easyJet Passenger
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easyJet Passenger
I am flying easyJet out of Stanstead on Friday and it will be first low cost flight.
I have heard that people basically rush to board the aircraft and it is all elbows to get a seat. Is this true?
Does anyone have any tips aside from taking my german Shepard
?
I have heard that people basically rush to board the aircraft and it is all elbows to get a seat. Is this true?
Does anyone have any tips aside from taking my german Shepard
?
Paxing All Over The World
I have never seen shoving. The trick lies in two things:
1) Check in early. At check-in you get a laminated numbered card from 001 to 149 (or whatever the capacity is). Flight is called in batches of 30. So a low number will get to the plane sooner! The only elbowing tends to be at the gate as 30 people try to be number 1 and 60 others try to pretend that they have not heard the announcement. Or have no idea how the system operates and they get turned aside at the gate.
2) Know your airport. I do not use STN very often as LTN is only 11 miles away from me! We walk to the machine and, if I am lightly loaded and feeling spry, I can overtake ten people before I reach the steps!! At LTN they always have steps front AND rear. I always go for the rear steps and am often first on board when ten people are queing up the steps at the front! I then take a window seat near the back and so can be off quickly at arrival (if they have rear steps, which they do on domestic sectors.
If all carriers used both doors on short haul we would be getting somewhere. If all international carries used two or three doors we would REALLY make progress. But the question about loading a 400 seat aeroplane one-at-a-bleedin'-time is another thread!
I like EZY, always have done. They have problems like any other but I have had very positive experiences with them over the last five years.
1) Check in early. At check-in you get a laminated numbered card from 001 to 149 (or whatever the capacity is). Flight is called in batches of 30. So a low number will get to the plane sooner! The only elbowing tends to be at the gate as 30 people try to be number 1 and 60 others try to pretend that they have not heard the announcement. Or have no idea how the system operates and they get turned aside at the gate.
2) Know your airport. I do not use STN very often as LTN is only 11 miles away from me! We walk to the machine and, if I am lightly loaded and feeling spry, I can overtake ten people before I reach the steps!! At LTN they always have steps front AND rear. I always go for the rear steps and am often first on board when ten people are queing up the steps at the front! I then take a window seat near the back and so can be off quickly at arrival (if they have rear steps, which they do on domestic sectors.
If all carriers used both doors on short haul we would be getting somewhere. If all international carries used two or three doors we would REALLY make progress. But the question about loading a 400 seat aeroplane one-at-a-bleedin'-time is another thread!
I like EZY, always have done. They have problems like any other but I have had very positive experiences with them over the last five years.
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Elvis21
Stansted is still allocated seating from the old GO days when they will move over to the numbered boarding cards at the end of march sometime. Get there nice and early and you can pick your seat.
Leave enough time in the morning as Q's @ security get pretty large some mornings.
Pax boy agree with the 2 door boarding it sure does get the job done a lot quicker but it still amazes me how many Q for the front steps when they can use the rear and walk down the isle???!!!
Chef
Stansted is still allocated seating from the old GO days when they will move over to the numbered boarding cards at the end of march sometime. Get there nice and early and you can pick your seat.
Leave enough time in the morning as Q's @ security get pretty large some mornings.
Pax boy agree with the 2 door boarding it sure does get the job done a lot quicker but it still amazes me how many Q for the front steps when they can use the rear and walk down the isle???!!!
Chef
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I fly EZY quite regularly and am very happy with them. Tips:
- Check-in opens 2 hours before departure, usually to a waiting queue.
- Check-in closes exactly 30 minutes before posted departure time, an excellent policy which punishes stragglers. If you're even 20 seconds late, forget it.
- Boarding can be a contact sport. Rules: Persuade the gate agent that 114 is between 0 and 30 then push your way onto the acft. Select a seat near the front, then struggle with baggage for 25 minutes while blocking the aisle. Complain loudly throughout.
- Friday flights can be 'lively', especially on the AMS routes!
- Check-in opens 2 hours before departure, usually to a waiting queue.
- Check-in closes exactly 30 minutes before posted departure time, an excellent policy which punishes stragglers. If you're even 20 seconds late, forget it.
- Boarding can be a contact sport. Rules: Persuade the gate agent that 114 is between 0 and 30 then push your way onto the acft. Select a seat near the front, then struggle with baggage for 25 minutes while blocking the aisle. Complain loudly throughout.
- Friday flights can be 'lively', especially on the AMS routes!
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Many thanks for the replies, all very useful. I am going to try and attempt (proably in vein) to get an emergency exit seat as at 6ft3 i could do with the extra leg room.
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I would advise you to get there a little earlier than 2 hours before check-in opens if you want a good seat. As somebody has already mentioned, the queues are often quite large with people just waiting for the desks to open and you'd be surprised how quickly those coveted 'first 30' boarding passes are given out.
Having said that, at Liverpool I have checked in for an early-morning AMS flight 3 hours before with no problem- I suppose it depends on how busy they are (LPL was deserted with only one desk open at the ungodly hour I checked in!)
I hope you have a good flight, in my opinion easyJet don't deserve half the bad press they often recieve (from a pax point of view anyway).
Having said that, at Liverpool I have checked in for an early-morning AMS flight 3 hours before with no problem- I suppose it depends on how busy they are (LPL was deserted with only one desk open at the ungodly hour I checked in!)
I hope you have a good flight, in my opinion easyJet don't deserve half the bad press they often recieve (from a pax point of view anyway).
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or, rather than relying on said 'spies', one could just read their website...........
Following a long-running analysis comparing the different boarding methods of easyJet and Go, easyJet has decided to retain a free seating policy across all services. This means that, from the start of the Summer flying period in late-March, all flights (including those previously operated by Go) will have free seating. This makes boarding quicker so aircraft waste less time on the ground at airports.
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I'm amazed that ezy don't go for a different system altogether.
Just board from the back and direct 1st to 1a, 2nd to 1b, etc - no waiting for 1st on to deal with hand luggage blocking all others for 5 minutes. Or load from both ends dircting pax to the middle.
If the flight is not full, then leave some empty seats.
Then unload from either end.
It would speed things up a lot, and prevent the arguments when a family checkin late and can only find 4 seats well spaced in the cabin
Just board from the back and direct 1st to 1a, 2nd to 1b, etc - no waiting for 1st on to deal with hand luggage blocking all others for 5 minutes. Or load from both ends dircting pax to the middle.
If the flight is not full, then leave some empty seats.
Then unload from either end.
It would speed things up a lot, and prevent the arguments when a family checkin late and can only find 4 seats well spaced in the cabin
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Boarding from both front and rear steps is the main reason why Ryanair refuse to use jetbridges (hence no bridges on Sat 3 at STN). From what I recall the only airport where bridges were allowed was Malmo, where the terminal and jetbridge design did not allow steps to be used on the fwd doors.
Ryanair have now switched from total free-seating, to priority boarding and free-seating, whereby the first 65 pax to check-in are boarded first ... followed by the remaining pax. When we had easyJet at STN we used the laminated boarding cards, but I never understood why BAA didn't refuse this as they don't have the flight date on them.
Ryanair have now switched from total free-seating, to priority boarding and free-seating, whereby the first 65 pax to check-in are boarded first ... followed by the remaining pax. When we had easyJet at STN we used the laminated boarding cards, but I never understood why BAA didn't refuse this as they don't have the flight date on them.
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Despite all your kind advice I never actually made it to experience easyJet as the flight was cancelled and I was lucky enought to be able to spend 8HOURS in Stansted.
Big thumbs down to some tof the most unhelpful groundstaff I have ever seen though.
Big thumbs down to some tof the most unhelpful groundstaff I have ever seen though.
Shining Example, apparently...
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25F, yes, even if it's considerably delayed, checkin closes at T-minus-30. This discourages the "I can be there in 5" brigade who cause delays on a daily basis.
Elvis21, tough luck mate! Do EZY use the same STN ground agency as FR? They've been mentioned on other forums, rarely in a complimentary light. I gather you get what you pay for.
Elvis21, tough luck mate! Do EZY use the same STN ground agency as FR? They've been mentioned on other forums, rarely in a complimentary light. I gather you get what you pay for.
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I'll agree with Landing_24R that EasyJet's bad press seems to be out of proportion with the actual service that EasyJet offers.
My routine using EZY:
Take a seat near the gate but keep seated until your number range is called out. Actually if you keep you eyes on the gate you can see and sense when the announcement is going to be made. Then you calmly get up an stroll to the end of the queue. Always get on the back door at LTN. I nearly always manage to sit at the window seat in row 20 on the right of the plane despite often having a boarding card number in the 90's or above. This is because there is a distinct aversion to sitting anywhere near the back of the plane for 90% of the passengers. When I get to AMS I sit in my seat watching the unloading of bags knowing that it is going to take at leat 15 minutes for them to get the bags to the baggage reclaim. Then when the passengers disembark I wait my turn and calmly stroll to the baggage area. By the time I have done this I rarely have to wait for my baggage for more than 10 minutes.
My impending marriage will put a stop to my regular flights to AMS as she was the object of the visits and now she will be coming to live in the UK.
DeepC
My routine using EZY:
Take a seat near the gate but keep seated until your number range is called out. Actually if you keep you eyes on the gate you can see and sense when the announcement is going to be made. Then you calmly get up an stroll to the end of the queue. Always get on the back door at LTN. I nearly always manage to sit at the window seat in row 20 on the right of the plane despite often having a boarding card number in the 90's or above. This is because there is a distinct aversion to sitting anywhere near the back of the plane for 90% of the passengers. When I get to AMS I sit in my seat watching the unloading of bags knowing that it is going to take at leat 15 minutes for them to get the bags to the baggage reclaim. Then when the passengers disembark I wait my turn and calmly stroll to the baggage area. By the time I have done this I rarely have to wait for my baggage for more than 10 minutes.
My impending marriage will put a stop to my regular flights to AMS as she was the object of the visits and now she will be coming to live in the UK.
DeepC
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Or take ALL the hassle out of it and fly BA /bmi/KLM. As for cost BA has been cheaper on many routes. I know you were looking at AMS, but when I was looking at LON-GLA, BA was cheaper that LTN-GLA and STN-PIK/GLA at £14 each way.
You EVEN at a boarding card with a seat number! No stupid and unruly mobs and spending over 2 hours in check in!!!
Fly the flag!
You EVEN at a boarding card with a seat number! No stupid and unruly mobs and spending over 2 hours in check in!!!
Fly the flag!
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Crepello: Both easyJet and Ryanair are handled by Groundstar at STN, although employees are split into two different teams as they have to wear the airlines uniform, and as easyJet operate computerised check-in; whereas Ryanair operate manual check-in.
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Deep Joy!
Groundstar has been appointed as Gatwick's third handling agent (and are responsible for Aviance (formerly Gatwick Handling) laying off some of the nicest individuals I know) - nice to know we'll be working with real professionals NOT!!!
Groundstar has been appointed as Gatwick's third handling agent (and are responsible for Aviance (formerly Gatwick Handling) laying off some of the nicest individuals I know) - nice to know we'll be working with real professionals NOT!!!
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Deepc
Whenever i fly as pax i do exactly as you suggest. Funny thing you and me have worked it out so why can't the others? If there is a bus remember the last one on is the first off but you have to stand during the ride.
