easyJet revises cancellation and change fees – I compare with BA

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• David says:

  27 Sep27 September 08:00

  Easyjet used to offer name change for solo or primary pax as well. That seems like an ‘enhancement’…

• Tim Millea says:

  27 Sep27 September 08:20

  On the point of checked baggage, easyJet are the most generous in the business for free cabin baggage. The physical dimensions are the same as with BA (56cm x 45cm x 25cm) but unlike BA, there is no weight restriction. Plus if you pay a modest amount extra for ‘up front’ or extra legroom seating, which also comes with priority boarding, you are allowed a second bag of 45cm x 36cm x 20cm which is 80% larger than BA’s second bag allowance of 40cm x 30cm x 15cm, again with no weight restriction. Yes you lose the convenience of saying goodbye to you luggage at check-in until your final destination but you also say goodbye to the waits and inconvenience of check-in and luggage carousels upon arrival.

  Travelling hand-luggage only is liberating. Hold baggage allowance, checked-through luggage, priority check-in and priority luggage delivery (which rarely works) are old currency with easyJet.

  As raffles says, these easyJet policies are all very reasonable although I am saddened to see the £80 charge imposed for turning up late. I have twice missed easyJet flights because of public transport issues and/or my own fault for not allowing sufficient margin and easyJet have put me on the next available flight without charge or even question. I also had my fare fully refunded for a 2 hour delay without asking for it long before the current EU regulations came in to play. I would say that easyJet’s then policy towards compensation for delays is an awful lot more sensible that the EU regulations.

  For those considering trying easyJet for the first time and who want a business class experience, my advice would be to pay for ‘up-front’ or extra legroom seating, buy four-wheeled cabin baggage that exactly maxes the size allowance, pre-book a lounge (£15-£20 through the right channels in advance), allow £20 for food and drinks on board and you are there. The on board service is the most efficient of any airline I have experienced – the cabin crew have to be on a generous commission. AND YOU DON”T HAVE TO FLY VIA LONDON 🙂

  Tim.

  • Tim Millea says:

    27 Sep27 September 09:04

    I just read what I wrote above and realised I should start a new website ‘DontHeadForPoints.com’ – “How to avoid loyalty schemes, save money and have a better quality of life” :).

    I apologise. Raffles, I realised my sentiment was in juxtaposition to this site’s which I read daily without fail, wherever I am in the World and much appreciate.

    Don’t go googling yet, I will have to find a much more succinct name :).

    • Brian says:

      27 Sep27 September 09:17

      How about ‘www.nopointinpoints.com’?

    • MoNkEyMaN says:

      27 Sep27 September 09:27

      If you click through to the Easyjet site from Nectar, you earn 1 point per pound spent, so there are a few points to be had.

    • Rob says:

      27 Sep27 September 11:08

      No problem Tim! I appreciate your HFP comments as a ‘sense check’ to some of my articles.

  • Rob says:

    27 Sep27 September 20:19

    £80 is the charge that was listed in the document they sent me – if it is a mistake, they made it. Or they may be planning to increase it!

  • Anin says:

    27 Sep27 September 22:22

    I have to disagree with Easyjet being the best with baggage allowance. BAs limit is 23kg which you would be pushing to hit even with you checked baggage. Frankly anything more than this is dangerous and should not be encouraged.

    But more importantly unless it has changed recently, the second item of carry on luggage (such as a laptop bag) is very useful which BA, most European carriers and even Ryanair allow, but Easyjet do not.

    • Tim Millea says:

      28 Sep28 September 06:49

      easyJet do allow a second bag, 80% larger than BA’s 2nd bag allowance by volume, if you pay for ‘up-front’ (front few rows), extra legroom, a flexible fair or are a member of their paid-for priviledge club. The extra for ‘up front’ is usually only a few pounds and a lot less than paying for hold baggage so well worth it if you are challenged by hand baggage limits.

    • Tim Millea says:

      28 Sep28 September 06:59

      Also, I can add testimony to the 23Kg per cabin bag BA limit. I thought I would bring my dummbell and weights set to Greece last week :-). I maxed out the weight in each of my two cabin bags but was stopped by security. Weights are potential weapons apparently. I was frog-marched back to check-in and much to BA’s credit, I was allowed to check-in a third bag free of charge.

      So I would agree, it would be difficult to reach the 23Kg cabin bag limit without carrying something considered so heavy to be dangerous.

• Andy says:

  27 Sep27 September 09:31

  Easyjet are useful when there is no avios availability. Never had a problem with them and the onboard staff have always been frendly.

• Leo says:

  27 Sep27 September 09:32

  I’ve no problem with EZ. They are great if you just need a “bus” intra-europa. I also value being able to get extra-legroom without it all having been syphoned off in advance for elites. No good for long haul though is it?

• xcalx says:

  27 Sep27 September 09:52

  Booked our first ever easyjet flight OW to BCN £61 pp includes row 1 extra legroom seat, priority boarding 1 x 23kg checked bag plus 2 x cabin bags no weight restrictions. Have PP for lounge access. No BA Avios flights in Economy the date we required and wont use 19500 Avios plus £42.50 pp for a one way to BCN

• Cloud Runner says:

  27 Sep27 September 14:01

  I have taken very many EZY flights between from LGW to BCN / AMS and I really can’t fault them,

  However, I did come back from Antalya last year with them and really cannot recommend sitting in one of their firm seats for the best part of 5 hours !!

  • Tim Millea says:

    27 Sep27 September 14:55

    Ah, but it was just the same with BA when they operated to Antalya. They, like all airlines operating to Antalya from the UK, used short-haul aircraft and charged so called ‘medium haul’ extra legroom charges. I used BA from Antalya via Gatwick to Manchester many times when I lived in Side. Both Gatwick to Antalya and Gatwick to Manchester routes have long since disappeared.

    To answer your point directly, a near-five hour flight on uncomfortable short-haul aircraft is indeed unacceptable but routine and so far without any alternative. This covers most of my regular destinations in Greece and Turkey. I am happy to pay twice as much but that choice is not there at any price. Convince me that the market is working.

    Tim.

• Jeremy i says:

  27 Sep27 September 14:54

  There’s an interesting report on Cranky Flier about a new service offering protected transfers at Gatwick. It think, in effect, it’s a form of missed connection insurance but it looks like a positive development.

• harry says:

  27 Sep27 September 16:14

  It’s true that BA won’t normally change names (unless there’s a simple mistake in spelling etc), ie:
  Outside this cooling off period, flight-only tickets are non-transferable and you will need to cancel the original booking and make a new booking for the new traveller (at current ticket prices). Please call us if you’d like more advice and assistance.

  However, the staff have a fair bit of discretion and by being pleasant on the phone, they were happy enough to change one of the names on our group of 5 tickets, from my wife to my niece. The nice lady probably bent the rules but it does pay to be nice to them yourself 🙂

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