BA v easyJet - difference?
 

What is the difference between BA and easyJet - Barcelona - LHR?

Apart from price? On easyJet you could buy a sandwich. On BA they gave you a packet of crisps.

On easyJet you could buy a large cup of good and hot coffee. On BA they gave you a cup of coffee.

Fare for fare, service for service, there is no comparison. It is just not worth paying a premium for a boarding card with a seat number.

The main difference is that Easyjet dont fly to LHR. :hmm:

And that is an advantage?

Couldn't agree more, especially for the 55Million-odd of us who do not live in London.

It must be remembered however that Easyjet are not always cheaper than BA, particularly when booking a flight at short notice. I think a lot of the time the loco's rely on consumers assumuing that they will be cheapest and not shopping around. The reality is often surprising (especially now that BA allows customers to book one way flights without paying a premium).

T5 is a lot nicer than LGW!

BAs LGW-BCN fares are rarely that different from Easyjet, so comparing like with like theres little difference.

T5 is nice. But despite all it's beauty and wonder, it's still a diamond stuck slap bang in the middle of a steaming pile of horse manure...

BA v easyJet - difference?

OK, commenting as frequent flyer with both BA and Easyjet between London and somewhere not a million miles from Barca..

Prices often not that different - especially when you factor in all the extras Easy throw at you for bags, etc.

Boarding - here BA win hands down. The whole Easy free boarding "scrum" is the worse side of the orange experience.

On board -here Easy win hands down. The BA economy product is very, very tired.

Arrival...Easy at LGW, BA at LHR T5 - BA win - LGW is a building site......

All in all, swings and roundabouts.......

I agree with all the above, but I would add that easyJet make a profit, don't go on strike, seem to appreciate customers, and their PR is better. They also offer a wider range of regional flights.

Given that air travel is no longer a pleasure, I prefer to use the airline that acts as if it cares about its customers. I made that choice a long time ago and have not regretted it.

I just wish they would do advance seating, I too hate the boarding scrum.

Don't get involved with the boarding scrum, then. I use Easy/RYR a lot and it's rare for the ac to be completely full. If they give you the best fix of price/time/destination etc then either pay the extra for speedy boarding (but not if all it does is get you on the bus first) or (my preference) sit in the boarding lounge with a coffee and paper until the queue is almost gone and then board. At the end of the day, a seat's a seat and I don't really care where i sit!

DH

BA is not all about LHR, for BCN with BA you could fly from LCY, Brand new Aircraft with very large seats, easy london airport with a 15min check in. agreed the economy product is not the best in the world, but it is included in the price!, And if it all goes wrong the chances are you won`t be left waiting around to be told we will fly you back in 5 days time.

You also have the choice of a premium service if that's what you want and the ability to get a flexible ticket.

The prices may even be cheaper, you have the choice of several BA served airports and even the flexibility of the one world alliance. Very useful if it ever goes wrong.

These are some of the advantages of a legacy carrier versus low cost. And don`t get me started on the orange scrum, it begins at check in and from that moment on is stress and hassle until you get strapped in.

I've flown Easy once, well actually twice 'cos I had to get home! I've flown BA hundreds of times; I rest my case.:ok:

I am with Capetonian on this one. I too flew BA lots of times and enjoyed the airmiles that accrued. We used to get a fair plate of sandwiches on the hop from LHR to Brussels.

Yesterday, on a normal service flight from BCN and 3.5 hours on board we got one cup of coffee or juice. That is NOT service.

You heard it here from an independent user.
T5 is a great terminal.
We don't seem to hear much from the naysayers now.
They couldn't have been largely plants by competitiors, could they? :E

Well, with Easyjet you pretty well know what you are going to get. A flight and just about everything is extra. You choose what you need and what you don't.

With BA - its become a lot more difficult to know what you are going to get. Shorthaul meals, perhaps before a certain time in the morning. Snacks (and not very good, or substantial) and a drink. Oh, it's a strike day, or the day before or day after or ... so ...!

Flew back from DXB the day before the last strike. 0915 departure, no time for breakfast before leaving the hotel, no time to grab something at the airport. BA: "Because of the IA we are providing a reduced meal service"! Absolute rubbish. Got a bag thrown at us (literally) and a drink and didn't see the CC for the rest of the flight.

If it's about expectations, the Squeezy delivers. BA doesn't.

That's precisely what I like to do, but with no assigned seating it means getting lumped with the middle seat between the squabbling couple, two 120 kilo lumps, the mother and fractious child, or Halitosis Harry and Sweaty Sam. At least with a window seat you've only got someone on one side of you.

Just had a text message from an Easy passenger who arrived half an hour ago with wife and three kids:
"Easy boarding queue crazy!"

No, thanks - I can do without commencing my flight with a punch-up!

BasilUs naysayers have not gone away. :E
I have used T5 to:

• deliver a pax x 2
• collect a pax x 1
• depart as pax x 1
• arrive as pax x 1

on each occasision I found problems in the parking, signage, layout (landside + airside) and I shall not bore you with repetition. The place is what it is and is no better or worse than T4 was/is. In my view, any benefits are more than neutralised by the demerits. If I were to use it every week, I might change my mind.

Ther terminal does not discourage me from using BA, as they manage to do that all by themselves, I simply use it when need demands. My closest port is LTN and I thoroughly dislike their new terminal as well but I use the port for the flights. There ARE ports where I enjoy the terminal but they seem to be few.

With regards to the question: The answer can be as clear cut as others have stated but it will depend upon:

• Your personal requirements of origination and destination
• Your personal requirements of social and cultural response
• Your personal requirements of money and time
• Your personal perception of what constitutes good service
• Once in a while it may depend upon the time of day, day of week, crew on duty
• All the time, it will depend upon what happened to you in the preceeding 12/24 hours and how YOU are feeling!

I don't think the orange boarding scrum is an issue if you use speedy boarding. In fact, this product has a premium over BA as you use a dedicated check in aisle, bypassing the queues.

It is very rare to be bussed to the aircraft (especially LON-BCN) and even when you are, if the aircraft is busy to the point where seating will become an issue there will be two busses, meaning you still get an excellent choice of seats even if you are the last to get off. Personally I have NEVER failed to get a window seat on an easyjet flight.

On a less than two hours flight the choice of carrier is really irrelevant for just service, location, frequency and price are the most important parameters you might be wanting to use, if you were an eligible BA card holder you ll be able to use the lounges where you can have all the snacks and drinks you can possibly eat and drinks before a flight, seat pitch is also a lot more generous on BA.

Easy doesnt have to be a boarding scrum just check in and get tot he gate early enough, I never have a problem.

I would much prefer to fly Easy in future than suffer the appaling level of service now on offer by BA.

'Speedy Boarding' reports are very negative:

easyJet Speedy Boarding Customer Reviews - Skytrax
EasyJet's Speedy Boarding in The AnswerBank: Getting there

My easyJet speedy-boarding hell -Times Online

And how many have found Speedy Boarding works well? I never had a problem the occasions I used it, however do admit there is a problem if you are bussed.

I think the answer to the OP anyway is some will prefer the BA (as I may once have done) and many prefer Easy there is no definitive answer.

Having read the replies to these post what strikes me the most is that people are not actually complaining about easyJet, but a moaning about their fellow passengers.
Granted it's not the best system in the world, I for one would not pay for it!
Having lived in the middle east and also south east asia, I have always found that there is always a scrum at the boarding gate regardless of the airline, be it a national flag carrier or low-cost.
For the record, as I work for EJ, I would LOVE to see allocated seating brought in, it would make boarding much quicker and a lot less stressful for both the passengers and crew alike.

Just done LTN-SXF-LTN on Easyjet, no issue's whatsover. CC on SXF-LTN on 4th sector of day and still gave a smile, well done :\

Uou want a scrum? Try an Italian airport/train station!

BA vs EZY
 

Well away from London a non-stop flight on BA is absolutely out of the question, at least EZY services the regions as well as London! :ok:

I still like BA but I would not pay extra to use them for a flight under 4 hours. I recently travelled to Amsterdam from LGW with EZY and BA. At least I had a choice to pay for food on EZY, BA had bird seed. No thanks! I needed to get to AMS from London and chose BA because it was cheaper on one leg than EZY. Had I booked further in advance I'm pretty sure EZY would have been cheaper!

As for Speedy boarding ON EZY it always seems rather pointless if you get bussed. And there is usually a scrum at the gate.

I think airports have to think differently about how they board using this system.

I know this is not EZY but the best way I have seen it done is at FR gates at their UK bases. They have barriers and separate lanes for priority and non-priority. These are barriers which keeps priority and non priority divided and everyone is in an orderly queue. It prevents pushing and shoving too. While some may see it as a cattle pen I feel it is quite useful in keeping boarding calm and orderly.

At LPL FR boards the passengers in an orderly fashion while at the EZY gates you see pushing and shoving and they are recognised as a far superior loco...:cool: Why EZY cannot set this up is beyond me. :confused:

You mean it's normally something like "Ooooh, hello, honky-tonks!"?

OK, OK, I'll get me coat......:uhoh:

Boarding process
 

I'm sure I've mentioned this on another thread but I spend quite a lot of time in South East Asia and fly short haul in the region with Air Asia quite often (best described as a 'caring' FR for those who don't now). Originally they had boarding free-for-all. Believe me, most people in that part of the world (especially the Chinese) do not understand the concept of queueing and the ensuing scrum makes anything in Europe look like a teddybears picnic!

More recently they have introduced allocated seating. The boarding process is much less stressful but it is also much slower (an important consideration for a loco airline). Even so, maybe this could be a good revenue earner for them. Maybe cabin crew could place small plastic cards on allocated seats and those who have purchased them could board at leisure...

It is a fact that while individuals may be reasonable and intelligent, people are not. People need to be managed or chaos is certain. The more people the worse it get.

One Outsider,
Yes, I would tend to agree.

Of course there's the cultural element where, if one is part of the culture, one understands the etiquette, e.g. the Moscow metro pushin' an' shovin' but, of course, in surroundings of 'the best possible taste' :)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...inn.net%29.jpg

Unless of course you are at the back of the scrum and the others don't let you through.

Our technique is for Mrs PN to leg it and I lug the bagage. last flight was perfect; we had an adjacent aisle seat each.

I'm truly bewildered why this is even a question except if one wants to take advantage of BA's recent difficulties.

Same fare between EZY and BA..that's easy, BA.

If I want to be squeezed and shoved and pushed and required to be a bully to get to my place I'll stick a pair of horns on my head and get myself down to the local cow farm.

If I want service before the flight and during boarding..BA.

There is something to be said for non-allocated seating - when you board you can make sure you are not sitting next to a 'fractious child' or a 'weighty' person. With pre-assigned seating you just sit and wait in trepidation to see who will be next to you for the next few hours!

I agree with you Wowzz! On my LoCo flights, I tend to

1. Take a bag that fits under the seat in front of me, thus avoiding any problems with overhead bins.
2. Travel alone if possible, thus avoiding the need to get adjacent seats.
3. Board when the scrum has died down.
4. Overtake the remains of the scrum which is dawdling its way across the tarmac / mending the wheels on their oversized hand luggage / closing the telescopic handle on said oversized hand luggage at the top of the stairs at the gate/ opening the telescopic handle at the bottom of the stairs / stopping to admire the view / etc
5. Board aircraft at the back and select one of the remaining seats after checking the location of any unhousetrained children or adults. The trick, of course, is timing it so that there are enough seats left for you to have a choice but not enough for a late-boarding anklebiter to come and sit in the seat behind you.
6. Engage brain in 'Zen' setting for duration of flight (I try to do this on entering the airport, but passing through security seems to disable it).

Overall, I don't have too much of an issue with the LoCo (lack of ) service - it's a different product, which suits if you just want to get from A to B.

Pohutu

Pohutu,
Agreed; if travelling alone you have an advantage over families - as in a number of situations :)

The only people who complain about the boarding scrum are the ones flying easyJet for the first time and the ones who actually are actually the cause of the boarding scrum. After years and years of weekly commuting with easyJet, I reached that conclusion. Actually, I reached the conclusion after my first flight with them!

The first time flyers can be forgiven for their ignorance, but the latter seriously need to relax. There are about 26 identical rows of seats in easyjet and if you don't mind left from right that means that roughly the first 60 passengers have an unsurpassed choice of where to sit themselves down, isle, window, front, back, middle, next to handsome man, next to beautiful lady, far away from the family with crying children, close to the toilet etc. etc. But invariably the ones who have the most choice, e.g. the first ones to board, make it a race to the aircraft and others, like sheep, seem compelled to follow. Hence my conclusion that the people who complain are actually the ones who cause the problem in the first place! The rest just buy speedy boarding or patiently wait in the lounge.

So what do I prefer, legacy airlines or easyJet? It all depends on price of the whole package. Nothing else. I'm not booking a flight to enjoy a nice terminal or a free sandwich, I book it to travel to my destination as soon, as safe and as cheap as possible.


(Fellow poster Pohutu is absolutely right in what he says. Take the rear steps if you are within the first 50 passengers to board. For some reason most passengers ignore the rear steps, but boarding from the rear is much much quicker initially)

wowzz
 

I know I've been married for many years but I can still just about put up with my wife for 11 hours! (providing it's an overnight sector & she's fast asleep!):ouch:

Scum
 

I fly regularly with both FR and EZY and find the 'scrum' a necessary evil.

If you don't get on early enough you will find there is nowhere in the hatrack for your luggage (needed to avoid checked baggage costs) - EZY seem to be the worse for this as FR have fearsome handluggage police at the gate looking for oversize baggage - and only one per person.

The reason I think the scrum is a necessary evil is that you get everyone on board and seated well before the departure time - I cannot remember the last time I was delayed with either FR or EZY.

Just to back up a previous post - at least with free seating you get to avoid the 'undesirables' on board.

bizdev

oohh, er, missus! Snarf, snarf! :}:p

Getting off is the bit that I find awkward. Getting on's fine since I tend to wait 'till the queue's gone & then find a gap somewhere. My natural inclination when Getting off is to wait until the lemmings who stand up & wedge themselves in the aisles around each other while adopting amusing poses have themselves got off (which can take several minutes, & makes them seem even sillier).

Once the coast is indeed clear, I stand up & stroll off, doffing the old titfer to the staff on the door. However it sometimes really annoys pax inboard of me if I'm in an aisle seat: the woman next me last week actually said "Are you just going to sit there tiill they've all got off?" (which was precicely what I was intending). I don't want to annoy the others, but I also don't want to jamb myself in a standing scrum to no purpose waiting to disembark.