Two helpful post yesterday suggested we take an EasyJet flight from Bristol (we'll be coming form Bath) instead of London for our late June trip to Barcelona. When I looked into booking the flight this morning, I noticed that every seat on the plane is available, so now I'm concerned that EasyJet will cancel the flight due to lack of passengers. I realize this is only early April, but I still remain a little concerned. Does anyone have experience with EasyJet cancelling flights for lack of passengers? Or if this Bristol to Barcelona flight will fill the closer we get to late June? Any advice is appreciated. We need to get to Barcelona on the day we want to schedule, and the thought of going from Bristol is very appealing, because from Bath t's an easy bus ride from Bath to the airport. Thoughts? Also, if anyone has experience with taking the Rick Steve's rolling backpack (designed for European carriers) on an EasyJet or Ryanair flight, I would appreciate knowing if the airlines gave you any difficulty in carrying the backpack on? And finally, if anyone has apartment suggestions in central Bath for our 5 day stay, I would appreciate knowing them. Thank you very much!
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33513 posts
I don't know when the flight is that you are looking at, but I haven't seen an empty Easyjet plane for a while. My last Easyjet flight was completely full, the outbound had one seat, the one prior to that had 3, the outbound for that one was completely full.
Most people don't reserve seats because that costs extra money so if you are looking at how many seats are claimed don't be surprised if none or few are.
Load factors on the orange planes are always high.
Is your flight in the next few weeks?
Posted by
OP
Columbus
98 posts
Thank you for replying. No, the flight isn't until late June, but I was concerned, because it's the only flight for the day from Bristol to Barcelona. If I understand what you're saying though, it could very well be that the flight is getting booked normally but that all these open seats are showing because people don't reserve them in advance? We would like to reserve seats in advance (I realize there is a charge), because we are traveling with a child. Thank you!
Posted by
Bristol, UK
619 posts
I am with Nigel on this. I have never been on an Easyjet flight that wasn't at least three-quarters full, and I have never heard of one being cancelled for any reason other than weather or mechanical problems. Easyjet planes fly six sectors each day. That is, they will leave Bristol in the early morning and fly to, say, Rome. After 45 minutes, they fly back to Bristol. Then they fly to Barcelona and return. Then they fly to Berlin and return. Easyjet will not cancel one of those sectors because of a lack of passengers, and it would be slow commercial suicide if they started doing that.
We usually pay to select our seats because we like to ensure we sit together, but many people do not. The plane will fill up as we get nearer the date of the flight, and many people haven't even yet decided to go to Barcelona in June. The overhead bins are often full on these flights, so you should make sure that your bags are within the limits, or check them. We always check bags because it is not worth the hassle of dragging them round the airport beforehand.
Easyjet may be a low-cost carrier, but the staff are friendly and the service is good. Don't forget you have to pay for refreshments.
Posted by
OP
Columbus
98 posts
Thanks so much for these helpful answers. We'll go ahead and book our EasyJet Bristol to Barcelona flight.