Originally Posted by USA_flyer
And if there isn't space on the earlier flight which is quite possible in the middle of summer, you get to wait at the airport for the flight you booked on.
This also seems like cheating to me. Ok, the system allows you to fly earlier without penalty but to deliberately play the system like that seems dishonest.
Why on earth would it be cheating?? They deliberately amended their policy in April to allow and encourage it because they believe its in their favour!
From the article:
"But is easyJet not worried about possible 'tariff abuse'? A search of its multi-frequence routes shows a clear pattern of early flights costing more than those late in the evening. Isnt the airline concerned that people will follow our example and book the cheaper, last departure of the day in the hope of travelling on an earlier flight? Apparently not, because as Day (spokeswoman) says, a pax who turns up at the airport and manages to get on the earlier flight will ocupy a seat that the airline would not usually sell so close to departure time. [....] when there is the prospect of flight disruption getting pax away earlier reduces the airlines exposure to potential compensation payments."
Moreover, this is totally different to being on standby i'll quote from the article again:
"When i switch flights will I be treated as a standby passenger? No, once the transfer has been made you have the same rights as any other passenger. You will not be offloaded in favour of someone with a booking made on the earlier flight"
And its Easyjets own spokeswoman saying that statistically you have a good chance of getting on the earlier flight, and her figure of flights on average being 85% full.
Overall i'd say its a win win situation, and i for one am happy to see someone using a bit of common sense...