easyJet change aircraft config and sell extra legroom seats twice ?

[BHX_SLF]

Can anyone let me know if this has happened to them ?

I booked with easyJet last November for my flight LGW/PFO/LGW out late Mar and ret late Apr.

I use this route about 4-5 return trips per year and always choose and pay for extra legroom seats over the wing.

Normally no issue, but an interesting one has been discovered this evening.

EasyJet have had an appalling run over in Paphos in the last few weeks. People delayed and offloaded in the UK due to over booked flights, 3 return flights delayed by 23 hours, 7 hours and 6 hours this last weekend. On this basis I thought I would check my booking for next week to verify all was OK.

I find my flight when booked was an A319, but is now an A320. No problem, except my seat allocation is no longer an over wing extra legroom seat. I call the call centre who verify the aircraft change, tell me I am not in an extra legroom seat any more and also tell me there are no extra legroom seats available. I presume they have been sold again or some lucky person gets what is now the extra legroom seat !

I am brassed off as I found out by chance on taking a look. It will be interesting to see what happens on the flight next week when people will be walking up to seats with what was a premium price but not what they booked.

As an operations person in another industry, I am fully aware of operational challenges any organisation has, but to take money off people and not deliver AND not communicate is unacceptable in any industry.

The lady in the call centre was so helpful, but alas could only offer some partial rectification.

How vigilant do we have to be as customers to keep our eye on "the supplier" here.

Is this the new easyJet norm ?? They have gone from being a reasonable outfit to being a little sharp on practice.

New name out in Paphos for this lot is "sleazy jet"

Interested to hear if this is all one off or a trend .........

.......and please, I don't want to hear grief from people saying how hard it is to run an airline. We all have difficult jobs to do. I never use that excuse in my job.

Thanks !

[Ivor Fynn]

No it is not the norm. There has been a glitch on the booking system which had allocated the wrong AC type. The extra legroom seats on a 319 are different to the 320. The company are aware and trying to sort it out. It is diff innately not the norm.

Ivor

[Sky Wave]

And I don't believe that 319's ever do PFO.

[mockingjay]

You mention you make the trip 4-5 times a year 'normally no issue' so this sounds like a one off. I've never know a PFO operated on a 319. If it was a 319 on the original booking then it would be a glitch as it is a 320 route. I've never know this happen before. Sometimes an aircraft will be switched to a 319/320 in the day(s) leading up to the flight and it is usually when something goes wrong operationally. This seems to be a matter of the wrong type and has been noticed in good time.

It's a little annoying, a bit like when BA usually put a 319 on initial timetables but what usually gets put on the route is a 321 so I can understand the frustration.

If you have paid for a premium seat that is no longer available then you would be given a refund of the fee you have paid. Or the difference between a premium seat and a normal seat.

However this is not some elaborate scam. Believe me there are way bigger fish to fry and more operationally important things to do than annoy a few people for a couple of extra £ (but the resident easyBashers here will say it is a deliberate scam). Think about the hassle involved in 24 seats magically appearing or disappearing as aircraft are swapped to trick a few £ out of people. It just doesn't make sense.

Operationally there will have been priority placed on sorting out customer service issues relating to the recent french ATC strikes and that's where all the effort will be going in to I'm sure at this time.

Most airlines overbook, it stinks but it's what they do unfortunately. There will always be times when it doesn't quite work and someone gets left behind.

Recently I'm aware of one tech problem causing major delay, French ATC too but in all just a challenging few weeks. They may call them 'sleazy jet' (mildly funny 20 years ago!) but then the Cypriots no longer have a joke of a national carrier to poke fun at do they?

[BHX_SLF]

Thanks for your info

Thanks for the posts back on this.

It's good to hear some confirmations and background information :

LGW to PFO is an A320 route - If I see a seat map for an A319, it's probably wrong and need to act accordingly (by phoning the Call Centre ?).

There appears to be a known I.T. systems glitch with the easyJet booking engine and the seating plan screen selecting the wrong aircraft type (and I am sure it is being worked on).

Like it has been alluded to, not a life threatening event, just frustrating.

....... and just to let you know that the Press in Cyprus have been brutal on the activities of the former national airline ...... there is little sympathy for it's demise as an airline, just wounded pride for the nation's reputation.

[ExXB]

Originally Posted by mockingjay

Most airlines overbook, it stinks but it's what they do unfortunately. There will always be times when it doesn't quite work and someone gets left behind.

If you are referring to LCCs, then I couldn't agree more. But LCCs don't do connections and if you do miss a connection on one of them you have no protection, none.

The network airlines overbook flights where they know they will have no-shows and missed connections. They also get it right almost always, and the few times they get it wrong they ask for volunteers and offer incentives to those willing to take a later flight. Being left behind rarely happens, and in these cases compensation is payable (no extraordinary circumstances defence for this).

What we never hear about are the significant numbers of passengers who are able to obtain bookings on flights that would otherwise appear to be fully booked.

This isn't about selling a seat twice, as the mis-connecting or no-show is accommodated on a later flight.

Every few years regulators decide that overbooking is a sin, and should be banned. The U.S. DOT was the first to propose this, but after learning the realities backed off. Same with the UK CAA and, more recently the European Commission.

Overbooking provides significantly more benefits than detriments to the travelling public, and that DOES NOT STINK.

[Phileas Fogg]

I had it once with Cebu Pacific, I had paid for an overwing, in a row where the seat back reclined, and ended up, and this was a middle of the night HKG/CEB sector where I desperately needed a sleep, in a next to overwing row where the seat back didn't recline.

They'd changed A319/A320 equipment, there was no point in me complaining because I knew I wouldn't get any sense from nor get past the dumbasses in their call center.

[mockingjay]

Just am update. This was confirmed as a tech glitch and steps have been taken to re accommodate people in their preferred seat or preferred seating 'class'. If you have a premium seat and all premium seats are sold out before you/they realise there's a problem then you will receive a goodwill gesture. It's not ideal but only affect a very small percentage of passengers and as speculated earlier it was due to the default aircraft being a 319 on all routes.

[Hotel Tango]

But LCCs don't do connections

Does not apply to all LCCs

[mockingjay]

Sort just to add that the 'goodwill gesture' exceeds the amount of the most expensive seats onboard and therefore is absolutely not some elaborate scam to make a few extra pennies

[BHX_SLF]

Goodwill Gesture - really ??

Well I am now home.

I got my seat fee back after a lengthy discussion with the Call Centre, it was not offered, I had to insist. I also did get an "Up front seat" for the flight home, so presume that's the total sum of goodwill I will get ?

I.T. technical glitches occur and as long as it gets fixed then that's good too.

Hardly, a life threatening experience, but the dialogue with the Call Centre was initially frustrating. Initially I was advised that I had made the mistake by selecting "Up front" instead of "over wing exit". When I put the person on the spot by a) advising that on an A319 seat 10D IS an over wing exit and b) on an A320 seat 10D is NOT an up front seat, did I get any sympathy and traction to be helped. I had to have a lot of proof before getting any seat reassignment or refund. When the "mistake" was realised, the lady was just so helpful as I mentioned earlier. Overall, it was hard work !


Thanks for the info on this thread, it will make me more vigilant in future.

[Hotel Tango]

That is one of the most frustrating aspects these days, trying to convince them that you are not some sort of retard and that NO you didn't make a mistake. I have had a few of those conversations in the past and I have felt drained by them. It once took me weeks to finally convince KLM that they had a glitch in their booking system, thanks to one agent who carefully listened to my explanation, investigated, and found I was correct.

[PAXboy]

Unfortunately, as well as needing to hold onto every single penny/cent of revenue, experience has told them that many ARE trying to rip them off.

[PAXboy]

Here are some more people who don't understand the words 'Low Cost'.

EasyJet charging passengers £10 'administration fee' for letters proving flights were cancelled - News & Advice - Travel - The Independent

EasyJet and other affected airlines provided customers with hotel accommodation and meals until their flights could be rearranged.

So it looks as if EJ provided accomodation for a strike they had no control over and must now hand out the time of their staff for free as well? I sit to be corrected.

If I recall correctly, banks are still charging to send certain letters and they are not 'low cost'. Doctors charge for certain letters. Activity of staff costs money.

[BHX_SLF]

PAXBOY - I think we are at risk of thread drift and entering in to a discussion that I mentioned I really wanted to avoid as stated in my first post. i.e. People talking about the airline industry being the hardest in the world and how hard passengers make it for an airline to operate (not my exact words, but definitely the message).

Your article refer to something very different, I certainly was not trying it on !

I booked and paid for a service option which didn't materialise - FACT

I was initially told I was wrong and proved with copious amounts of information that I was correct and that was finally acknowledged - FACT

I was offered no gesture, I had to demand some recompense, to get the money back for something I wasn't going to receive, i.e. to restore the balance. I do acknowledge that easyJet did offer me an up front seat and they did "as a gesture", refund my full seat reservation fee. - FACT.

I am home safely after arriving at Gatwick 5 mins early with a fantastic crew on board looking after us. This is appreciated.

I am now wiser should I choose easyJet for my next flights to Cyprus. No A319, always A320 and be vigilant on the seat plan offered when booking.

[PAXboy]

I was not trying to accuse you BHX_SLF of anything. Sorry that I did not make that clear - but my last post intended as a general observation and in haste I did not say that.

It was clear that you had a genuine problem, I posted the link as it is reminds us how many pax want everything.

[Piltdown Man]

One of the most annoying aspects of modern airline practice (mine included) is that their IT departments fail to consider every possible aspect of charging passengers for every conceivable service. The most simple ones to predict should be aircraft changes. When people believe they have chosen a window or aisle seat and you swap to a smaller aircraft, some passenger's choices may well be overlooked for operational reasons. But when that happens you must be upfront and open that this has occurred and then sort out the cash refund as quickly as the cash was taken in the first place. That's where we get it wrong far too often.

Another example is "Speedy Boarding" at a bus gate. That is as much use as a chocolate teapot. And this shows the disconnect between the marketing and local ground operations people. The MBAs come up with ideas but don't take the flack when it goes wrong. Have you ever noticed that their offices are nowhere near an airport? Believe me, they hate us crews! Whenever they show up at a company information event they leave with long lists of questions and a few verbal bruises.

I have full sympathy for the OP. I agree it's not just EasyJet but every modern company who try to screw cash out of their customers who suffer from this problem. But don't ever forget, the modern solution is to complain properly (letter, emails - don't phone because there is no record) and be noisy on social media. The marketing guys hate the last bit because this costs them real money from their budgets.

PM

[mockingjay]

Nobody is trying to screw anyone out of anything. Companies provide a la carte pricing and provide optional services for those who need additional products and are willing to pay.

Speedy Boarding is no longer available to purchase but is included in certain fares or seat types as a freebie. Where possible busses let off the SB pax off first but it is still not guaranteed and this was removed as an optional extra as it caused a lot of annoyance and quite right so. And incidentally EJ HQ is a couple of hundred yards from LTN's terminal. So close that last year EJ opened it up for pax during last year's carnage at LTN when ATC had a wee meltdown.

In terms of these insurance letters, there is a cost involved. After the airline has paid to hire out complete hotels around Europe and incurred millions of £ in expenses, repatriation and lost revenue then I don't see why they should assign man power free of charge, especially when that £10 will be claimed back from the insurers.

[Hotel Tango]

Sorry, but for me there are NO valid excuses. The bottom line is that if one is charged for a specific add-on product and, for whatever reason, it is not provided, then the charge should be refunded without argument and, above all, expeditiously.