I wouldn't mind an hour or two delay knowing that 500+ passengers at Southend could have a holiday they payed for and have been looking forward to

It seems lack of planning or decision making has upset a lot op passengers.

I have to ask have you ever worked in passenger services?

Just that in my experience of being on the front line for several years and dealing with more cancellations, delays and diversions than I can think of (although not ever with EZY), I can assure you that you'd be the only passenger happy that their flight is being delayed in order to wait for people who booked from another airport. EZY would have to feed and water both sets of passengers, which isn't going to be cheap and then the ones originally on the flight being held at STN would be entitled to yet more money from EZY under the EU regs as their flight was being delayed for avoidable operational reasons.

I don't think EZY should have done what you suggested as it would have upset 2 loads of passengers and not just 1. Why inflict delays upon yet more people who are going on holiday?

[Seljuk22]

Year end results
easyJet Media Centre (http://mediacentre.easyjet.com/stories/9570)

Additional 36 A320 to be delivered between 2018 and 2021

[toledoashley]

Should also be noted from the 2015 results video, that CMC confirmed they are actively looking at the A321neo, although it hasnt been put in front of the board yet.

[RAT 5]

I'm confused. Easyjet shares have been VERY volatile in 2015. Early on they were >£19 and slipped towards £16. They recovered and have bounced around between mid £16 & high £17 all year. Money to be made over a few days if you were right in your speculations.
Now, record profits announced as shares had, over a couple of months, struggled up to £17.80. In the 2 weeks after this bullish overview of financial performance and future predictions shares have slipped mid £16 = drop 7% in 2 weeks and not a murmur.
Answers on a postcard to ..........

[Jamesair]

Often due to profit taking after the results, there will also be market nervousness about how the public will react to the recent Paris problems. i.e. not travelling, cancelling flights etc.

[GAZMO]

Travel and leisure industry is always first to be hit when events occur, Tunsia, Sharm, Paris and Brussels!! I'm surprised down turn has not been greater

[Jorik]

Starting May 2016:
Amsterdam (AMS) - Malaga (AGP)
Amsterdam (AMS) - Catania (CTA)
Amsterdam (AMS) - Marseille (MRS)
Amsterdam (AMS) - Palma de Mallorca (PMI)

Starting June 2016:
Amsterdam (AMS) - Rhodos (RHO)

[Seljuk22]

Bordeaux:
27MAR16 Berlin Schoenefeld 4 weekly
27MAR16 Marseille 1 daily
15APR16 Barcelona 4 weekly
17APR16 Venice 3 weekly
27JUN16 Glasgow 2 weekly

Lyon:
16APR16 Catania 2 weekly
16APR16 Copenhagen 3 weekly
17APR16 Faro 3 weekly
26APR16 Budapest 3 weekly
01JUL16 La Rochelle 2 weekly
01JUL16 Mahon 2 weekly
02JUL16 Mykonos 2 weekly

Toulouse:
04MAY16 Faro 3 weekly
10MAY16 Berlin Schoenefeld 3 weekly
10JUN16 Milan Malpensa 4 weekly
01JUL16 Dubrovnik 2 weekly
02JUL16 Mahon 2 weekly
02JUL16 Olbia 2 weekly

Nice:
01JUL16 Cagliari 2 weekly
04JUL16 Palma Mallorca 2 weekly
06JUL16 Mykonos 1 weekly


Flights until 30th October 2016 will be bookable from 10th December.

[ericlday]

The boss of the Easyjet airline, Carolyn McCall, has been made a Dame in the New Year Honours list.

She has been chief executive at the airline since early 2010 and has been given the award for her work in the aviation industry.

[toledoashley]

CMC - The innovator in the low cost airline industry for 'being nice to people'.

Certainly has done easyJet the world of good - even MOL is copying her!

[gopaisleygo]

oh dear Thad!!!

[jdcg]

I see that BRU, CGN, SXB and DUS are all being dropped from LGW in the spring. All very similar ultra short haul flights so is this due to competition from high speed rail?

[toledoashley]

I'm not sure you can blame rail, look at the increase in flights from London to Paris...

Although specific markets - Cologne and Dusseldorf are not too far from each other. Cologne has competition from FR at STN & Germanwings/Eurowings - although Dusseldorf is quite a mystery.

[RAT 5]

S. London-Brussels is a surprise. If you are outside the immediate centre of London, except for the SE area, surely the train to Brussels is a long journey. Flying LGW-BRU could be quick & cheaper. BRU serves more than Brussels. I would have thought that the competition, i.e. train, BA, Brussels Airlines, RYR - CRL would have made ez LGW-BRU a sound operation, but they must have the data. Schedules can be all important. Perhaps ez didn't have a/c at profitable times.

[FFHKG]

Anyone know when the winter schedules will be available for booking?

[Fairdealfrank]

The boss of the Easyjet airline, Carolyn McCall, has been made a Dame in the New Year Honours list.

She has been chief executive at the airline since early 2010 and has been given the award for her work in the aviation industry.



Good, can now look forward to the "New Years Honours Sale" to follow on from the "20th Birthday Sale"........

[Expressflight]

Anyone know when the winter schedules will be available for booking?

Not usually until March if I recall past years correctly.

[NRU74]

I haven't seen anything in the press but easyJet have just introduced a £13 'admin' fee per booking. It must be fairly recent because I flew outbound to France 31/12 and returned 7/1/15 and only booked around early December without the fee.

[toledoashley]

It was brought in when Credit Card fees were capped, so they introduced a 'booking fee' to recoup what was lost from that. Ryanair have done the same.

This has been around for a number of years... just very well hidden.

[lfc84]

I haven't seen anything in the press but easyJet have just introduced a £13 'admin' fee per booking. It must be fairly recent because I flew outbound to France 31/12 and returned 7/1/15 and only booked around early December without the fee.


It as brought in during January 2012 :D

[RexBanner]

Any comment on the news that CEO Carolyn McCall was on the verge of leaving easyJet to join Marks & Spencer?

[racedo]

Any comment on the news that CEO Carolyn McCall was on the verge of leaving easyJet to join Marks & Spencer?

You mean Dame Carolyn....

[ExpectmorePayless]

Any comment on the news that CEO Carolyn McCall was on the verge of leaving easyJet to join Marks & Spencer?



I wouldn't have minded so long as she remembered to put the receipt in the bag. I may have wanted to return the goods. ;)

[PAXboy]

off topic
She would be wasting her time, M&S has lost power and is losing altitude. The only question is if it makes to the alternate before ...

[LGS6753]

Sharm flights now cancelled until at least 27th May.

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

Who does the maintenance for easyJet? Ryanair have a hangar at PIK and STN but do EZY have anything similar at all?

[LGS6753]

EZY have a large (orange) hangar at Luton.

[Falcon666]

Noticed a few EJs have been going to Cambridge on a regular basis so i guess Marshalls are doing the checks over there.
Then there is the Orange hangar at LTN for line Maintenance.

[shamrock7seal]

U2 apparently reviewed a potential base at BOH with the following route studies being completed (but no timeline):

Faro, Funchal, Palma, Bordeaux, Nice, Gibralter, Seville, Almeria, Barcelona & Venice

It remains to be seen if this is something that will come to save BOH passenger volumes in 2016 or if it is later in 2017.

[HeartyMeatballs]

I very much doubt BOH would be a base. 3 units seems the minimum base size and BOH would not sustain a year round 3 aircraft base. At best they'll do NCE/BCN/GVA with aircraft based at those locations or W patterns from other bases. AMS/MXP/VCE maybe but they're much less likely. Other destination would need a base and I just can't see it.

[yeo valley]

in regards to the last post i must agree. also boh is kind of between gatwick and bristol.both big bases so u2 wont base at boh. they will do what they are now and that is gva as a winter route.

[speedbird_481_papa]

couldn't the same have been argued at the time for Southend when they started with the proximity to STN and LTN really?All well established bases but easyJet are doing well out of SEN

[HeartyMeatballs]

SEN is different. Firstly it serves London. It has a large catchment area which is highly populated and affluent. BOH, whilst wealthy, has a fairly small catchment - with half of its catchment area being the English Channel. To the west is BRS with over 50 destinations, to the East LGW with 100+ destinations.

The fact that EZY have over 20 bases and only operate flights from one of them speaks volumes to me. There's no Milan, Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, Nice, Lyon, Barcelona, Toulouse, Venice or Naples. Nor are there any flights from their UK bases. They could easily operate those flights from BOH but have so far not seen the demand to warrant flights to them. Nor have they operated W patterns to anywhere else (except for GVA).

[Barling Magna]

Maybe, but SEN has the advantage of a direct rail link to London.

[Pain in the R's]

...for some of the time. At other times it has no public transport so is no better than BOH

[HeartyMeatballs]

It's no better than SEN apart from the vastly larger population on its doorstep just a short drive away.

[chesna152]

...for some of the time. At other times it has no public transport so is no better than BOH

If you are referring to the late train issue then *yawn* this has been talked to death! While it
Is essential that they try to resolve this issue I think the fact that there are 4 trains an hour depating from the airports on site station direct to London upto 2300, and of course if you are traveling into Southend town the trains run considerably later, means it's on a slightly different footing to BOH!

[speedbird_481_papa]

fair enough thanks all! Didn't quite realise just how much of a catchment area SEN has on its' doorstep, along with the infrastructure. Bit naive of me really! Being a west-country bumpkin I suppose I don't know whats happening 'up east'! But BOH I suppose is situated close enough for either BRS or LGW. So rightfully so, why then would EZY consider a start up with 2 massive basses for them very similar distances apart. But a 2 hour 15 min drive to each airport is further than I anticipated!!

[mikkie4]

There was talk of extra flights to LONDON with the VENICE BASED aircraft with SOUTHEND possibly getting extra flights any news if this might go ahead ?

[tws123]

mikkie4

There was talk of extra flights to LONDON with the VENICE BASED aircraft with SOUTHEND possibly getting extra flights any news if this might go ahead ?

SEN won't be seeing any additional flights this summer (according to the timetable), although I don't know if this is the same for the LTN or LGW routes.

[Barling Magna]

It's no better than SEN apart from the vastly larger population on its doorstep just a short drive away.

It certainly isn't vastly larger. Within a twenty mile radius from SEN there are over three quarters of a million people.

[HeartyMeatballs]

Does SEN only have a 20 mile catchment area? How many live within 1 hours drive compared to BOH? I can't believe people are comparing a London airport with a large town on the south coast. They are not the same.

[Barling Magna]

I may have misunderstood. I thought you were saying BOH had a vastly larger population on its doorstep, including Southampton presumably.

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

SEN is not a London airport in reality, 50% of the catchment area with SEN at it's centre is fish.....it's a common problem when you're on the coast far away from competing airports with wholly land based options in that circle :) See also Manston.

[Barling Magna]

See also Bournemouth.

[EI-BUD]

Are easyJet about to announce a route to Casablanca from London Gatwick?

And I see a route in the booking engine between Manchester and Tivat in Montenegro, hadn't heard about this and also surprised that is just a single route to Manchester, would have expected them to try Gatwick first.

[apaul]

Tivat is already served from Gatwick plus Ryanair flies from Stansted to Podgorica. Manchester has the advantage of no competition.

[EI-BUD]

apaul,

Tivat is not in any booking engine...ex London.

[strawberry Ribena]

Montenegro airlines covers the lgw-tivat route

[alasdair1]

Hi all,
Both my fiancee and myself are wondering if Easyjet will continue the EDI-BJV in 2017 and. Are they planning to do it jointly with either Thomson or Thomas cook as per this year ?
Any help greatly appreciated as my fiancees holiday window opens soon. So we can book dates so that when /if it comes on sale in sept on Ezys site or may this year on either tom or tc hols
Thanks

[paully]

Easyjet have recently posted on their Facebook site that they intend to release March to late June flights in September 2016 and June to Sept the following month..They might well bring those dates forward but then you might be as well looking elsewhere, if you need to know.

[Seljuk22]

EZY and EZS combined have now more than 100 A320 in their fleet.

Further 50 A320ceo and 130 A320neo (+ options) on order.

[Prestonian]

Any info. please when January 2017 flights to Nice from Manchester/Liverpool will go on sale?

[Lon12]

Any info. please when January 2017 flights to Nice from Manchester/Liverpool will go on sale?


http://www.easyjet.com/en/schedule-release

[FFHKG]

EZ website states that flights for the Christmas period will go on sale in mid-April.

[PAXboy]

Ex- GVA: EasyJet flight delayed after spanner spotted in lodged in wing flaps | Europe | News | The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/easyjet-flight-delayed-switzerland-denmark-spanner-wing-a6927556.html)

[AvGeek1]

Some new routes easyJet have recently announced:

LGW-TIV (2 weekly) (Seasonal)
LTN-DBV (2 weekly) (Seasonal)

With an array of routes from easyJet being axed from Gatwick including Brussels, Moscow & Düsseldorf I was hoping it would mean that EZY would announce more routes in there place, but clearly not. What routes is EZY missing from Gatwick? I was thinking they could serve Warsaw, Casablanca, Reus, Tirana & Istanbul?

Does anyone else have any thoughts about gaps in EZY's Gatwick operations?

I was also confused at how EZY are axing the Moscow route even though 1 daily flight is always full and the fares aren't cheap either!

[toledoashley]

With easyJet I think you have to follow the mantra, so business routes with frequency, or leisure routes they can win on (not Eastern Europe).

[TakeMe2TheCloudsAbuv]

Hi there, I'd be ever so grateful if you could confirm whether the cc clean the entire a/c (brushing floors, tray tables, toilets etc) down route or is it how most other airlines operate as collecting rubbish from seat pockets, collecting these during flight.

Is this a paid incentive or was this incorporated into the salary increase?
Many thanks for your kind help that is greatly received!

[HeartyMeatballs]

The aircraft receive a deep clean every night at their base and on turnarounds the cabin crew security check and perform a cabin tidy to remove rubbish from seat pockets and under seats and overhead lockers. They'll also remove used sick bags from seat areas that pax have filled and dumped and soiled nappies from seat pockets too that parents leave behind after changing nappies in the cabin. Then they remove stowed garbage that has collected during the flight.

Toilets are restocked during flights and on turns too. If there's a 'mess' then cleaners are called to attend to it. Same goes for cabin floors.

Tray tables are security checked on turn arounds too. Only when someone's trampled a whole tube of Pringles into the carpet will the brushes come out.

It's part of the salary. No incentives whatsoever. However U2 CC are fairly well paid so they just get on with it.

[TakeMe2TheCloudsAbuv]

Thank you for taking the time to respond to my thread 'HeartyMeatballs', your response was very informative and I appreciate your input.
As I understand eventually after much talks and many brick walls hit upon, the CC successfully received a pay award of up-to 5.1% (this being CM) over two years.
So in no way was an entire aircraft clean forced onto the crew?

Thanks again in advance.

[LlamaFarmer]

HeartyMeatballs, surely you don't mean a proper "deep clean" every single night.

Depending on the airline, these are normally only several times a year due to the time/effort/cost required. Often done when they are not due to fly, such as if they are AoG or in for big maintenance like a C-check.

Deep clean tends to include things like scrubbing down walls/ceilings, wet vacuuming carpets, removing seat cushions to vacuum under them and in seat pockets, etc.


I would think it's far more likely to be something like whacking out the hoover and wiping down the seats/tray tables, rather than a deep clean.

[HeartyMeatballs]

No sorry I mean a full vacuum all seats and toilets restocked. They're not wet vacuumed however as far as I know.

TM2TCA - it's part of the cabin crew's roles and responsibilities so they have to do it. They don't get a choice. It's more of a 'tidy' than a clean. It's much more about security than anything else.

[sparkie320]

anyone know what is used on Gatwick-Toulouse flights
flying this Sunday any chance of a spanking new A320W

https://www.flickr.com/photos/88573897@N03/albums

[lurkio]

Currently all planned as 319s I'm afraid. Sorry.

[Skipness One Foxtrot]

And be advised that like hold baggage, spanking needs to be paid for in advance. Yes I agree, an utter pain in the arse.

[BFS BHD]

Does anyone know if G-EZDU is in the new livery? Cheers

[LandingConfig]

Does anyone know if G-EZDU is in the new livery? Cheers
Yes, it is.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jerseyaviationimages/25405782813/

[BFS BHD]

Thanks for the info! :)

[chaps1954]

BFS BHD
A very usefull site for info like that is
jethro's Fleet Listings (http://www.jethros.org.uk/fleets/fleets.htm)


Ian

[BFS BHD]

Thanks for the link. :)

[Tranceaddict]

easyJet shares turbulent amid fears it has fallen so far behind low-cost airline rival Ryanair it might not be able to catch up | Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-3525938/easyJet-shares-turbulent-amid-fears-fallen-far-low-cost-airline-rival-Ryanair-not-able-catch-up.html)

[All names taken]

All that article demonstrates is what a pretentious load of t0$$ers 'analysts' are.
'Genuine fears' my ar$e, almost as if they care.

Analysts feed those who trade in shares / traders make small fortunes out of turbulence in the markets. Go figure.

Easyjet is a well run profitable airline which is more than can be said of most.

In the interests of balance so too is Ryanair

[True Blue]

It is a sign of how nothing is ever good enough for the investment market any more. Why would Easyjet want or need to catch up with Ryanair in the first place?

[LlamaFarmer]

They are completely different business models really.

EZY compete against the legacy carriers on routes between primary airports, and more of them, doing so at lower prices. BA, Air France, KLM, Lufthansa... they are the kind of airlines operating the same routes as easyjet. Someone in the UK wanting to fly to

RYR operate between secondary airports mostly, sometimes more than 40 miles from the "destination" city, so not directly competing with the legacy carriers or EZY.

[toledoashley]

I think the point is Ryanair is really muscling in on easyJet's core assets at the moment. Who would have thought they would have been operating from Amsterdam for example. You could add Hamburg and Cologne to that list, Lisbon... even Luton to Copenhagen - up to 8 daily from nothing shows that neither want to back down on that one.

The reality is that those old secondary airports Ryanair used to be renowned for are more origin than destination (Malpensa & Bergamo, Fiumicino & Ciampino, Barcelona/Gerona/Reus) are all good examples of that.

The fight is only just starting.

[rutankrd]

Your thesis is somewhat out of date LLamaFarmer.

Both Ryanair and Easyjet have moved into the primary city point to point businesses often head to head.

From UK provincial cities especially - Combined they serve a wide range of major city pairs across Europe - more so than the heady days of BA Regional operations !

Now I may say that some of the so-called secondary airports that gave Ryanair a tag line were/are often closer more convenient and easier to use - Rome Ciampino for instance.

[22/04]

BUT......

EasyJet does need something though...the markets like novelty. And the competition treading on their toes isn't just Ryanair- Norwegian and Veuling are there too. Notice a Flybe/Virgin codeshare- Easy must have plenty of potential for this although European carriers and BA may be hostile. Or proper premium economy. A few rows at the front with 35" legroom.

[toledoashley]

For me, EZY is the worst place of the majors (Ryanair, Vueling, Norwegian and easyJet) -LCC's.
Ryanair has scale, while Vueling has great access to Primary airports and the backing of IAG. Norwegian has pushed a long haul strategy which seems to be working for them, and wifi on short haul.
EasyJet - apart from having strength in some primary airports and markets has little uniqueness now.

22/04 - I thought about this recently with Monarch. They have the extra legroom at the front which could be marketed a cheaper version of business class (or Crown Service) - I think there is a market for it.

[Wee Weasley Welshman]

Every Easyjet aircraft has £4m in cold hard cash in a box in the forward cargo hold. It owns 70% of its fleet. It's not committed to expanding its fleet at all if it does not wish to.

In the looming overcapacity war and yield destruction battle you'll find those two simple economic realities trump a lot of other cards.

The economic tide is going out. We will soon see which airlines are swimming naked.


WWW

[mockingjay]

Their product is fairly solid but has become very bland and beige compared to the competition. Anyone remember the Blah Airlines parody that Virgin America did to mock what we assume to be United? Well that video could apply to any U2 flight: There's no premium, no wifi, no power, to moving map, no fancy lighting, no IFE, the boarding process is awful and they run out of sandwiches at row two. Still, they're making record profits and I'm happy that I have shares in them. They might not have a sexy product, but is a product we all know will be here in 10-20 years and they'll still be doing what they do best and that's relatively high frequency offerings on high density short to medium haul routes. There will be no A321s, no A330s, no Dubai and no no transatlantics which are all rumours I hear about them from time to time.

http://youtu.be/9rzfZldX4Ro

[FRatSTN]

easyJet shares turbulent amid fears it has fallen so far behind low-cost airline rival Ryanair it might not be able to catch up | This is Money (http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-3525938/easyJet-shares-turbulent-amid-fears-fallen-far-low-cost-airline-rival-Ryanair-not-able-catch-up.html)

easyJet cited the impact of the recent strikes by French air traffic controllers, which took place on March 30 and lasted for 36 hours, as the reason behind its planes being less full.

Please tell me if I'm missing something here and going absolutely insane... but how on Earth does 611 flight cancellations, or any number for that matter, result in a reduction in load-factor?? They must have a lot of last minute passengers!!

[Tonyq]

I have posted this in the Isle of Man thread, but I'm adding it here to see what the easyJet specialists and aficionados have to offer.

I expect that I am not the only one who has noticed that since the S16 schedules began almost two weeks ago, any semblance of punctuality on the EZY855/856 (LGW-IOM-LGW) rotation has totally disintegrated. Last summer, it was pretty poor with OTP around 25-30%, but so far this year, it is a total disaster.

Using data from FR24, it is fairly easy to work out that EZY856 has arrived back to LGW, on time, only twice, in eleven attempts. What is more worrying is that the average delay (on the remaining nine occasions) has been 50 minutes plus.

Now this may not be a particularly big deal when a scheduled arrival is in the middle of the day, but when the IOM is already pushed out to the arse end of the flying day, with a planned arrival to LGW of 22.00 any delay can be very inconvenient for onward travel. Last night's arrival was almost two hours late.

Then, there is the question of the cost of late opening at the Ronaldsway. Are EZY paying for this, or is the long suffering Manx Tax payer picking up the tab.

I can't imagine that easyJet are particularly happy or proud of this performance, but they do seem unable, or disinclined, to do anything to arrest the dismal performance.

I'm not expecting anyone here to have any answers or solutions, but I'm just putting these not very pretty facts out there, for comment/reaction.

[lfc84]

Is it possible for me to obtain schedules for feb 2017 (today)

[True Blue]

Tomorrow they will be available I believe

[easydan319]

easyJet to open new base in Palma for Summer 2017 with 3 based aircraft

easyJet Media Centre (http://mediacentre.easyjet.com/stories/9756)

[FRatSTN]

Why announce a base which isn't going to have any routes on sale for at least another five or six months?

Most airlines now will either be starting to or are well into planning their Summer 2017 network / schedules. It must certainly give the competition an idea on where to put more planes next summer if nothing else.

It's debatable also that a seasonal base can be seen as 'efficient' as McCall puts it.

As has been discussed on here recently and certainly my instincts for the last year or two, things overall don't look quite so prosperous for EZY these days.

Will be interesting to see what happens (if anything) with the winter schedule release tomorrow.

[davidjohnson6]

If a major carrier with deep pockets announces a new base 12 months ahead, it is a form of planting a flag and claiming economic territory and signals to other smaller players they may wish to defer plans to set up a base at the same airport. Easyjet get their desired territory and reduce the risk of a fare war without being accused of colluding secretly with rivals.

[toledoashley]

I don't see what a three aircraft base is going to achieve, which w routes will not. Its not for the business traveller which was the rationale of the Barcelona base.

[mockingjay]

It'll allow to either operate the Air Berlin routes or operate UK routes with a lower cost base and will allow them to possibly downsize UK bases or free up UK based planes to operate new routes from their respective bases or increase frequencies on current routes. It will give them quite a lot of flexibility. Another option could be to operate W patterns from PMI with the lower cost base. You could for example operate PMI-LGW-CDG-LGW-PMI or PMI-NCE-CDG-NCE-PMI. Smaller 3/4 aircraft based are quote common now with U2. Even FR operated BOH seasonally with just a couple of planes.

[MKY661]

Might be EasyJet's reaction to Air Berlin closing their base at PMI.

[JosuaNkomo]

Opening bases in PMI and BCN. I think the move is on to close expensive UK bases. NCL looks vulnerable. The only domestic route flown by NCL based AC is BFS. Increased competition from VEULING on the BCN rotation and AGP and ALC from RYANAIR also add to uncertainty. Also factor in appalling CC "sickness" and the omens do not look good for the NE.

[fa2fi]

True, the BFS is the only regularly flown domestic route (operated by NCL based aircraft, all BRS flights are operated from BRS base) however at up to 18 rotations a week it's still a fair amount of flying. I was reading in some rag today that NCL is the most expensive airport in terms of ticket prices so there's a good chance that they're making good money on the beach flights. Competition on the Spanish flights is undoubtably stronger however as anyone with an ounce of sense is avoiding Egypt/Turkey/Tunisia there are a lot more people flying to Spain this year.

In terms of sickness I'm not sure how you know and how you would know how it compared to other bases. In general crews have higher sick rates then ground based jobs anyway.

[SWBKCB]

Such an expert on the NCL base but doesn't know they fly to Bristol? Hmmm :=

[FRatSTN]

Well what can I say other than that this coming winter schedule is yet again a bit of a dull, boring, same old same old kind of theme.

It's probably the most unstructured I've seen yet with frequencies changing seemingly every few weeks, routes being served on a Sunday and Tuesday only (what use is that!?) and others with generally poor timings to suit business travel. I know there's peaks and troughs in demand but come on!

This quote made me chuckle in response to their 1.3% drop in March LF...

EasyJet falls behind Ryanair as budget airlines battle for dominance of Europe?s skies - Mirror Online (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/business/easyjet-falls-behind-ryanair-budget-7703561)

“We still have a load factor of over 90% which by any standards is a very good performance,” she said.

“We’ve got some very good value fares - but we’re not giving away seats like some other airlines.”

Really? Well maybe you should give it a go... that's generally how a LCC would stimulate demand during the off-peak periods and make commercial gains from ancillary revenues.

It's that well known strategy of "pile it high, sell it cheap" that wins when demand is lower, rather than this willy nilly, shall we shan't we kind of approach whereby, compared to their competition, they have mediocre fares and offer generally poor durations and flexibility to the customer.

Sorry for those who disagree, but I don't think that's good enough these days, as is starting to be reflected in their performance figures when others are reporting 20%+ traffic growth with record profits.

[DC9_10]

Recently flew MAN to LPA with Jet2. I was very impressed with the total experience as I had heard different opinions. 737 300 in Jet2 holidays livery. The whole onboard experience was,in my opinion, far superior to what easyJet offer. Excellent service ,not to many announcements and no bright cabin lights with a crew member on the pa every 30 minutes mentioning nearly everything they sell on the bar/gift shop. Aircraft was clean too and in-flight meals are nice. All in all, I'd rather fly Jet2 than easyJet now. Far superior onboard.

[Ametyst1]

Quit agree FR@STN

easyjet has lost it's mojo and is fast becoming just another airline. They no longer seem to have forgotten their routes. I can't see them ever starting a route like Liverpool to Nice again. They lack adventure.

EZY will have aircraft sitting around this winter. Why not start some winter only routes from say Liverpool to Las Palmas or Tenerife South. With people shying away from Egypt next winter I am sure there will be extra demand for the Canaries.

[chaps1954]

11 based at Manchester this summer and routes that were summer only now running into winter so some places are growing, they will put aircraft where the money is.

[FRatSTN]

MAN so far has probably come off best but still very modest growth really. What is it... Gibraltar has gone into winter and a few other have frequency increases something like 8 to 9x weekly, and not even for the full season.

From what I recall, some of the STN frequencies are down as are I think NCL, LPL and even LTN for part of the season at least. I know there's lots of time for new routes but for an airline that is supposedly focusing more on deepening frequencies on existing routes, I'm not counting on that many being announced.

You look at FR and they are growing at MAN by over 30% this winter, BHX is seeing 20%+ growth, infact... I think the 7% growth at LPL was the disappointing one!

Even LS and BE are probably putting more growth in the UK this winter.

I understand it isn't all about growth but EZY are putting themselves in a seriously dangerous position. Whilst others ramp up capacity like this, EZY is effectively in decline and that does them no favors going forward. Seasonal bases... is that the best they can do now?

[AvGeek1]

I totally agree, easyJet have not announce any major growth for the summer season this year or W16/S17. This is not the position they want to be in when a carrier like Ryanair is knocking at their door and our growing significantly around the UK.

I also agree that Manchester has come at on top with the easyJet growth with a selection of new routes like Paris, Milan & Gibraltar. They have announced no growth at their biggest UK base, Gatwick this year apart from one seasonal route to Tivat.

[chaps1954]

Jet2 are going to have to do something with all those brand new B738 coming on line from September

[LiamNCL]

Ryanair also ramping up competition at NCL another base EZY has neglected

[EcamSurprise]

Whilst seats are now on sale for current routes, most of the new routes for this winter are yet to be announced..

[davidjohnson6]

I've seen blurb in the press about Easyjet wanting to sell customers a shoe that directs people around a city using GPS and a shoe implant that vibrates at road junctions.

Is this some sort of April Fool equivalent, a weird marketing scheme leading onto something else or someone in sales getting confused about what Easyjet's core business is all about ? Just all seems very bizarre for an airline to sell shoes and can't figure out what's behind this.

[paully]

Just part of their latest dumbing down of customer service..:rolleyes:

[SWBKCB]

Customer service? Easyjet? :ugh:

Nice to know they're doing something useful like this, rather than answering e-mails, paying back money owed, sorting out their contingency planning, etc, etc, etc - useless :=

[Mr A Tis]

Have to agree with the above posters.
I don't know what has happened to them, their customer services have gone from mediocre to dire.
I can only speak from personal experience, but they have just entered my own no fly list.

[SWBKCB]

I can only speak from personal experience, but they have just entered my own no fly list.

and me. I'm not sure yet whether it is straight forward incompetence or they have a deliberate policy of "ignore a problem long enough and it will go away" :suspect:

[RAT 5]

Find the direct e-mail of the CEO and make your thoughts known. She is approachable. I had a reply to a suggestion/comment about baggage rules sent to her directly.

[parky747]

Anyone know if EZY plan to fly BCN from MAN in the future?

[Mr A Tis]

BCN already served from MAN by Monarch, Jet2, Veuling & Ryanair. So I doubt that EZY would see any commercial opportunity in entering that saturated market.

[LAX_LHR]

Norwegian also now serve MAN-BCN too, so that's 5 carriers!

[sunday8pm]

I still struggle to accept Easy just allowing Ryanair to be Lord of the manor at EMA. Bucket and spade in the summer, winter sun and city breaks in winter...this should be prime Easy territory

[Pain in the R's]

There is some real nonsense written on this thread. Reading some of the comments here you would think Easyjet were fast becoming a failed airline. Anyone here think that British Airways is a failing airline because it is not opening up new routes left right and centre?

[HeartyMeatballs]

EMA, whilst devastating for crews based there, was closed 7 years ago under a different management team. The U2 of today is very different. Smaller bases fit in with the strategy now, however the previous CEO and his (long gone) ops team wanted just a few large UK bases. Thankfully this was stopped by the new leadership, UK has gained a new base and things seem to tick along nicely.

It's a highly successful airline. It starts routes on which it will make money. It doesn't open huge amounts of routes just to take a punt on what might make money, which is why you never see huge lists of new routes, or 'massive expansion (one aircraft often), £100,000,000 investment, 100,000 new jobs, billions of £ for the local community' like you see from another airline.

[toledoashley]

I think some of the statements which have been made a perfectly valid, and have been highlighted by easyJet themselves. The cost per seat is too high and leaves them vulnerable in some markets - the latest results showed they intend for this not to increase further. Although they have an advantage in primary airports, Ryanair have announced they would like some of that market, as well as Vueling - already in airports which are 'new bases' for the easyJet - Amsterdam springs to mind.

[FRatSTN]

EMA is a frustrating one. If only EZY hung on in there for another couple of years I dare say they'd have been in a strong position to take on the BmiBaby routes. That could have easily been five or six based aircraft in total.

Instead they threw in the towel because growth had stagnated and they saw better opportunities elsewhere... shame they missed the opportunity at EMA.

If closing bases because they've stagnated is anything to go by, that's probably most of their network that needs shutting down.

[racedo]

It's a highly successful airline. It starts routes on which it will make money. It doesn't open huge amounts of routes just to take a punt on what might make money, which is why you never see huge lists of new routes, or 'massive expansion (one aircraft often), £100,000,000 investment, 100,000 new jobs, billions of £ for the local community' like you see from another airline.

It is but at the moment it gives people the perception and impression that it has lost its way.

Now it may not have but what is the Easyjet message now to consumers ?

[SWBKCB]

It is but at the moment it gives people the perception and impression that it has lost its way.

Think you are confusing consumers with Pprune posters - most people care about where, when and how much. What does seem to be getting eroded is the sense that EZY were slightly better ('nicer') than the other LCC's.

[HeartyMeatballs]

The product IMHO is bland, and boring. However it does what it's designed to do - transport lots of people safely from real airports at a fair price whilst generating return to shareholders. Investment in it would be good, but those with wow factor and bling aren't on the same strong financial footing (Norwegian, I'm looking at you). Others provide an identical product to U2 but aren't likely to be with us for much longer.

However, they are growing steadily and delivering excellent results in a challenging environment. They'll survive the next 9/11, recession, depression or whatever black swan event comes their way. Not only survive, but they'll make money too.

[greatoaks]

I used to generally always fly with Ezy.
The problems began when they tried to become a business carrier and the fares rocketed.
Now they seem to want to be some weird hybrid with a lack of convenient fly times .
Also not opening up the forward booking window until all the competitors have snapped up the sales is short-sighted.
It now even makes it into the press when the latest tranche of seats is released.

[FRatSTN]

They've lost their uniqueness and "sparkle" and fast becoming just another airline. As someone said above, the product has become "bland". I think a lot of it is actually through arrogance from the senior management.

Whenever I see an interview, article, statement, quotation or what ever it may be from someone at easyJet, it's always about how great they are... how the share price has rocketed since 2010 (true although less so of late), how they offer excellent customer service (debatable), the strongest route network in Europe (they don't!), how the other LCCs are not seen as major competition because they are in a nut shell... not as strong as easyJet, and finally how they had a "robust" set of Half Year results (I thought they were... ok).

I can't recall many incidences where we hear about any weaknesses, elaboration on poor performance or areas they see further improvement or opportunities (sneakairs aside). You may think why would they publicize that... but actually when you look at many of the airlines now, they seem more open with what they're not so good at or need to improve on.

[SWBKCB]

how they offer excellent customer service (laughable)

[paully]

I agree with the above. I had a run in with them last month at Liverpool. Yup customer service very much lacking. Have sent the office of the CEO an e mail, but I`m not holding my breath..

[Mr A Tis]

Since the CEO has published her e-mail address in the in flight magazine, don't expect a speedy response and certainly not one from her.
My last contact with the call centre cost me £7 and achieved nothing as neither agent I spoke to did what they promised to do.
From what I can see, they are making less money but increasing dividends.
From a price point of view, I don't find them particularly competitive against legacy carriers let alone LCCs.

Again, only speaking from personal experience, I am sure plenty out there love the big orange and what it offers.
Good luck to them, however,from a customer service point of view "I'm out"

[SWBKCB]

Well, part of that profit seems to be made on the back of customers whose flights they've cancelled - mine was cancelled two months ago and they've still not paid the money they owe me for the expenses they said they would pay. The last contact I've had from them was a request to send them an invoice for the 25 euro charge that was made by the Easyjet call centre to change my booking - the latest in a loooong line of p*ss takes....

Sure things can go wrong, but it's how you recover from your mistakes that matters. It's now got to the stage that I don't think their customer service are incompetent but it's a deliberate policy of obstruction.

[paully]

As I said above I`m waiting a reply to the query I made with them. To date no reply. However I have just received a `customer satisfaction`(seriously) survey canvassing my opinion of how they actioned my complaint :ugh:

You could`nt make this stuff up..Think its time they recalled Stelios :D

[SWBKCB]

Oh, I can better that - I got a "how did you enjoy your flight?" survey the day after they cancelled mine, and within minutes a "sorry your flight was cancelled, how did we do?" survey as well. Despite my "views being important to them", neither got any follow up - clueless :suspect:

[paully]

These buffoons have actually sent me another `are you satisfied` surveys today and still havent answered the original. I think its too late even for Stelios to turn this tanker around..

[lfc84]

my recent experiences....

tues - IOM-LGW flight cancelled due to the inbound aircraft (LGW-IOM) being unable to land due to poor visibility. fair enough, however the metar stated the visibility would improve to 10km or more. the inbound plane circled the airport for 10 minutes and returned to LGW. 30 minutes later, visibility had improved exactly as forecast.

thurs - BSL-LTN - they had taken reservations for an A320 operation however a A319 turned up on stand. Swissport asked for volunteers to offload and get invol denied boarding. next flight offered was Friday morning out of GVA. i offered to offload if they would put me on an alternative carrier to LGW (since I had planned to take the train from LTN to LGW). They refused to put me on an alternative carrier, only easyjet, therefore I travelled and some people who did not volunteer were invol denied boarding. besides a handful of volunteers, the remaining passengers who were denied boarding were those in rows 27 -31. some of those seated in 27-31 got onboard due to the volunteers coming from other seats.

[R T Jones]

If you get these emails asking how they handled stuff, if you don't reply nothing changes. If they made a mess of it, let them know. The more people that tell them, the more likely they are to want to do something about it.

[SWBKCB]

If you get these emails asking how they handled stuff, if you don't reply nothing changes. If they made a mess of it, let them know. The more people that tell them, the more likely they are to want to do something about it.

I'd like to believe that was true, but my own experience is that they aren't interested.

[RAT 5]

Try an e-mail direct to the CEO/MD and a letter to Daily Telegraph TRAVEL section. Don't become passive bar-room whingers. There are too many pilots doing that already.

[Mr A Tis]

It's ironic in a way, just as Ryanair has embarked upon being customer friendly, easyJet has gone the other way.
For those advocating contacting the CEO, these are also ignored or palmed off to the fobbing off department of Customer services.

[kingston_toon]

I fly around 60 sectors a year, all for fun and paid for myself. I haven't flown easyJet for 4 years now, due to their discriminatory administration fee policy (£13 for a solo traveller last time I looked). Get rid! Even Ryanair charge nothing extra these days.

[racedo]

It's ironic in a way, just as Ryanair has embarked upon being customer friendly, easyJet has gone the other way.
For those advocating contacting the CEO, these are also ignored or palmed off to the fobbing off department of Customer services.

Question is whether the CEO being not from a customer services career background understands the issues ?

[SWBKCB]

Based on my own personal experience, and looking at other comments around the net, their Customer Services dept is either in meltdown and is unable to cope, is just straight forwardly incompetent or as a matter of company policy has decided to ignore customer contact that doesn't involve them getting more income. :suspect:

If the CEO isn't aware or doesn't understand, well... :eek:

[davidjohnson6]

Are we perhaps being overly critical ? Customer service that keeps people happy almost all the time and an operation with very high levels of reliability costs significant quantities of money. Easyjet is not a full service airline and targets people who are price conscious, albeit not absolute bargain basement.

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

[SWBKCB]

DJ6 - thanks, well aware of that and don't have a problem with it.

What I do object to is a company not doing what they say they are going to do.

[PAXboy]

Aiding on time departure or more of the non-customer service?

EasyJet to turn away 'have a go' fliers who arrive less than 30 minutes early | News & Advice | Travel | The Independent (http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/easyjet-to-turn-away-have-a-go-fliers-who-check-in-with-less-than-30-minutes-to-go-a7055511.html)

[RAT 5]

Plane daft. Being at the gate 30mins before departure means before the inbound has arrived, sometimes. Plain stupid. Surely the decision to board, with no checked baggage, should be made at the gate. You are either there or not. KISS.
With checked baggage and squeezing the time to the gate can involve a baggage search and delays. That's anti-social and bad etiquette, but not uncommon. However, for the supposed 'train in the sky' business model (see SWA) it seems un-attractive and not inviting to pax.
The logistics defeat me. Check-in closes 45mins before departure. Queue at security is 20 mins. You are denied boarding because of the fault on slow security; AND it is their fault.
Flight delays might allow some leeway? That's an interesting one. How updated will the security gates be? On one of the easyjet TV episodes a family attending an important family event in S.France were delayed on M1. They arrived before STD but later than 45mins. They had phoned a friend on board to tell them of their late arrival. They told them there was an hour slot delay. Checkin were rock-solid; not possible and then blamed the captain that as the doors were closed he would not accept them. No sympathy, no discretion, bad advertising. This seems to be an extension of that. The company is designing a model to suit itself hiding behind the 'benefit to customers'. Good customer service needs discretion and intelligent people to exercise it. When to be hard & strong and when to be soft and gentle. As long as the goal is achieved who cares? Oh yes, the customer.
And why just LGW? Why not MAN/FCO/CDG/MAD/etc. eat. These airports have a very long walk time to the gate.

[Charlie Roy]

Wow, sounds ludicrous. I cannot believe they have spent time and energy on this plan which will pee their passengers off big time. If you are rushing and stressed, the last thing you need is someone saying "your plane won't be leaving for 30 minutes, but we're not letting you try to get to the gate".

“Gatwick security control gates are automatically being timed to close 30 minutes before departure.”
And what if the departure is delayed? The departure could be delayed at the last minute too, which would mean refusing passengers who easily could have made it.

Stupid stupid plan.
Easyjet: Always getting worse.