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Easy Jet Speedy Boarding

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Butts

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Have read a lot of criticism about the operation of this "add on " but beg to report a positive experience last Friday/Saturday.

Friday flew Edinburgh to Geneva SB properly policed with a seperate line- first on aircraft with son and straight into exit seats at front.

Saturday flew Geneva to Birmingham - I was in the smoking lounge when the flight was called. Made the 10 mile journey to D satellite via Passport Control and linked up with my son. Walked straight past the hundreds of people in the ordinary Q (glares a plenty :oops:) and straight onto the plane and exit seats.

Well worth £28 in total for both of us.....only paid about £50 each return for the flights.

Motor Show was great - Geneva expensive eg £8-9 for Big Mac Meal :p
 
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richw

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If you take a young child under 5 you get priority boarding anyway so never been worth it to me, I either travel with my girls or Alone which don't need it for, but always seems well policed when I've used easyjet.

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Butts

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If you take a young child under 5 you get priority boarding anyway so never been worth it to me, I either travel with my girls or Alone which don't need it for, but always seems well policed when I've used easyjet.

Agreed about not needing it when travelling alone - most people travel as couples so you can blag the third seat on the exit row:p
 

Minilad

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I would rather be one of the last on a plane rather than one of the first. Then you can choose who you sit next to rather than the other way round. And you can always indulge in baby / toddler avoidance. Or indeed sitting in close proximity to fit women !!
 

richw

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I would rather be one of the last on a plane rather than one of the first. Then you can choose who you sit next to rather than the other way round. And you can always indulge in baby / toddler avoidance. Or indeed sitting in close proximity to fit women !!

Or get the only seat left on a busy flight next to a stinky old man! Probably best to get on around middle of queue

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Matt Taylor

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I've used SB and had no problems with it at all. However, I note that on airlines with no allocated seating it is the front rows that fill up quickly and often there is quite a bit of room at the back which is where I prefer to be, so I'm not sure if I'd use it again.
 

WestCoast

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Depends on the airport/handling agent. Some places it works well and others it doesn't.

You can now reserve exit seats (extra legroom) on Ryanair and I believe easyJet is trialling fully allocated seating at the moment
 

LE Greys

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The one time I tried it, there was a massive queue blocking the entire gate <( . Ended up last on anyway, so I haven't bothered since. Unless it's really busy, there tend to be a few decent seats left near the tail. With a reserved seat, I always board either first (if BA, my Exec card lets me do that sometimes) or last, to avoid standing around pointlessly. (Why people with reserved seats queue at all is a bit puzzling. It's not as if someone else is going to take them, why not sit down and relax, getting up one at a time.)

Basically, save your money and make sure you check in early. You might just be able to afford a coffee on-board if you do.
 
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With a reserved seat, I always board either first (if BA, my Exec card lets me do that sometimes) or last, to avoid standing around pointlessly. (Why people with reserved seats queue at all is a bit puzzling. It's not as if someone else is going to take them, why not sit down and relax

couldnt agree more, the last flight i took with BA, a nearly full 747 i just sat in the starbucks in terminal 5B which was right by the gate watching all these idiots queue for 20/30 mins:roll:, i just joined at the end for all of 30 seconds.
 

WestCoast

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Overhead baggage space is what drives a lot of people to queue, either low cost airlines force people to take the kitchen sink onboard with them or people don't want luggage getting lost in the system.
 

Ascot

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I found it useful when I have flew with them as I can sit near the front and get off first. This has saved me a good 20 minutes at times where you get stuck behind the crowd at immigration.

Can't say I have got my £129 worth this season though (probably owing I've only flew 3 returns since last April with them).
 

button_boxer

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It's a bit of a joke at airports where they bus you to the plane though. In those cases the first people through the gate are at a significant disadvantage - if you want to be first onto the plane then you ideally want to be the last person on to the first bus.

Trying to time this is a gamble, if you just miss it you end up first on to the second bus, so last on the plane...
 

Butts

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Slightly off topic a good dodge on Flybe.....

Don't pay for an allocated seat in booking process....

Don't check in online....

Check in at the Airport using self service machine and select an exit seat for free like I did on Sunday flying from Birmingham to Edinburgh.

They charge about £10 plus to reserve one in advance.

I just chanced on this dodge as they had given me an aisle seat and I was trying to change to window seat.

Added bonus no one sat next to me and the Embraer has a huge leg allowance on row 15.

As for Easyjet the dreaded Bus is the bone of SB :p
 

WestCoast

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Slightly off topic a good dodge on Flybe.....

Don't pay for an allocated seat in booking process....

Don't check in online....

Check in at the Airport using self service machine and select an exit seat for free like I did on Sunday flying from Birmingham to Edinburgh.

They charge about £10 plus to reserve one in advance.

I know Flybe's tricks. Another good one is for Jet2, when you check-in online the system will give you rubbish seats and ask you to pay for better ones. Don't do that, simply click back and forward again on your browser and the system will change the seats. Repeat until suitable....:lol:

Then again, I rarely seem to do much flying with easyJet these days, it's usually Ryanair, Flybe or a full service airline.

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
As for Easyjet the dreaded Bus is the bone of SB :p

From what I've heard, Speedy Boarding isn't a concept understood by some airports in certain countries...

I watched an easyJet stampede in Marrakech a few years, agents just opened the doors and shouted 'boarding'. :lol:
 
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exile

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At some airports speedy boarding means you get on the bus first (and therefore get off the bus last).
 

Mojo

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At Venice last year we were put into a specially cordoned off area of the bus. The driver opened our doors first and kept the other customers sealed in, until we were all on the stairs.
 

WestCoast

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At Venice last year we were put into a specially cordoned off area of the bus. The driver opened our doors first and kept the other customers sealed in, until we were all on the stairs.

The exact process is very much up to the handling agent if at an airport when the airline doesn't self-handle (which is most of them when it comes to the likes of easyJet). I've seen cornered off areas on buses, separate buses, where people have been told to move to the end of the bus, or sometimes the priority add-on just gets you on a bus first with regulars following.

Won't matter soon on easyJet as they are probably going to adopt allocated seating.
 

wintonian

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I would rather be one of the last on a plane rather than one of the first. Then you can choose who you sit next to rather than the other way round. And you can always indulge in baby / toddler avoidance. Or indeed sitting in close proximity to fit women !!


I agree, and if I must be squashed in with other pepole I much rather be ailse side to I don't feel trapped and can move whenever I want - seat belts permitting.
 

richw

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At Venice last year we were put into a specially cordoned off area of the bus. The driver opened our doors first and kept the other customers sealed in, until we were all on the stairs.

At Chania Crete, the SBs had a seperate bus about 5 mins before everyone else.
 

Butts

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The main advantage of speedy boarding (when it works) is two fold:

As mentioned before if you get the Front Row you are first off on landing which can save time at immigration for applicable flights.

Secondly hand baggage, your bags are near you , not in a locker half a mile down the plane.

With regard to exit row seats this is more of a priority on a "long haul" EJ flights or if you are a lanky git like me :p
 

MarkyMarkD

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I agree with others that buses are the disaster area for SB (or free SB if you have a <5 year old, which used to be the case for me). It would not be difficult to ensure that the SB passengers went on a separate bus, which got to the plane first, but most handline agencies don't care and simply offer a mythical version of SB which involves hanging around on a bus for longer than others!
 

33056

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Though I have tried speedy boarding in the past, I won't waste my money on it any more - usually because most of the airports I frequent involve a bus to the stand with the likes of EJ. In any case I try and avoid flying with the so called "budget airlines", quite happy to pay a little more for an all inclusive service where you can take a suitcase, choose your seat beforehand and get a drink and small snack.
 

Butts

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Perhaps they should only sell SB when the intention is to board from the Gate.

For technical reasons if this is withdrawn they should refund the amount paid or give you the equivalent in onboard credit for refreshments.:p
 

bb21

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For technical reasons if this is withdrawn they should refund the amount paid or give you the equivalent in onboard credit for refreshments.:p

At ridiculously inflated onboard prices? No, thank you. I would be pushing for the same worth in refreshments at least in High Street prices.
 

Butts

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At ridiculously inflated onboard prices? No, thank you. I would be pushing for the same worth in refreshments at least in High Street prices.

Believe me when you have been in Geneva the onboard prices seem dirt cheap:p

Seriously though they have it covered in the small print, whether refusal of a refund on the grounds you didn't receive the paid for service would probably be an unfair term is another matter.
 

WestCoast

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Perhaps they should only sell SB when the intention is to board from the Gate.

For technical reasons if this is withdrawn they should refund the amount paid or give you the equivalent in onboard credit for refreshments.:p

Won't matter soon as easyJet will in all likelihood be scrapping free seating in favour of a "Flybe style" allocated seating system (i.e. pay up or have a crap seat!). :lol:
 

Kneedown

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I've used Easyjet a few times to Pisa and Bordeaux, and the speedy boarding has always gone swimmingly. I've never had cause to argue with Easyjet, unlike Ryanair.

By contrast i've just returned from the Caribbean having experienced "Premium" class on Thompson Airways. Seats hard and tired looking, TV's not working (unless you wanted to play "Who wants to be a Millionaire" for the entire 9hours) and bag between legs as overhead lockers full of Cabin Crews luggage!
To be fair though the flight back to East Mid's was fine.
 

Butts

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Won't matter soon as easyJet will in all likelihood be scrapping free seating in favour of a "Flybe style" allocated seating system (i.e. pay up or have a crap seat!). :lol:

See my post about BHX-EDI flight Sunday, I checked in using the machine at the airport and was able to select an exit seat free of charge. Not sure if this was a cock up or regular event.:p
 

WestCoast

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See my post about BHX-EDI flight Sunday, I checked in using the machine at the airport and was able to select an exit seat free of charge. Not sure if this was a cock up or regular event.:p

Maybe the thinking is that in many cases the exit seats will have been 'purchased' at booking or during online check-in, so they just let any leftovers at the check-in desks or self-service machines be allocated for free. That's my theory anyway.....
 
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