Easyjet - Speedy booking
 

Please could anyone who has used easyjet advise me? I've not used them before but am going to book some flights. I see that they do not book seats but you can book "speedy boarding" where you can board first. This would cost £56 for the 4 of us and I'm just wondering if it is really worth it? How does it work if everyone on the flight has booked speedy boarding?!!!:( Is it a mad dash to grab seats? I just worry because we would not want our children to have to sit on their own if we couldn't get seats together.
Any advice would be much appreciated.

Car77

Hi Car77
I think Speedy Booking is a bit of a rip off. So many people book it that half the plane is filled with them. If you don't book it, they will get on before you, then families with children next. It's up to you, but when we flew to Palma earlier in June as a party of 9, we didn't use speedy boarding and we all sat together

Hi car, we fly easyjet and book speedyboarding, as you say I can be a bit of a bun fight if you don't, but it depends on the age of the kids, if they are young enough you will get to on second after the SB's, so I'm afield you have to decide if you think its worth it. Hope this helps

Speedy boarding
 

I have booked Speedy Boarding for our flights in October.....but.... You have to be at the departure gate when the flight is called ready to be at the front (or near the front) of the queue for Speedy Boarding. We found when we used it for the first time last year that people were pushing to get past us in the queue and we were unsure if some of them had Speedy Boarding or not. If you are really determined to sit together I would go for it but if you are happy with one adult/one child together then you may want to save £56.00. Again it depends on how many people on the flight have purchased SB. I'm pretty sure you will find at least 2 x 2 seats together if you don't purchase it and make sure that you are at the front of the second queue i.e people without SB. What airport are you flying from, as I have heard that not all airports stick to SB strictly? Hope this helps you to make up your mind.

Hi Car. I personally do not think it is worth booking but that is my opinion. This is based on my experience of taking my Mum on a Easyjet flight and selecting speedy booking. You are called first to go forward for the plane but as you say it was still a mad rush as many had also booked this facility. We then found ourselves on a bus to the plane whereby being near first on the bus left us nearly last to depart and yes there was a mad rush. At the end of the day everyone was together so it was a waste of money.
I wouldn't bother again personally. It is only a couple of hours flight. Just a suggestion - I understand where you are coming from re the children. I'm not sure if Easyjet will allow just one member of the party to book speedy? The cost of this facility adds a lot of money to what should be a 'cheap flight'.
I'm sure others will have other experiences and opinion. Hope it works out.
Eleanor

Hi

I've only used easyjet a couple of times and if I remember you are called by some reference on your boarding card, so if you are one of the last to board you may have more of a problem. If you want guaranteed seats together you might be better off paying for speedy boarding. Its a bit like paying for pre booked seating with other airlines. "Pays your money or takes a chance":)

Might be somebody out there with more up to date info.

Timberman

The boarding card has the code for how you board, I think it goes assisted boarding first if you need help to board, then SB, then families with small kids, then everyone else, they check boarding cards and will only let you on if you have the right card, Palma do enforce the SB, and mainly you get on by a gate so now buses to worry normally.

We never bother with SB and never really had any problems out of Newcastle. Remember: if you are not taking check-in luggage and if you check in online for your flight in advance, you are usually automatically allocated boarding group A. This is the first group after SB and young children. The other tip is to board from the rear entrance if possible as most people go from the front and block the aisles.

Not worth the money 2 hours flight never had problem sitting together

We booked speedy boarding this year and thought it was good. We liked it as when we got to Stansted the Easyjet desks were mobbed but at the speedy boarding check in desk there were only a couple of people in front so we didnt have to queue long at all. I did notice when looking back on the Easyjet website a few weeks after we had booked our flight that speedy boarding for our flight was sold out so there must be only a certain amount of sb sold so there would be enough seats together left for people getting on with children. The queue for the sb check in desk at Palma was a bit longer than at Stansted but still worth paying the extra for and when boarding SB got on first, then people with children.

We've never had a problem getting 4 seats together out of newcastle, always make sure checked in early and get to gate before flight called. last year bus to plane people with speedy boarding got on bus 1st then everyone else so they ended up last to plane!

I have always found that people are happy to move to allow families to sit together. Just make sure if you don't check in online that you get to the gate in good time.

I would personally say it was worth it just for the dedicated check-in. We have saved so much time not having to endure massive queues. But yes, you do need to be at the gate early and push your way to the front! Also I have to say on a couple of occasions when we didn't book Speedy Boarding we had real problems sitting together on the plane - a nightmare with two very young children - fortunately other passengers agreed to move but they may not always be so accommodating!

Gatwick is a nightmare in summer whether you use speedy boarding or not! When it first came out there were only a few who used it, now its virtually everyone anyway and yes, it is still a push and shove by some people.

With only two of you its no problem getting seats together, but this year I did see that once on, the attendants were asking if people would change seats so that at least one parent could sit with a child, and that ended up either side of the aisle!

As to one member getting speedy boarding and holding seats - beware the wrath of other flyers on that one!!

Unfortunately if you are a family with younger children travelling in the high season, or may be always now that flights are being cut from other airports, then I think it will be necessary to be ripped off and pay extra to ensure you get on just that little bit earlier and get seats together.

OMG
Reading this thread makes travelling with EasyJet sound like an absolute nightmare and not the ideal start to a relaxed and happy holiday.
I'll certainly be avoiding them - no matter how cheap it might be.

There is a limited number allowed to book speedy boarding, which is why it is sometimes sold out. We use it & the check in is great, & always managed to sit together. When we went on the bus once, all speedy boarders were taken to the plane first, so no problem.

We used easyjet for the first time this year in mid July Edinburgh to Palma and we booked speedy boarding plus. I was very impressed by easy jet firstly on arriving at Edinburgh to check the queue for normal check in was horrendous wheras speedy boarding has seperate check in only one couple in front of us checked in within minutes. Yes you have to be at the gate in plenty of time but we sat at the bar near the gate and had some drinks very relaxed and soon as they called speedy boarding we were right up there no problems everything was very orderly and relaxed first on plane. Arriving at Palma our luggage appeared on the carousel within minutes we were told by someone that easy jet pay a higher premium to get their luggage off plane quicker due to quick turnaround required dont know if this is true or not. On return journey the queue for normal boarding at Palma was incerdibly long !!! we were really glad we had booked speedy boarding again checked in within minutes and again no hassle boarding plane. All in all I would definitly recommend easy jet and speedy boarding especially in height of summer may be different in winter. The staff on the plane were also excellent.

Good post Car, generated a lot of opinion.

The speedy boarding option is a relatively expensive extra I feel, and there are no guartantees that you will get seats together. If you go for this as others have said, you need to get yourselves to the gate but beware, queues form early and you may find that many of those people are in boarding group B not speedy boarders and you could find you have lost your chance. Also as has been said earlier SB sometimes means you first on the bus (which probably means last on the plane!). However if you have young kids and for peace of mind you could go for it. It can be a bit of a bunfight though and you may need to be assertive, not always easy with young kids in tow.!

For older kids and adults, it is probably not so much a problem, in fact they may prefer a bit of independance. Personally I usually ask at checkin how many people are on the flight. The planes take about 156 I think, so you can get an idea how busy the flight is and your chances of getting seats together. If it is full get to the gate in good time and be prepared to queue.

If on the plane you are stuck, watch out for couples where one is in the aisle and the other at the window. Chance are they will not want you sitting in the middle and will :rolleyes: kindly offer to move !. At least you may get 2 aisle seats together.

I must say I prefer to have allocated seats but the low cost airlines don't seem to like this. I suspect it has the effect of getting everone on the plane quicker in the rush for seats.

Despite the above I would not be put off too much. Easyjet are much preferable to the other low cost airline run by Mr O' L in my opinion.

Adios

Dave

Yes, Easyjet are pretty good really - have used them for years now, to Palma as well as other destinations and in all that time have never had any sort of problem. Planes always on time (well, almost), no lost luggage. Can't say that of other airlines we have used. In fact my other half now uses Easyjet (where possible) for all his business travel too because they have proved more reliable as well as cheaper.

Many thanks to everyones replies which have helped me get a feel for easyjet.
I have at least three return flights to re-book for next year now that BMI have stopped flying to Palma. I think I will try the speedy boarding for the first flight and see how it goes and then possibly add it afterwards to the next flight if I feel it necessary. Our kids are 11 and 10, so we will not qualify for boarding second and although not young young, they would probably still rather sit with one of us. My hubbie is probably more of a problem than the kids as he is a bad flier and absolutely HAS to have an aisle seat or he gets panicky!!!
I personally would be extremely happy if I could sit on my own away from the little darlings and enjoy a peaceful, bicker free, relaxing G & T to start my holiday!!! LoL :D Perhaps I could engineer that!
Many thanks once again and I shall let everyone know how I got on!!

Car

I wouldn't bother paying the extra

At the end of the day there is a seat for everyone and if you do pay for easyboard and then others "nip in" .... what do you do , ignore them and then spend the flight feeling cheated or take them to task and risk an unplesant start to the holiday

Ask yourself , does it really matter that you all sit together , the flight is only a couple of hours long and once you are up in the air you can wander over to where your hubby and kids are sitting and have a quick word should you have the inclination or need to

If your kids don't sit with each other then they can't bicker, presumably they will have ipods/nintendo's / a good book to read to pass the time so won't really need to be sat next to anyone in terms of needing to talk for company ( unless this is their first flight when they may be nervous or want to experience the occasion together )

Also, if they do end up sitting next to "strangers" , what a greatopportunity to have a chat ..... I for one have ended up sitting next to a youngster that isn;t my own on several flights and had the most interesting of conversations. If your kids are at all shy, most peole seeing they are on their own will show soe interest in them, start off a conversation and make them feel at home

If they do end up sat apart from you , give them their own money to buy whatever they want to eat on the plane .... they will feel so grown up and probably appreciate the independance ( and so what if they buy rubbish to eat, they're on their hols )

I sometimes think we underestimate our kids ability to do things for themselves ......... I know I was initially concerned the time I needed my daughter to fly out to Palma on her own when she was 14 ......... needn't have worried a jot ...... she couldn't understand what the fuss was about.

it's about time EJ stopped offering speedy boarding, & allocated seats like proper airlines do - that was the majority view on the last EJ forum I contributed to

as for sitting with your kids, is any airline going to let youngsters sit next to strangers if the parents object ? I think not. Familes with children under 10 get priority after speedy boarders anyway

please don't encourage EJ by continuing to buy speedy boarding !

I think if EJ allocated seats at check in it would make the whole process much longer. EJ also seemed to get everyone on the flight, seated and away much quicker this year than when I have flown with holiday airlines in the past. I will use speedy boarding again unless the cost goes up dramatically.

I agree with smg. All the time people pay for these so called extras the more these budget airliners will pile them on. As already said we are only talking about a 2 hour flight! What is the point of trying to go for a cheap flight then adding on the extras? May as well have gone with the airline that includes all these standard - may even end up cheaper in the long run.
As for children sitting next to strangers - again I agree with smg. This just won't happen unless of course the strangers have been checked as being suitable strangers to allow your kids to be within a mile of, as per the news today lol! Oh - that will be an extra, of course!

Priority boarding works well at some airports but the last time we flew with Easyjet (I think from Malaga airport) we were had to get a bus to the plane and the people with priority boarding were on the same bus as people without it. We did not pay for priority boarding but got on the plane first as we were first off the bus.

We travel twice a month with Easyjet from Gatwick and in our experience Speedy Boarders account for about 10% of the travellers. SB takes preference before SA (special assistance), then group A and then group B. If you don't want to pay for everyone just pay for one person and get them to hold the seats. If you do this then make sure you go past the flight attendant who is positioned half way down the plane as this practice is discouraged but what he can't see won't cause a problem. (he is almost always looking forward) In 5 years of travelling I have never seen a family split up; people always shuffle around to help. It is not as bad as it sounds.

Unfortunately the airline we normally fly with which includes all the extras was nearly double the price of EJ even including all the extras

Don't try this on a flight that I'm on ! :mad:

Im afraid it does put the backs up of quite a few passengers and some do get just a little vocal about it! Easyjet has started to announce on the plance that this is not acceptable practice either.