European low value airline easyJet is among the most cost-effective methods to get round Europe, particularly for touring distances which will take too lengthy by rail. However is easyJet very easy? Or do the airline’s low cost fares simply trigger extra logistical frustrations ultimately?
Our household of 4 examined out the airline in our current European travels and had been fairly pleasantly shocked by what it needed to provide. After all, we did our analysis prematurely so we improved our possibilities of avoiding potential snags. Listed below are all of the necessities that different vacationers contemplating easyJet ought to bear in mind – notably touring households from the USA and Canada who could not have encountered the airline till they journey on a European trip.
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easyJet Fundamentals
easyJet is presently the second largest low cost airline flying in Europe, behind solely extremely low value service RyanAir. Based in 1995, the airline is predicated in the UK with its largest hub at London’s Gatwick Airport. Its founders initially modeled easyJet after Southwest Airways, seeking to provide discounted point-to-point service. After all, the airline has advanced fairly a bit within the final a number of a long time.
easyJet solely flies to locations in Europe and North Africa, with a few further locations on the Mediterranean coast of the Center East. Its depth of service in these areas is spectacular, working 927 routes in 34 nations and 153 airports in 2022. The airline gives a good quantity of service out of secondary airports in some main cities (like Paris Orly or London Luton). However it additionally serves the biggest worldwide airports of Europe as effectively, from Berlin Brandenburg (BER) to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
easyJet’s fleet has solely Airbus plane on the present time – all A319s, A320s, and A321s.
Our Expertise Flying easyJet
We flew easyJet for the primary time this summer time throughout our household’s two week summer time 2022 European trip. Our household in fact flies Southwest loads and in addition often flies extremely low value carriers in the US (see my assessment of flying Frontier Airways). So we all know the drill and the potential pitfalls of low cost airways. Even nonetheless, I researched the heck out of easyJet earlier than I thought of making the reserving, taking particular care to learn all of the fantastic print on the airline’s web site at each step within the reserving course of.
We booked a flight from Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Edinburgh, Scotland (EDI) about 2 months previous to our journey dates in August 2022. The one different airline flying this route continuous is AirFrance. easyJet provided superior flight instances for our journey plans along with being considerably cheaper.
We bought a reduced normal fare, however selected the “Necessities” add on. This addition included a checked bag as much as 23 kg (50 kilos) per individual in addition to a seat project. The seat project portion of this bundle amounted to an additional €10.99 per ticket and the checked bag was an additional €45.99 per ticket, however the value varies from flight to flight. The extras totaled €228 for our household of 4 over the most affordable seat provided on the flight. The complete reserving value €816 ($861 USD on the trade charge of the time).
I checked in for our flight and printed boarding passes earlier than we left the US, as easyJet permits company to examine in as much as 30 days prematurely (extra on that beneath). As our flight day approached, I obtained a number of emails from easyJet with particulars about our flight, together with suggestions about when to reach at CDG to examine baggage and find out how to put together for airport safety. On the time, a variety of European airports had been experiencing peak demand and garnering a number of headlines for main meltdowns, so I used to be fairly happy with the extent of communication from the airline.
We arrived on the airport proper at 2.5 hours earlier than our flight as easyJet’s emails advised, which is when the bag examine counters opened for our flight. We breezed by means of the bag examine course of in CDG’s Terminal 2B in minutes after which went by means of safety shortly as effectively.
With all that additional time to spare, we stopped for some meals and purchasing earlier than going by means of passport management to our closing gate space. Passport management was additionally equally brief. We loved sitting in a spacious and largely empty gate space earlier than boarding.
The flight boarded in an orderly trend. Seats, as you may think, are primary with fairly tight legroom however had been greater than satisfactory for the brief haul flight we had between Paris and Edinburgh. Flight attendants had been pleasant. The whole lot and something from drinks to snacks to cosmetics and duty-free liquor had been in fact provided on the market, however the gross sales pitch wasn’t notably intrusive. We really form of loved watching the spiel in motion since there is no such thing as a WiFi or different in-flight leisure on board. Our flight departed and arrived on time.
All in all, it was about as uneventful and simple of a flight expertise as I’ve had the previous few years. Simple certainly.
9 Suggestions for Flying easyJet
After all, not each flight is simple. A significant contributor to our success was certainly our preparation. If you’re considering of flying easyJet, I extremely advocate that you simply put together as effectively to maximise your possibilities of a equally profitable journey day. Listed below are all of the important ideas we picked up in researching, getting ready, and flying on easyJet.
1. Purchase the precise fare sort
easyJet gives simply two fare sorts, Normal and FLEXI, however the actuality is that the choices are slightly extra complicated than simply that. It’s important to know what you’re shopping for and bundling (and what you aren’t) so you buy the facilities you want whereas not overpaying.
FLEXI fares are a extra all inclusive possibility with some perks that enterprise vacationers will get pleasure from. They embody a big carryon, a checked bag, a free Up Entrance Seat (with a reduced Additional Legroom possibility if desired), categorical bag drop, Quick Monitor Safety, some flight and route adjustments allowed, and some different perks in choose airports and on choose flights (see the complete checklist of advantages right here). For many household leisure vacationers, this fare sort goes to be greater than is required.
The most affordable Normal fares are the opposite excessive. Normal fares include completely nothing aside from an area on the flight and the precise to carry aboard a small underneath seat keep it up bag like a handbag, briefcase, or medium backpack (45 x 36 x 20cm).
Vacationers should buy further facilities à la carte so as to add to a Normal fare buy, or choose from one of some bundles the airline gives. The 2 mostly provided bundles are:
- Normal Plus: features a bigger keep it up bag (like a roll aboard), Speedy Boarding privilege, and an Up Entrance Seat
- Necessities: contains a normal seat project and a checked bag (23 kg/50 kilos)
Fortunately, the web site reserving course of very clearly delineates what every of those bundles contains in addition to all of the à la carte purchases additionally accessible. For instance, in the event you solely desire a checked bag, you’ll be able to pay for 3 totally different sizes. So long as you undergo the method intentionally having already thought of what you propose to tackle a given journey, it’s arduous to purchase mistaken.
This stands in stark distinction to me to a number of US airways which have had very unclear primary economic system fare guidelines lately which have tripped up many a traveler. Whereas it looks like a number of decisions and a number of clicks, I feel most vacationers will respect the transparency as I did.
2. Households ought to have a seating technique
One of many main sticking factors for households in air journey today is sitting collectively. Once more, easyJet impressed us with its clear coverage. Right here’s what their web site states as of September 2022:
In the event you haven’t but purchased seats for your loved ones one of the simplest ways to make sure everyone seems to be seated collectively is to examine in as early as attainable. Examine in opens 30 days earlier than departure and we advocate you examine in as early and attainable and no later than 7 days earlier than your flight. While our seating system will at all times attempt to seat households collectively, seats are allotted on a primary come first served foundation so the sooner you examine within the extra seemingly you’re to be seated collectively.
In the event you go away it to the final minute it’s attainable that there will not be sufficient seats left for us to seat your loved ones subsequent to one another. We’ll nonetheless be sure every little one underneath 12 is seated near an grownup in your reserving. Nonetheless we could solely be capable to prepare this on the airport or on board, which may trigger delays for you and different passengers, and never everybody could also be seated collectively.
From easyJet’s Flying with Kids and Infants
So, in the event you completely wish to make sure that you sit collectively, you’ll want to buy seats on the time of reserving. At nearly €10 per seat on most flights, this isn’t notably prohibitive and I’d advocate it for households with very younger youngsters, particularly when touring final minute or throughout a peak vacation interval.
In the event you’d desire to probability it and go for the most affordable fare, it’s comforting to know that easyJet makes it a precedence to seat households collectively anyway. Simply make certain to examine in proper on the 30 day mark to enhance your possibilities to getting seats collectively.
3. Measure private gadgets and carryons carefully
The place so many vacationers go awry with low value airways is with baggage. easyJet has very strict measurement and weight limits for each form of bag a passenger would possibly carry on board.
A few of the baggage you might be used to bringing could not fall inside the required dimensions. That’s why it’s important to measure your baggage earlier than you ebook a flight on easyJet. We really ended up buying backpacks to make use of as carryons for our total European journey with easyJet’s dimensions in thoughts and actually ended up loving them (see the backpacks right here).
Listed below are the related bag sizes to be careful for:
- Small cabin bag (private merchandise): 45 x 36 x 20 cm (15 kg max)
- Bigger cabin bag (keep it up): 56 x 45 x 25 cm (15 kg max)
- Maintain bag (checked bag): 23 kg (a smaller 15kg checked bag is obtainable for barely much less; passengers should buy as much as 32 kg of weight for a single bag in further 3 kg increments; passengers touring on the identical itinerary can pool the full weight of their baggage collectively)
I didn’t know what to anticipate on our journey day – would easyJet’s gate brokers drive each buyer to position baggage within the bag sizer to indicate measurement compliance? Though there have been sizers on the bag examine counters and on the gate, I didn’t see any passenger requested to make use of them. That stated, it appeared like passengers all had very moderately sized carry ons and small cabin baggage. Maybe European vacationers do their analysis and don’t push the boundaries?
Regardless of the purpose, I used to be happy to search out out that there wasn’t a number of fuss about bag sizes on our journey day. However I’m additionally glad we introduced size-compliant baggage and didn’t must personally fear about being pulled apart. I’d advocate all easyJet vacationers do the identical.
4. Examine in as much as 30 days prematurely
easyJet permits vacationers to examine in a full 30 days earlier than a flight which is fairly regular within the airline world. Why would possibly you wish to examine in early?
As I discussed earlier, checking in early is important for households not paying for seat assignments to enhance their possibilities of sitting collectively. However even solo vacationers or adults-only journey teams could wish to examine in early as effectively to enhance their possibilities to getting higher seats when you haven’t paid for a seat project.
Why else do you have to take into account checking in lengthy earlier than your journey day? In my household’s case, we checked in earlier than we left the USA for a flight that was 10 days later as a result of it enabled us to print our boarding passes at house. Whereas we may have used the app or gotten a printout totally free on the airport, I like having the definitely of paper, particularly when touring internationally the place I won’t be capable to depend on information service or WiFi.
Lastly, you might wish to examine in early for different causes. This summer time throughout the peak of the journey crunch, for instance, easyJet allowed passengers who had checked in to drop their baggage the evening earlier than a flight to keep away from lengthy morning bag examine traces. easyJet additionally requires vacationers to examine in no later than 2 hours earlier than a flight, so checking in early avoids the danger of you would possibly miss this window on day of journey.
5. Arrive early, however not too early for bag examine
Some European airports have actually been disastrous logistical messes the previous few years, with lengthy bag examine and safety traces. Vacationers are more and more feeling the necessity to arrive earlier and earlier for his or her flights in order to not miss them.
We actually appreciated how easyJet manages this challenge, together with the airline’s clear communication about journey day timing. On its web site, easyJet publishes what time its bag examine counters open earlier than a given flight and sends e-mail reminders to passengers with this data a number of instances earlier than a journey day. For many flights and airports, bag examine open 2 hours earlier than departure however for just a few bigger airports, they open 2.5-3 hours prematurely.
Even if you’re on the airport, you’ll be able to’t queue and examine your baggage earlier than that point, so there’s no have to arrive earlier. And since vacationers on later flights can’t get in line to examine their baggage but, the traces aren’t clogged with passengers from a number of flights at a given time. It turned out to be remarkably environment friendly and dependable for us at CDG.
The underside line is that you may really belief the beneficial EasyJet bag examine time pointers which is a rarity in air journey today.
6. To save lots of probably the most cash with easyJet, ebook effectively prematurely
As with a number of low value carriers, there are some screaming offers available flying easyJet. However if you wish to discover these low costs, you’ll want to be ready to ebook effectively prematurely (in addition to to fly at off-peak instances).
We monitored the flights we finally booked for just a few months as we firmed up our general journey schedule, and I noticed the costs go up fairly a bit from 4 or 5 months prematurely to about 2 months earlier than after we booked. A number of that’s seemingly as a result of the truth that we had been flying throughout peak summer time journey season in Europe, however it’s an essential lesson. In the event you can ebook early, it can seemingly prevent some actual cash.
How far prematurely are you able to ebook? easyJet releases its schedules about 7-9 months prematurely, just like how Southwest does issues.
7. However… be ready for flight time adjustments and cancellations
Whereas reserving early with easyJet is one of the simplest ways to snag a deal, it does include some threat. Like all airways today, easyJet has been making a number of schedule adjustments and has had labor and airport-related troubles this yr. So the flight you ebook will not be a flight easyJet finally flies many months down the highway.
I’ve heard a number of tales from vacationers this summer time who’ve misplaced a complete day of their trip as a result of to main easyJet schedule adjustments and route discontinuations. The silver lining is that air journey client protections in Europe are extra sturdy than they’re in the US. So easyJet is normally obligated to supply a refund, a voucher, or an alternate flight. In some circumstances when flight cancellations are final minute, compensation could also be due. So in case your flight is cancelled, do your analysis to know what you’re entitled to.
8. BYO the whole lot
Passengers planning to fly easyJet ought to know that it actually operates as a low value service. So meaning the airline will cost you for something and the whole lot – even water. If you wish to eat or drink or simply to be entertained, you’re by yourself.
For that purpose I extremely advocate that vacationers – notably vacationers with youngsters – carry loads of meals for an easyJet flight. Moreover, carry an empty water bottle to the airport and fill it up earlier than boarding (as a result of Europe has liquid restrictions at airport safety checkpoints too). Obtain exhibits and video games to your private units and smartphones earlier than leaving for the airport and pack headphones!
9. Frequent flyers ought to take into account easyJet Plus
Whereas a number of vacationers could solely have event to fly easyJet sometimes like our household, if you’re planning a number of journey aboard easyJet, it is sensible to contemplate easyJet Plus.
easyJet Plus is actually elite standing that you may pre-pay for. Pay a charge of £215, an it unlocks a variety of extras for no further charge – a seat project, a checked bag, a bigger cabin bag, Quick Monitor safety, Speedy boarding, and so forth. A partner can even be a part of for £185 further, and child ages 2+ are £135 every.
In the event you plan an prolonged journey round Europe and plan to fly easyJet a number of instances in a restricted time window, this membership may effectively pay for itself in saved bag and seat charges in addition to in diminished stress on journey days. After all, do the mathematics fastidiously as a result of vacationers solely taking a few flights most likely can buy wanted facilities à la carte.
Ultimate Ideas
Total, for the ready and fastidious traveler, easyJet is a very nice possibility for journey round Europe. The airline in fact has a number of the regular caveats that include flying any low value carriers, however we discovered it to be a extra user-friendly possibility than the most affordable airways in the US (like Spirit). We’d gladly fly it once more on future Europe journeys.
