BA vs Easyjet - some thoughts from recent trip
Jun 29, 2016, 11:34 am
#16
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: London
Posts: 344
Assuming I'm not chasing tier points I put a premium of about £20 on CE over ET. That would have been about £50 as a blue.
As a silver, I put a premium of flying BA over Easyjet at about £20 over the ticket+luggage price. As a blue/bronze, there was no premium.
I would never waste avios on CE if there were seats available in ET. So my flights in CE are limited to connections for ex-EU trips, and the occasions when the cash price is only slightly more expensive than economy/EZY. Which does occasionally happen.
Having said that, I do enjoy CE (although I miss the old leather seats). And my parents in law really enjoyed it: they flew it as part of an ex-EU trip to SYD with CX, and were more enthusiastic about the CE leg than they were about CX J!
As a silver, I put a premium of flying BA over Easyjet at about £20 over the ticket+luggage price. As a blue/bronze, there was no premium.
I would never waste avios on CE if there were seats available in ET. So my flights in CE are limited to connections for ex-EU trips, and the occasions when the cash price is only slightly more expensive than economy/EZY. Which does occasionally happen.
Having said that, I do enjoy CE (although I miss the old leather seats). And my parents in law really enjoyed it: they flew it as part of an ex-EU trip to SYD with CX, and were more enthusiastic about the CE leg than they were about CX J!
Jun 29, 2016, 11:38 am
#17
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,611
i did an easyjet flight few months ago AMS to MAN, and i have to say the seat felt like it had lots of more knee room and space then BA short haul.
i enjoy flying and i don't feel the overall easyjet experience makes me feel good. BA still does with my gold status lounge access and whatever else. feels like a bit of luxury in comparison, despite the leg room.lifestyle choice
i enjoy flying and i don't feel the overall easyjet experience makes me feel good. BA still does with my gold status lounge access and whatever else. feels like a bit of luxury in comparison, despite the leg room.lifestyle choice
I bought the Easyjet Plus card, so I get speedy boarding, and extra cabin bag and free seat selection. So, I generally end up on the front 1-3 rows. Having the Easyjet Plus saves me £30 a flight in baggage fees, and £32 in seat fees if I get row 1.
I'm also now a member of "Flight Club", which is the Easyjet Frequent Flyer scheme. It means that I can change flights for free, and a few other things that I'll probably not use.
There seems to be a lot more leg-room on both the old and new seats. I'm 6'3", and I don't struggle.
Service is very quick, and a couple of small bottles of wine is £8 (only on the way home of course!).
I've only had one bad experience, nothing to do with Easyjet though. A 3 hour delay due to bad weather at AMS (Single runway ops), during which a group of "lads" drank their own vodka. This led to abusing the staff, especially when they announced no alcohol would be served (it's a 45-50 flight FFS). It ended up with them fighting between themselves as we taxied in. The Dutch plod were there to meet the flight, and no doubt some of them would have had the pleasure of a night in the cells. BTW... this was the 07:00 flight from MAN!!
In summary, there's no way on earth I'd consider BA these days - unless there was another great sale/mistake fare. Easyjet for short haul, EK/QR/SQ/CX to the east, and VS/DL/AA/UA to the west.
Jun 29, 2016, 12:04 pm
#18
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: london and amsterdam
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 288
I do this flight every week. I even get recognised now by some of the staff.
I bought the Easyjet Plus card, so I get speedy boarding, and extra cabin bag and free seat selection. So, I generally end up on the front 1-3 rows. Having the Easyjet Plus saves me £30 a flight in baggage fees, and £32 in seat fees if I get row 1.
I'm also now a member of "Flight Club", which is the Easyjet Frequent Flyer scheme. It means that I can change flights for free, and a few other things that I'll probably not use.
There seems to be a lot more leg-room on both the old and new seats. I'm 6'3", and I don't struggle.
Service is very quick, and a couple of small bottles of wine is £8 (only on the way home of course!).
I've only had one bad experience, nothing to do with Easyjet though. A 3 hour delay due to bad weather at AMS (Single runway ops), during which a group of "lads" drank their own vodka. This led to abusing the staff, especially when they announced no alcohol would be served (it's a 45-50 flight FFS). It ended up with them fighting between themselves as we taxied in. The Dutch plod were there to meet the flight, and no doubt some of them would have had the pleasure of a night in the cells. BTW... this was the 07:00 flight from MAN!!
In summary, there's no way on earth I'd consider BA these days - unless there was another great sale/mistake fare. Easyjet for short haul, EK/QR/SQ/CX to the east, and VS/DL/AA/UA to the west.
I bought the Easyjet Plus card, so I get speedy boarding, and extra cabin bag and free seat selection. So, I generally end up on the front 1-3 rows. Having the Easyjet Plus saves me £30 a flight in baggage fees, and £32 in seat fees if I get row 1.
I'm also now a member of "Flight Club", which is the Easyjet Frequent Flyer scheme. It means that I can change flights for free, and a few other things that I'll probably not use.
There seems to be a lot more leg-room on both the old and new seats. I'm 6'3", and I don't struggle.
Service is very quick, and a couple of small bottles of wine is £8 (only on the way home of course!).
I've only had one bad experience, nothing to do with Easyjet though. A 3 hour delay due to bad weather at AMS (Single runway ops), during which a group of "lads" drank their own vodka. This led to abusing the staff, especially when they announced no alcohol would be served (it's a 45-50 flight FFS). It ended up with them fighting between themselves as we taxied in. The Dutch plod were there to meet the flight, and no doubt some of them would have had the pleasure of a night in the cells. BTW... this was the 07:00 flight from MAN!!
In summary, there's no way on earth I'd consider BA these days - unless there was another great sale/mistake fare. Easyjet for short haul, EK/QR/SQ/CX to the east, and VS/DL/AA/UA to the west.
Jun 29, 2016, 12:23 pm
#20
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,611
Jun 29, 2016, 12:31 pm
#21
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Wedged somewhere between BTS and VIE ✈
Programs: Star Alliance Gold (A3 Gold), Oneworld Emerald (BA Gold), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,338
On a BA flight on Monday I only had a backpack which I put in the overhead locker. I was later asked by a crew member to put it under the seat in front (economy - non-exit row). As I stuffed it under the seat (it nearly didn't fit) I said out loud that BA was no different to Ryanair. The guy next to me worked for BA and said that he wasn't going to say a word!
It's flights like that that make you wonder why you choose BA.
It's flights like that that make you wonder why you choose BA.
Jun 29, 2016, 1:48 pm
#22
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London & Sonoma CA
Programs: UA 1K, MM *G for life, BAEC Gold
Posts: 10,224
I choose BA purely because it operates out of LHR rather than LGW. Although I don't like T5 - way too crowded - it's still better than LGW and faster than LGW. A fare has to be about £30 less for me to go to LGW. Lounge access has a value of about £10 on it. Other than that, BA and U2 are pretty much equal in my book, with IME U2 running a slightly more reliable operation but with a worse IRROPS recovery.
Jun 29, 2016, 2:38 pm
#24
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,784
If so, and it was recent, then that would be funny since I also flew BA to Chania in CE recently and came back via easyJet. This was my second visit on BA since the route started. However it wasn't Chania, since that is a strange T3 route. So we're on for Kalamata perhaps (which I've also done, BA out, Vueling back).
It was the crew's first visit, but they were not on Standby, and were EuroFleet. I had a great flight out on BA, and a great flight back on easyJet (I've got status with them too, so I got row 1 both ways). Good crews both direction. BA CE was cheaper than U2, I paid BA £97 plus Avios'd up to CE; Easyjet I had to pay 163€, though I remember that being one of the more expensive fares - my work there was time constrained. I enjoyed the service and food on BA, which didn't run out as far as I could tell, and I managed to survive without buying anything on easyJet, just got a bottle of water from the airside café at 1.20€ for a litre bottle. The big advantage of U2 on this route, as an HBO traveller, was that their app works at this airport, whereas for BA you have to check in, no App, no OLCI. My LHR experience was good, despite the lack of CCR, and there is a good fast track system there; my LGW return was unusually swift, not many at the e-gates, thankfully and I was on the train to London within 20 minutes of getting to the gate.
For me, CE is a good product, and I'm happy with it. The Chania flight was an example of what I like about BA. easyJet is also a good airline too, goes to many interesting places and also has good crews. There is room for both airlines. Both airlines would be worse without each other.
It was the crew's first visit, but they were not on Standby, and were EuroFleet. I had a great flight out on BA, and a great flight back on easyJet (I've got status with them too, so I got row 1 both ways). Good crews both direction. BA CE was cheaper than U2, I paid BA £97 plus Avios'd up to CE; Easyjet I had to pay 163€, though I remember that being one of the more expensive fares - my work there was time constrained. I enjoyed the service and food on BA, which didn't run out as far as I could tell, and I managed to survive without buying anything on easyJet, just got a bottle of water from the airside café at 1.20€ for a litre bottle. The big advantage of U2 on this route, as an HBO traveller, was that their app works at this airport, whereas for BA you have to check in, no App, no OLCI. My LHR experience was good, despite the lack of CCR, and there is a good fast track system there; my LGW return was unusually swift, not many at the e-gates, thankfully and I was on the train to London within 20 minutes of getting to the gate.
For me, CE is a good product, and I'm happy with it. The Chania flight was an example of what I like about BA. easyJet is also a good airline too, goes to many interesting places and also has good crews. There is room for both airlines. Both airlines would be worse without each other.
Jun 29, 2016, 3:55 pm
#26
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Edinburgh UK
Programs: BA Silver, HHonours Gold, Mucci of Pucci, Oyster Card, Nectar Card, Father's Day Card
Posts: 9,372
I had a superb run of 22 flights with Easy Jet all of which were either early or on time.
Run broken by French ATC strike.
Easy Jet seem much more efficient at boarding their planes and they are often fully loaded and ready to go well before scheduled departure time whilst BA still piss about taking ages to load up.
Every BA flight I've taken in the same time frame (about 10) have been late or very late.
Run broken by French ATC strike.
Easy Jet seem much more efficient at boarding their planes and they are often fully loaded and ready to go well before scheduled departure time whilst BA still piss about taking ages to load up.
Every BA flight I've taken in the same time frame (about 10) have been late or very late.
Jun 29, 2016, 4:43 pm
#27
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: London
Programs: BA bronze, Hertz pres circle, Marriott Platinum, hilton diamond
Posts: 2,537
Best part about easyjet for me recently was a staff member approaching a woman in the gate area and telling her to put one bag inside another or she'd be made to gate check one. Cue her waving her arms around "what about them?" And being told they were speedy boarders or easyjet plus card holders and could take an extra bag. Lots of mumbling and grumbling but she did as she was told.
Nice firm application of the rules, still not much overhead space on the flight but very happy to see staff watching for abuse and firmly correcting it
Nice firm application of the rules, still not much overhead space on the flight but very happy to see staff watching for abuse and firmly correcting it
Jun 29, 2016, 5:09 pm
#28
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Godalming, Surrey, UK.
Programs: Nowt of note.
Posts: 1,628
I had a superb run of 22 flights with Easy Jet all of which were either early or on time.
Run broken by French ATC strike.
Easy Jet seem much more efficient at boarding their planes and they are often fully loaded and ready to go well before scheduled departure time whilst BA still piss about taking ages to load up.
Every BA flight I've taken in the same time frame (about 10) have been late or very late.
Run broken by French ATC strike.
Easy Jet seem much more efficient at boarding their planes and they are often fully loaded and ready to go well before scheduled departure time whilst BA still piss about taking ages to load up.
Every BA flight I've taken in the same time frame (about 10) have been late or very late.
I flew Easyjet for the first time in 5 years last week. Went to the gate when the monitors said "boarding" to find a long queue snaking through the doors back to the travelator; the monitors changed to "closed", but boarding didn't actually start until half an hour after scheduled departure time and no announcements were ever made on the ground throughout.
During taxi they discovered a tech problem which took another 90 minutes to fix back at the gate so we left/landed over 2 hours late (and I was heading out for an ex-EU - my original 4hr buffer felt at serious risk for a while there).
The BA flight on return was fully boarded and doors closed before schedule, and we made it back to LHR 25 minutes early.
The biggest positive about the U2 experience for me was that security at LGW south was incredibly fast, while arriving back at LHR T3 there was a huge queue for the UK border which wiped out the gain in time from early arrival.
Jun 29, 2016, 6:14 pm
#29
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Argentina
Posts: 40,209
Ryanair are reported to be coming to Argentina as they recognise air travel here is too expensive for the majority of the population. AR employees are in for one hell of a shock if they do. ^
Jun 30, 2016, 12:21 am
#30
Ambassador: Emirates Airlines
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Manchester, UK
Posts: 18,611
OTOH, here's my sample size of one
I flew Easyjet for the first time in 5 years last week. Went to the gate when the monitors said "boarding" to find a long queue snaking through the doors back to the travelator; the monitors changed to "closed", but boarding didn't actually start until half an hour after scheduled departure time and no announcements were ever made on the ground throughout.
I flew Easyjet for the first time in 5 years last week. Went to the gate when the monitors said "boarding" to find a long queue snaking through the doors back to the travelator; the monitors changed to "closed", but boarding didn't actually start until half an hour after scheduled departure time and no announcements were ever made on the ground throughout.
The Easyjet App is very good for notifying you of any significant delays. You can even track your plane via a real time map (it's linked to FlightRadar24).
I tend to leave it until I see the flight has started its descent in AMS, and then head to the gate. By the time I get there, the flight is just landing.