Easyjet - seat numbers allocated for our 1 July ALC-LTN flight
 

On reviewing the boarding passes I printed out hastily for my family on the 13th June I noticed that the 'priority number' had been replaced with actual seat numbers - 13A, B, C & D.

A quick google search showed that this is part of an Easyjet trial. Odd thing was that there was no obvious mention of this and no option was given for me to pick seats or 'upgrade' to front row or exit row seats.

Anyone else come across this?

Maybe in some airports they are leaving to the usually seat allocation, meaning only Speed boarding will go first and choose the seats. :)

I received an email telling me that we - 4 seats - were chosen to participate in the pilot program of assigning seats. We were just given the seats and had no way of changing assignments ahead of time. Actually, we had seats in row 2 and were quite happy with the assignments - early out of the plane and first for beverages.

Which agrees exactly with what they say on their website.

I guess for them, "assigned seating" means that they do the assigning!!!

Congratulations! You got the supposedly premium £8 a pop seats.
Do please report back on any difference you may have noticed in the first 5 rows.

I looked back at my emails and there was one saying that "as previously informed" but no sign of this having happened. Apparently, as long as you haven't printed out a boarding pass you can actually change a seat assignment. But you have to pay and you can't do it online, has to be through a telephone operator on their expensive phone line tariffs.

Here we go:

"Dear LapLap,

We are writing to you with reference to your travel booking as follows:

EZY2222 from Alicante on 01/07/2012 to London Luton

We recently emailed you (BIG FAT FIB) to say that your flight would now be part of our allocated seating trial, which is aimed at helping us make travel easy, affordable and provide a better experience for our passengers.

easyJet Allocated Seating

In the future, when you book flights on an allocated seating route you will be able to select your preferred seat online. All seats on the aircraft will be allocated and where possible, we will try and sit families and groups together.

If you would like to buy a specific seat (or group of seats) then please contact our Customer Services Team before you check-in. This must be at least 2 hours before departure. During the trial each seat is available to select for the following fees:


• Extra Legroom*, £12 each way

• Upfront**, £8 each way

• All other seats, £3 each way
Please note that after you have checked-in we are unable to change the seat you've been allocated, except for operational reasons. If you do not choose your own seat then you will be automatically allocated a seat when you check-in.

Print your allocated seating boarding pass online

If you don't want to buy a specific seat, simply check-in online as usual and print your boarding pass(es). These will indicate the seats you've been allocated. Online check-in is available up to 30 days prior to your flight departure. Alternatively, you can check-in at the airport.

Don't worry if you have already printed your boarding pass(es), but you will need to print new ones which show your seat number.

All your other flight details remain unchanged.

Please note - if you have booked flights under this booking reference XXXXXXX for someone else please forward this information to them or if you are a travel agent, please help us by providing your client with this information.

This email advice relates to travel for the period 15th May to 2nd July. If there are other flights on this booking outside of this period which are allocated seating flights, you will receive another email from us with information relating to these flights.

Special Assistance

If any of the passengers on the booking require special assistance and if you've not already done so, please notify us as soon as possible either online or via our call centre.

We will be gathering feedback from our passengers throughout the trial and look forward to hearing your views.

If you have any questions before you fly, please check out the FAQ section of our website.

Thank you for flying with easyJet.

Kind regards

The easyJet team

* A319 - Extra Legroom Rows, 1, 10 & 11 (Note: Row 1 D,E,F is the bulk-head)
. A320 - Extra Legroom Rows, 1, 12 & 13 (Note: Row 1 D,E,F is the bulk-head)
** A319 - Upfront, Rows 2 to 5 inclusive
. A320 - Upfront, Rows 2 to 6 inclusive"

The only difference is that they are at the front - and you can therefore assume you will be one of the first off the flight.

Easyjet are not the only ones to charge extra for "upfront" seats - some people are prepared to pay for such a benefit.

Exactly, we were one of the first off the plane. I found leg room to be more than adequate. We were prepared for a "Spirit Air" experience - ( one that I will never repeat). But, we found the flight to be pleasant with more than enough room for our 2 1/2 hour flight from CDG to ADP. The FA were more than pleasant. Call me spoiled, but the only part I dislike is the trudge down the jetway, into a crowded bus, and a ride onto the tarmack. Then we were held in the bus because the plane wasn't ready for us. Then we were released from the bus only about 8 - 10 people at a time. But, flight was good and comfy enough.

This should probably be in Budget Travel.