easyJet allocated seating

[Peter47]

Can any easyJet crew tell me what effect allocated seating is having on boarding times. Are they quicker or slower and is it saving you hassle (or indeed causing more)?

[Ramper1]

It is actually a little quicker by some 3 mins!!! At LGW anyway. There are teething problems as regulars are unaware of allocated seating and sit in wrong seats, but generally it's all good. Will be hassle free in a month or so when people get used to it!

[Tableview]

As a frequent passenger on EZY, my view on this is that it removes the last remaining objection that anyone might have had to travelling with this already excellent airline.

Thank you for listening, and thank you for implementing this. Wonderful.

[V_2]

Just out of interest, if I am one of the first to check-in/bag drop at the desk, will I be offered a choice of seat? Or will I be "allocated" a middle seat and then asked if I would like to change it for £10? (or whatever the correct price is)

[Gulfstreamaviator]

good question, the public need to know

I am glad that the allocated seating works, and a little surprised.....how is the boarding sequenced, same pens, but for allocated seats rather than zones.????

[Dg800]

I'm guessing: priority boarding and families with little children first, everybody else second regardless of allocated seat? Structured boardings have always failed on account of most passenger not paying any attention whatsoever and showing up when they shouldn't. It is generally quicker to let them sort themselves out on board than trying to herd them at the gate.
There have been scientific studies (with actual tests and everything) on which is the best way to board a plane, but they all have the same inherent defect in that they assume that people will actually do as requested. Experience shows that this is completely unrealistic, and the time savings with the best method didn't amount to much anyway.

[Tableview]

Just sharing an experience in case anyone is interested here.

I have an EZY flight on Thursday. I checked in online last night to see what seat it allocated me, and I got 'D'. An aisle. I wanted a window and I wondered in what order they would allocate seats, logically the least desirable (middle?) first in order to encourage people to pay for an allocated seat. I was a little surprised to get an aisle as although I hate the aisle, it seems most people want that.

There is obviously some algorythm determing how seats are allocated in the DCS. On conventional DCSs, generally it starts at the front, allocates the window seats down both sides, then the aisles, then the middle seats. Groups/families are of course seated in the same row.

Having got my boarding pass, I cannot now change that seat on line, but only when I check in at the airport, and by paying for the selected seat. I am wondering how that will work in practice.

[Dg800]

There is obviously some algorythm determing how seats are allocated in the DCS. On conventional DCSs, generally it starts at the front, allocates the window seats down both sides, then the aisles, then the middle seats. Groups/families are of course seated in the same row.

Don't forget that weight and balance constraints need to be taken into account too. Not an issue as long as a flight is fully booked, if it's half empty than allocating seats simply either by starting at the front or at the back might not be a good idea as it might cause W&B to go out of limits.
Somebody's most undesirable seat might also be somebody else's most desirable, there really is no way to know that.

[bondim]

No, if you don't pay anything at all, you have no option to change your seat. The system allocates one for you, and that is what you will have. This can only be changed without charge by the airline for operational or safety reasons.

[Doors to Automatic]

This is the best thing Easyjet management could have done - turns a great airline into an unbeatable one.

If there are any senior management on this thread - thank you!

[Cameronian]

Yep, I second Doors to Automatic and Tableview's similar post further up the page. I've only had two flights with allocated seating so far and I exercised no preference for any seat - I was with my wife and we just sat where we were told at no extra charge. The flights were booked early and on both we were in row 17. Perhaps they start allocating around that point for the balance considerations mentioned above by Dg800. easyJet has always (touch wood!) been great for me.

[A and C]

As a regular user of Easy Jet I think the new seating system has been a success and has stopped the worst of the boarding problems, I don't however share some of the other contributors enthusiasm for Easy jet, I always seem to be held in the air bridge for an age and the amount of cabin baggage that comes aboard is excessive.

Next year at LGW will be interesting with more another low cost but quality operator basing aircraft at Gatwick and going head to head with the likes of Easy Jet on routes to Southern Europe

[DB6]

I flew once with easyJet two years ago, unaware that they used Pikeyair boarding until I arrived at the gate with my family. I have never flown with them since, and will not fly with any airline that does not allocate seating. I imagine I am not the only one with that proviso.

[STN Ramp Rat]

Well my experience seems to be different to everyone else!!!

I have taken about 4 flights so far, when I am travelling onmy own I couldn’t care less where I sit so there is no problem. I have thoughtaken a couple of flights with colleagues where we have booked separately and we wouldlike to sit together. there is no way to achieve this, even by paying, unlessone person checks in for the entire group at the same time. The sooner Easyoffer the chance to link PNR’s (even for a fee) the better.

Another point is that there is still a queue for boarding asthere is often insufficient space to store the hand luggage and the last oneson the aircraft will end up with their hand luggage in the hold.

[Agaricus bisporus]

Passengers complain about the airline when other passengers carry "too much hand baggage" as if the airline had made them do it.

Passengers complain if hand baggage is restricted.

Passengers complain they have to pay to put bags in the hold despite it being done to reduce their ticket cost.

Passengers complain when their bag is put in the hold f.o.c.

Passengers complain that are held in a queue too long.

Passengers complain that boarding takes too long because they weren't processed through the gate fast enough.

Passengers complain they can't book seperately and sit together (ho the hell could any airline do that???)

Passengers complain they don't like where they are seated when they were offered the chance to choose but decided not to bother.

Passengers seem to think that the front of the aeroplane arrives sooner than the back.

In all the above cases the flight almost certainly left on time and arrived early.

I expect there were passengers complaining about that too.

But the silent majority (over 90% I'd venture to suggest) thought they'd had a pleasant, good-value flight in comfortable seats that ran to schedule and were well looked after by superbly Professional crew. Whose opinion should Easyjet act upon?

[bondim]

Succintly summarized, Agaricus! 50 million passengers= 50 million opinions. And some of them believe that their opinion is THE valid one, and, of course, that they, and only they, know best.

[Tableview]

Here's my experience today. As mentioned I was automatically allocated a 'D' (aisle) and couldn't change it online. The check in agent said I could change it at the ticket desk, who said it would cost €24 - a bit different from the €4 on the website, but that I could change on board for €4. I suspect that the latter was just to fob me off.

On board, predictably, I was told it was a full flight and couldn't change. Not surprising.

So, lesson learnt, don't rely on the automatic allocation to give you what you want, pay the £3 in advance.

[Tableview]

easyJet have done everything they possibly can to provide a better service and to explain the new procedures to SLF. Unforunately, you can't fix stupid!

Last night I boarded an EZY from LGW, I had paid for an allocated seat and SB. 10 minutes before they'd even called for boarding, the sheeple are crowding round the gate, pushing and shoving. Why? As they call for for Speedy Boarding to commence the scrum thickens and the SB people, who had been sitting waiting, couldn't get through. So the agent asks everybody who is not SB to sit down. Nobody takes a blind bit of notice. She asks twice. Same result.

The guy in front of me is politely asking the morons blocking the way to move, but they don't, so I asked a little less politely, three times, was ignored, so I rudely pushed through the idiots to much protest, asking them which part of 'sit down' they didn't understand. Got sworn at - fine.

Asked the lady at the gate if they could do something about the idiots blocking the exit, she said : "You just did it!". Then some tw@t has a go at me for calling him an idiot even though he'd proved he was one.

Flight was further delayed because there was too much hand baggage to fit in the overheads. A mess. It could all have been avoided by proper control at the gate.

[Pilotinmydreams]

If you think it's bad on an EZY flight, you should have tried going through the old Baneasa airport in Romania and tried to get on one of the 4 Whiz Air flights leaving at the same time in an airport with only 4 gates! Never seen anything like it

[easyflyer83]

I think some routes suffer from cultural differences, often some folk won't understand whilst others, usually the majority, simply choose not to listen. From your discription, the gate staff did all they could to control passengers. Short of having cattle prods and tazer's, what else could they be expected to do. Many people complain of being 'herded like cattle', some would argue that it is required.

Baggage is a separate issue and "generally" speaking the gate staff do a good job at dealing with baggage. Passengers can always assist by stowing the luggage correctly and not stuff large jackets into parts of the lockers that could and should accommodate an extra bag.