EasyJet is the name – and the promise. And right now the airline is delivering on that promise.
EasyJet is the name – and the promise. And right now the airline is delivering on that promise.
UK-based EasyJet and its archrival, Ryanair, have reshaped European aviation with low fares and by pioneering new routes to many previously unknown destinations.
Last financial year to September 2005, Easyjet carried 29.6 million passengers and served 258 routes between 72 European airports.
The airline was established on October 18 1995 and now has a fleet of 122 Boeing 737s and A320s, with a further 65 A320s to come.
And those planes aren’t relics, with an average age of just 3.1 years.
EasyJet ’s message when it started was simple – make flying as cheap as a pair of jeans. And that message and its delivery is still the same.
But at the same time, EasyJet is more focused on the business community, flying to more major airports and having no limits on hand luggage weight, as long as the passenger is able to place it an overhead bin.
EasyJet’s main base is Luton Airport, just north of London, which can be easily accessed by train or shuttle bus, including Easybus.com
There is also a good bus service connecting all four London airports – Heathrow, Stansted, Luton and Gatwick.
Responding to the success of EasyJet, Luton Airport has recently opened a new departures area with a 7,400 square metre lounge and retail/catering complex, a new six-gate, 200-metre long boarding pier and associated new security, immigration and customs halls.
The EasyJet experience is, in a word, easy.
You are not able to check-in for a flight till about two hours before but that can vary and it is important to consider if you want the best seats on board.
EasyJet has free seating and your boarding sequence depends on when you check-in.
The first 30 passengers are in group A, the next in group B, and so on.
After check-in, you make your way to the departures retail area and relax but you’ll need to keep a careful eye on the flight monitor as it will announce about 45 minutes before departure which gate you’re leaving from.
As soon as that is flashed up you make your way – with some haste – to the gate to get into the boarding corrals.
But here is another trick.
Passengers requiring assistance and those with children get to board first but can’t take the best exit row seats for safety reasons.
However, they hold up the boarding process through the front door so make a beeline to the rear stairs – as we did – and you stand a much better chance of securing the best seats. (At most airports EasyJet serves, they board passengers via stairs not jetways.)
That is the way it works at Luton but not necessarily at other cities, where EasyJet has varying degrees of control over both staff and facilities.
Once on board, it’s fun.
Cabin crewmembers are relaxed but slick, food and drinks good value and the cockpit crew professional.
The best part? It’s cheap – really cheap.
Luton to Bordeaux starts at £15.99, and so does Geneva or Nice for that matter. Obviously, closer to the departure date, the fare goes up.
However, next Tuesday it’s still only £40.99 and that includes all taxes and charges.
Certainly worth a try but we wouldn’t bother trying to board first as the seating throughout the aircraft is comfortable with reasonable legroom.