sjharte
Mar 18, 02, 8:31 am
This is the first weekend (of two) in which I am trying to get 9 flights (5 of which in C class) or SR or LX and thereby get the 240K bonus miles they have offered to Qualiflyer members (the offer came by e mail and I understand that different folk received different offers).
I did the same thing last year (when my offer was just 120K) but SN was still alive then and I was able to start my flights from my home airport (EDI).
For these flights I am taking the UK low fares airline Easyjet (http://www.easyjet.com) from EDI-AMS return – which I booked at Christmas time for £56 inc tax. . Easyjet don’t offer a Frequent Flyer Scheme.
Saturday 16 March 2002 EDI-AMS, EZY862
The flight was scheduled to leave at 0610 so I woke up at 4.00am (AAAGGGHH!) showered quickly and was ready for my taxi at 4.30am. Check in for the flight closes at 5.40am but I didn’t want to leave it too late. As it was the taxi driver was able to speed through the empty roads and I was checking in at 4.50am.
Easyjet doesn’t issue tickets. In theory you should have your confirmation number but I just handed over my passport and was given my boarding pass. I have always avoided EZY and have only done two single flights before, a good two+ years ago. Then they handed out plastic reusable boarding passes. Now they give proper passes.
There are no seat numbers but you have a priority number and they call people forward in number blocks. In my experience on both flights this weekend, everyone just came forward when boarding was announced whatever their priority numbers were.
The planes are 737 (EZY only uses one plane type at the moment but there is some talk of them introducing an Airbus type too so that they can make Boeing and Airbus compete against each other for their business). EVERYTHING is bright orange! The configuration is 3-3 with not the greatest seat pitch in the world. It is though only a 1hr 20 min flight so who cares.
The flight was, I’d guess, 80%+ full – which must be a profitable load factor. Prices for a return can be as low as £31 inc tax but if you leave it until the last minute it can be more expensive than KLMuk – the main competitor. When I last went to AMS in September, EZY was more expensive than KLMuk and that was with booking a few weeks in advance.
One good thing with EZY is that no Saturday night stay is required – you make your fare by adding the cheapest single fares for the flights you want. One way fares can be bought two at no extra cost.
There is no “free” catering and you have to buy anything you want. I brought from home a yoghurt and a banana.
The in flight magazine is more professional than I remember and it has a definite business user focus. The information on each destination city on their network was very comprehensive. The magazines aren’t in the seat pocket – they give them out if you want one and, although you are free to take it away with you, they collect the unwanted ones in at the end of the flight.
We left on time and arrived early. A faultless flight.
Saturday 16 March 2002 AMS-BSL LX795 1445-1620
I had a long wait ahead of my at AMS and, as it was still early on a Saturday morning and I was still sleepy, I had decided not to go into town (I was leaving that for the return).
I has used some Qualiflyer points (5000) to upgrade me AMS-BSL-BCN. Was this a good use of points? Well, the service in C class on a Saab 2000 was 100% the same as the Y seat and service – as I had suspected they would be. I upgraded to use the lounge for my wait I AMS.
The lounge on offer was the Menzies lounge which appeared to be used by DL for their AMS passengers. The lounge was uninspiring and had a very basic selections of drinks and peanuts. What was worse was that, when I popped out for a bit around noon, they told me that they’d be closing around 1.00pmish (boarding for my flight wasn’t until 1415).
All in all, I had wasted 5000 points but you live and learn.
Schipol now has a section of chairs near the lounges that look not unlike transatlantic C class (without the controls) and these would have been a better place to rest.
The flight was in a Saab 2000 with leather seats and a 1-2 configuration. I had seat 1F (part of 2 seats together).
Service was a sandwich which was selected form a tray of unwrapped and obviously hand made sandwiches. I has chmpagned throughout. We were offered chocolates and then the standard large Crossair chocolate coin.
Flight was about 30% full.
Very good C class service although Y class passengers got exactly the same.
We landed early giving me time to play with the internet in the wonderful Crossair lounge in BSL – one of the best I have ever visited.
Saturday 16 March 2002 BSL-BCN LX686 1700-1900
Same type of plane, same layout. This time I was in 2F. Again I’d guess that we were 30% full.
The meal this time was plated and it was a cheese and something (I’m not sure) else salad with a chocolate and cherry cake dessert.
Again champagne flowed and we were given more chocolate coins.
We landed early.
I took the train into BCN 9the cheapest option) and then, after getting lost, took a taxi to the Hotel Derby – an uninspiring hotel which cost me 99 Euros for the night without breakfast. Not the cheapest of cities for hotels but maybe I just didn’t look hard enough.
In the morning I took a taxi straight to the airport which ended up costing 24 Euros (about 8 times the cost of the train!!).
Sunday 17 March 2002 BCN-AMS LX681 0950-1150
Their was a bit of a queue at check in. A European summit had just finished and there were camera crew trying to check through camera equipment and people going ski-ing to Switzerland. The BSL and ZRH flights were served by the same desks.
The flight was the same as one the way down except we were given cheese and ham and warm bread for breakfast with orange juice and coffee. This time I was in economy and was sitting towards the middle (C class same to be further forward with the same seats and service) in Seat 10A. This was an emergency exit seat and had more room than any other row.
We landed early in BSL. My original schedule had only twenty minutes to spare but we were 20 minutes early in landing.
Sunday 17 March 2002 BSL-AMS LX560 1210-1350
The plane was delayed for 30 minutes . Would guess that we were about half full. Again I was in 10A of a Saab 2000.
Meal was exactly the same as on BSL-BCN leg.
Landed more or less on time in a wet AMS.
I spent the rest of the day in the city – the rain did stop eventually.
Sunday 17 March 2002 EZY863 AMS-EDI 2205-2240
Check in was horrendous and took 25 minutes due to poor queue management. Other then that the flight home was fine. EZY now have the first flight out to AMS and the last back – you can get a day trip for £30 sometimes and with those flight times it is worth doing.
Flight arrived early and I was home by 11.00pm.
Summary
Crossair has a wonderful C class short haul service that it offers to both classes. I saw that others (especially on the Sunday) had C class tickets – I can’t see why unless it was for fare rule reasons. Y class on Crossair is better than C class in Swiss air flights of the same length. What will the change to Swiss airlines bring??
EZY can’t be beaten for price and service on short flights. I’ll definitely use them again.
Next week back to AMS on EZY for two nights in the AMS Sheraton and a day trip on the Sunday AMS-BSL-GVA-NCE-BSL-AMS in C class.
If that all works and Qualiflyer doesn’t die like the airlines did, I get 240K points and can go to Oz in F!
I did the same thing last year (when my offer was just 120K) but SN was still alive then and I was able to start my flights from my home airport (EDI).
For these flights I am taking the UK low fares airline Easyjet (http://www.easyjet.com) from EDI-AMS return – which I booked at Christmas time for £56 inc tax. . Easyjet don’t offer a Frequent Flyer Scheme.
Saturday 16 March 2002 EDI-AMS, EZY862
The flight was scheduled to leave at 0610 so I woke up at 4.00am (AAAGGGHH!) showered quickly and was ready for my taxi at 4.30am. Check in for the flight closes at 5.40am but I didn’t want to leave it too late. As it was the taxi driver was able to speed through the empty roads and I was checking in at 4.50am.
Easyjet doesn’t issue tickets. In theory you should have your confirmation number but I just handed over my passport and was given my boarding pass. I have always avoided EZY and have only done two single flights before, a good two+ years ago. Then they handed out plastic reusable boarding passes. Now they give proper passes.
There are no seat numbers but you have a priority number and they call people forward in number blocks. In my experience on both flights this weekend, everyone just came forward when boarding was announced whatever their priority numbers were.
The planes are 737 (EZY only uses one plane type at the moment but there is some talk of them introducing an Airbus type too so that they can make Boeing and Airbus compete against each other for their business). EVERYTHING is bright orange! The configuration is 3-3 with not the greatest seat pitch in the world. It is though only a 1hr 20 min flight so who cares.
The flight was, I’d guess, 80%+ full – which must be a profitable load factor. Prices for a return can be as low as £31 inc tax but if you leave it until the last minute it can be more expensive than KLMuk – the main competitor. When I last went to AMS in September, EZY was more expensive than KLMuk and that was with booking a few weeks in advance.
One good thing with EZY is that no Saturday night stay is required – you make your fare by adding the cheapest single fares for the flights you want. One way fares can be bought two at no extra cost.
There is no “free” catering and you have to buy anything you want. I brought from home a yoghurt and a banana.
The in flight magazine is more professional than I remember and it has a definite business user focus. The information on each destination city on their network was very comprehensive. The magazines aren’t in the seat pocket – they give them out if you want one and, although you are free to take it away with you, they collect the unwanted ones in at the end of the flight.
We left on time and arrived early. A faultless flight.
Saturday 16 March 2002 AMS-BSL LX795 1445-1620
I had a long wait ahead of my at AMS and, as it was still early on a Saturday morning and I was still sleepy, I had decided not to go into town (I was leaving that for the return).
I has used some Qualiflyer points (5000) to upgrade me AMS-BSL-BCN. Was this a good use of points? Well, the service in C class on a Saab 2000 was 100% the same as the Y seat and service – as I had suspected they would be. I upgraded to use the lounge for my wait I AMS.
The lounge on offer was the Menzies lounge which appeared to be used by DL for their AMS passengers. The lounge was uninspiring and had a very basic selections of drinks and peanuts. What was worse was that, when I popped out for a bit around noon, they told me that they’d be closing around 1.00pmish (boarding for my flight wasn’t until 1415).
All in all, I had wasted 5000 points but you live and learn.
Schipol now has a section of chairs near the lounges that look not unlike transatlantic C class (without the controls) and these would have been a better place to rest.
The flight was in a Saab 2000 with leather seats and a 1-2 configuration. I had seat 1F (part of 2 seats together).
Service was a sandwich which was selected form a tray of unwrapped and obviously hand made sandwiches. I has chmpagned throughout. We were offered chocolates and then the standard large Crossair chocolate coin.
Flight was about 30% full.
Very good C class service although Y class passengers got exactly the same.
We landed early giving me time to play with the internet in the wonderful Crossair lounge in BSL – one of the best I have ever visited.
Saturday 16 March 2002 BSL-BCN LX686 1700-1900
Same type of plane, same layout. This time I was in 2F. Again I’d guess that we were 30% full.
The meal this time was plated and it was a cheese and something (I’m not sure) else salad with a chocolate and cherry cake dessert.
Again champagne flowed and we were given more chocolate coins.
We landed early.
I took the train into BCN 9the cheapest option) and then, after getting lost, took a taxi to the Hotel Derby – an uninspiring hotel which cost me 99 Euros for the night without breakfast. Not the cheapest of cities for hotels but maybe I just didn’t look hard enough.
In the morning I took a taxi straight to the airport which ended up costing 24 Euros (about 8 times the cost of the train!!).
Sunday 17 March 2002 BCN-AMS LX681 0950-1150
Their was a bit of a queue at check in. A European summit had just finished and there were camera crew trying to check through camera equipment and people going ski-ing to Switzerland. The BSL and ZRH flights were served by the same desks.
The flight was the same as one the way down except we were given cheese and ham and warm bread for breakfast with orange juice and coffee. This time I was in economy and was sitting towards the middle (C class same to be further forward with the same seats and service) in Seat 10A. This was an emergency exit seat and had more room than any other row.
We landed early in BSL. My original schedule had only twenty minutes to spare but we were 20 minutes early in landing.
Sunday 17 March 2002 BSL-AMS LX560 1210-1350
The plane was delayed for 30 minutes . Would guess that we were about half full. Again I was in 10A of a Saab 2000.
Meal was exactly the same as on BSL-BCN leg.
Landed more or less on time in a wet AMS.
I spent the rest of the day in the city – the rain did stop eventually.
Sunday 17 March 2002 EZY863 AMS-EDI 2205-2240
Check in was horrendous and took 25 minutes due to poor queue management. Other then that the flight home was fine. EZY now have the first flight out to AMS and the last back – you can get a day trip for £30 sometimes and with those flight times it is worth doing.
Flight arrived early and I was home by 11.00pm.
Summary
Crossair has a wonderful C class short haul service that it offers to both classes. I saw that others (especially on the Sunday) had C class tickets – I can’t see why unless it was for fare rule reasons. Y class on Crossair is better than C class in Swiss air flights of the same length. What will the change to Swiss airlines bring??
EZY can’t be beaten for price and service on short flights. I’ll definitely use them again.
Next week back to AMS on EZY for two nights in the AMS Sheraton and a day trip on the Sunday AMS-BSL-GVA-NCE-BSL-AMS in C class.
If that all works and Qualiflyer doesn’t die like the airlines did, I get 240K points and can go to Oz in F!