easy jet airlines

I flew them 2 weeks ago from Paris to Venice and had a good first impression. I thoroughly read the website, I paid for checked baggage and the ability to choose my seat ahead of time so I got speedy boarding. The plane was on time, the loading was efficient and the cabin crew very capable and professional with a child who did not want to remain buckled in on taxi/take off. The gate agent made everyone put their bag thru the sizer. I had no surprises. I would fly them again.

razorclams.....yummy.

they are fine for what they do, but they can be a PIA.

for instance they dont have ticket machines to get your ticket so you have to print @ home or upload the EasyJet app to do it on your smart phone. i did upload the EJ app and used it for my boarding pass. Its a cool toy but sometimes its nice to have a backup too. From their web site its say you can use your passport to board, but i didnt want to chance it.

they are sticklers for carry on luggage too.

happy trails.

flew it. like it.

Read all the rules before you make your reservation, then read them all again. Check the rules again before you prepare to check in, and again when you consider packing and before you leave the house.

Then get to the airport when they want you there, follow their rules, and enjoy the flight, and come back here and say how much you enjoyed it.

You didn't ask about RyanAir. In that case, do the above but on steroids. And prepare to be nickel and dimed. But if you do read all the rules over then the nickels and dimes won't be a surprise. Then come back here and tell us how much you enjoyed it.

Easy Jet is my favorite of the budget airlines, but like any budget airline, you have to follow their rules to the letter to avoid extra charges. I have checked a bag with them, too, with no problems. I have used them from Madrid to London Gatwick, and from Oviedo, Spain to London Stansted.

Will be (touchwood) taking our third flight this year with them in a couple of weeks time. As others have said, follow their rules and you will be fine. Remember that one piece of hand luggage really does mean ONE and you can pass the time waiting to board watching the fun and games taking place with people who did not think the rules applied to them! I put my handbag/purse in my hand luggage and take it out when I get on board.

I flew London Gatwick to Pisa on them a couple of years ago. You just have to live by their one bag carryon rule--no extra backpacks or shoulder bags.

The flight was fine. My only complaint was with the Gatwick Airport, and how they make travelers sit in a large hall waiting for flights' gate assignments to be posted. And all of a sudden, the whole flight makes a beeline for the gate--first come first served on seating.

Budget European airlines have opened up travel to far reaches of the continent--for very, very reasonable prices. It allows for fast and efficient long distance travel without having to deal with trains.

No longer first come first served on seating, seats are allocated at check in. Or you can pay to reserve a seat.

It's already been mentioned but in passing so you might have missed it: the biggest disadvantage of both Easyjet and Ryanair is that you must PRINT YOUR OWN BOARDING PASS before you get to the airport, or be charged a large extra fee. So you need to either "check in" from home before you go and carry the pass with the other documents, or hope that you can find somewhere with an internet-connected computer and a printer while travelling.

Both now have Apps which let you use your Smatphone to check in and store your boarding pass to show at the airport. I would still have a paper version as back up just in case of a tech glitch.

EasyJet Check-In opens 30 days before the flight. Checking in and printing your Boarding Pass should not be an issue. The Major Airlines generally do not allow Check-In until 23 hours before the flight, making printing boarding passes much more of an issue, not to mention making certain you are at a computer at that point in order to select your seats.

I was able to have one of my hotels print my boarding pass. My seat was in row 2 so I watched the boarding process. A number of the smartphone apps were not making the cabin crew happy as there was some piece of info they could not see on them. They did allow people to board but it seemed to slow things down.

clams,

Although I'm late getting into the discussion, I wanted to mention that EasyJet is my preferred budget airline in Europe. I always check / book them first when I'm using flights in Europe. A few things you'll need to be aware of though.....

• When they say one carry-on item per passenger, that means ONE and not "one plus a personal item such as a purse". In my experience, they usually enforce that strictly.
• The carry-on item must conform to a sizer, but there's no weight limit. The only rule is that the passenger must be able to lift it into the overhead bin, as the Flight Attendants won't help with that. In many cases, they WILL check the luggage in the sizer, both at the luggage drop and at the gate.
• I more recent flights, I've opted for paying extra for an assigned seat and for Speedy Boarding. When you see the stampede that occurs when "general boarding" is announced, you'll probably agree with me that the cost is well worth it.
• I'm not sure what seat pitch or whatever they use, but the seats are narrow and passengers are packed in like sardines. Flights are usually only a few hours, so I don't find it difficult to tolerate some discomfort for a short time. As I recall, seats don't recline (but I'm not sure).
• Any food items on board are usually extra cost.
• I always have to pay for a checked bag (which is probably close to their allowable weight limit), and I've found it worthwhile to pay for the next weight tier at the time of booking. Passengers caught with overweight checked luggage at the airport will pay a much higher rate.
• As someone else mentioned, check-in and boarding passes can be done up to 30 days before the flight. Therefore in most cases that shouldn't be a problem.
• In many (if not all) cases, they no longer have check-in staff at the airport. All that's provided is a luggage drop, which is why you'll need the boarding pass in hand. As I recall, if you have Speedy Boarding you can use a shorter luggage drop line, which makes things easier.

Skytrax gives EasyJet a 3-star rating, one more star than RyanAir and the same as most US airlines (Spirit is 2-star; JetBlue and Virgin America are 4-star). Most (?) European airlines (Lufthansa, Swiss, British, Air France, KLM, Austrian) are 4-star, as is Air Canada.

And what do the stars mean? Safety? Legroom? Quality of pasta sauce?

"And what do the stars mean? Safety? Legroom? Quality of pasta sauce?"

All of the above and more. But follow the link above and read for yourself. For economy on long haul flights, they have 16 categories (8 for "product", 8 for service).

Based on my experience, I definitely agree with SkyTrax's relative star rating between Lufthansa and USAir/United.

In the last 10 years, I've flown between the US and Germany 10 times (5 RT). Prior to that I had had 4 flights on Lufthansa. In 2007 I flew RT on USAir and wrote in my log after landing in Munich, "Food and service terrible. Never fly USAir again".

After 4 more flights, on Lufthansa, I flew RT on United and regretted it.

Last year I flew over on Lufthansa and back on United (only way I could use my miles). My girlfriend, who had never flow to Europe or on Lufthansa, felt there was a big difference in quality between Lufthansa and United.

I would rate United 3, USAir 3-, and Lufthansa 4+.

Check all of your options at skyscanner.com

We have used them twice within Europe and had a good experience. One of the trips was a day trip, so we had no luggage. The second time, we did, so we paid for our luggage fees when we booked the reservation. Like they said above, if you read the fine print, you'll be sure not to have surprises. But really, I don't remember paying for anything but our checked baggage... And then, they tried to sell drinks and snacks in the air. They were such quick flights that I didn't need any food or drink anyway... Oh, and they were dirt cheap!