Budget Travel - Help with easy jet check in please!

Hi, Im travelling on a flight with 3 children in two weeks and am panicing slightly. Need someone to pull me back on course!! i book through an online company and they have emailed me various bits and pieces. i have a booking reference number for was easyjet, is this all i need when i get to the airport?? other than the obvious passport etc. if i give that number to them, (all flight details are correct etc) will they just take my hold bags and give me a boarding pass and thats it job done? also im flying at 6.10am. how soon should i get to the airport (stansted, london) to allow time to walk (as i seem to recall they are generally quite huge!) also do you not get flight numbers in advance? im so confused...i hope all you experienced flyers can help me.

thanks

Hello kentishless, and welcome to flyertalk!

If you have an easyJet reference number, then I would recommend checking in online. You can do this by clicking here (http://www.easyjet.com/asp/en/book/index.asp) and scrolling down to the bottom where the 'online check-in' pane is located. Enter your reference and name, and you'll get the full flight details, and option to check in online.

If you do this, then you can print off boarding passes at home, which will be scanned (as a normal boarding pass) at the airport. If you have luggage to check in, you will need to pay extra - this is cheaper if you pay in advance when you check in online. Then when you get to the airport, just go to the bag drop counter and give them your printed boarding pass.

(If you don't easyJet may charge you for checking in at the airport. I can't remember if they do or not...)

Stansted is quite a well-designed airport, but can have long security queues, particularly at 6am when a lot of budget flights depart - and if you're not at the gate 25 minutes before departure, easyJet will turn you away - they're very strict on this. 2 hours will be safe, although 90 minutes will be easily doable, and if you're down to an hour, you might be a little stressed, but you'll get there.

(Incidentally, check-in and security at Stansted tends to have peaks just after the Stansted Express arrives. If you can time it between these peaks - just have a coffee at Costa - you can make your life a lot easier...)

At boarding time, you may get priority, depending on the age of your children - it's worth checking out. You don't get pre-allocated seats, it's first come first served, and children won't be allowed the front or emergency exit rows. Be there early (you may have to queue at the gate) to be sure you're seated together.

Finally, make sure you have photo ID for everybody, children included, even if it's a domestic flight. Again, you will not be allowed to travel if you don't have it.

I'm afraid I'm going to contradict stut. With easyJet, you cannot do OLCI with bags - it's for hand baggage only I'm afraid :( You do need to go check-in at the airport.

You are right, you only need that reference number and photo id to be able to check in. However, if you are checking bags, he's right, you will need to pay for them and it's cheaper to do so in advance - you can log into your reservation on easyjet.com using that booking reference number and your surname to access the booking and make any changes you need to. You'll also need to reserve Special Assistance in advance as well on the website if you wish to board early because you have small children. You'll be able to see the flight numbers on the EZ website - yes, they do have flight numbers already assigned.

EZ operations at their hubs are usually quite swift moving - they tend to have a big bank of desks at which anyone can check in, so the bottle neck is more likely to be security than check-in. It's years since I flew from STN, so not much advice I can give there!

Oh, yes, you're absolutely right. I was confusing my last flyBe flight with easyJet. Well, you know, all this mid-word capitalisation.

kentishlass, listen to Jenbel!

thank you for your help! i went to the check in page and realised i have hold luggage so not to check in. I have paid £16 for each bag so i think that is it!! it just seemed so weird having just a number but then i havent flown for 6 years. im sure we will be fine but thanks for clarifying everything and stopping a single mum panicing!! cheers :-)

Please continue to follow this thread in the FT Budget Travel Forum.
Thanks..
Obscure2k
TravelBuzz Moderator

thank you for your help! i went to the check in page and realised i have hold luggage so not to check in. I have paid £16 for each bag so i think that is it!! it just seemed so weird having just a number but then i havent flown for 6 years. im sure we will be fine but thanks for clarifying everything and stopping a single mum panicing!! cheers :-)

Easyjet calls checkin baggage as hold luggage (as it goes in plane's hold) and you need to pay for it. You don't have to pay for hand baggage (or carry on baggage).

I have purchased 20kg luggage with EasyJet; now I've noticed that easyJet has no weight restriction on hand luggage as long as you can lift it into the space above your seat:p....I also note that you can only do OLCI if you have hand lugagge only:( What would happen if I did OLCI, planning to take hand luggage only, but then bought a few too many things, can I then go to the check in counter, having done OLCI, and check my 20 kg of luggage in? or will EasyJet frown on this?!
thanks in advance!