Easyjet same plane return
 

Good evening.

Is it possiable to do a same plane return journey with Easyjet by booking two singles and having the mobile boarding card if one is sure its the same plane returning, at a small airport with 1 flight a day, for example? I am aware this can be done with BA for example but do EasyJet insist on scanning boarding cards at the gate "on time"- so if inbound aircraft is late, passengers are still expected to be at the gate at the scheduled time?

One can never know for certain if a particular aircraft will be used for both A>B and B>A, even at a small airport with one scheduled flight. Does the airline have an extra aircraft on-the-ground (perhaps from a previously cancelled flight or other IRROPS)? Does the airline do MX at the destination station, either themselves or through a contractor? If so, then the airline may swap aircraft at that station every day. Even when the same aircraft is planned for A>B>A it is always possible that B>A will cancel.

Good points, thanks. However, in theory, if the plane does return again, is it theoretically possible to do this, or is there procedures in place at the airport that could stop that, ie not at the gate on time, or will scanning of boarding cards only happen when the aircraft is ready?

I'd say the procedures and configuration of the airport in question will be crucial.

Where do you want to do it? (And where would you be flying there from).


(Also, make sure you check for rotation patterns, even if only one flight each way A-B-A. Not that fequent but some airlines operate A-B-C and C-B-A with different aircraft.)

It begs the question - why would you want to fly somewhere with Easyjet if it is your intention to come back on the same plane on an immediately-departing flight?

Given that you are apparently not especially concerned with which airport the question relates to, it seems unlikely that you want to see someone there, even briefly, to hand something over, for example.

Does Easyjet now have a frequent flyer programme, or something? :D

Some people like to fly. Art for art's sake. Flying for flying's sake.

I flown to drop something off, collect or sign something quite a few times.

Credit with the airline to use up?

On an Easyjet turnaround? That would be rather risky.

If you enjoy spending time on board Easyjet then I'd question your sanity! Flying for flying's sake in business I could understand, on a budget airline...

Not necessarily.

While I've not done it on easyJet, as I don't usually fly easyJet, at some airports it would be safe (walk up the air bridge, meet someone at the gate, back on again) - if you know it has to be the same plane return, and in the absense of any other safer option.

I suppose IOM or JER would be the quick in order to disembark, go land side and return airside

That's what I was thinking! U2 are fine but I'm surprised at the motivation to fly, for flying's sake, when it's only on U2.

So have I. But, in my query, I highlighted that this did not seem to be the OP's motivation - (s)he does not seem to care which airport the flight goes to, so it does not seem that there is a meeting/handover/signature at a specific location for which (s)he wishes to travel.

I acknowledged that with my second comment in the post, where I floated the only remaining idea I had - service credit to use up (or a free flight voucher, etc)

OK - but even there, I'd at least have lunch in the place I flew to, or make a day of it, or do some sightseeing...or tie it in to some journey I was going to have to make anyway....not just look for immediate-turnaround destinations!

[sounds like something only an extremely "tight" person would do!]

You could probably do this at AMS. Incoming passengers mix with outgoing passengers in the corridor from the gate towards the terminal building at the moment. This may change soon but as of now that is how it is. No need to re-clear security as long as they are both H gate flights (or both M gate flights, I suppose), so don't try to do this with a return flight that enters or leaves the Schengen Area.

So get off the incoming flight, go up the stairs, look for the gate of your next flight, and join the queue to board.

Obviously don't check any bags and check in online first!

Ensure you are not booked to come back on the last flight of the day and then if you can't board, go immediately out of the landside (ensure you have a passport/visa combination that can enter the Schengen Area) to the Easyjet ticket desk in Departures 3. Tell them you got to the airport too late and ask them to help, they will very likely charge you GBP60 or equivalent to put you on the next flight as part of Easy's goodwill policy to people who just miss flights.

Please tell us all how funny a look you get from the crew when you get back on (if they recognise you).

At AMS, Easyjet passengers are not told to go to the gate until there is a good chance the aircraft will arrive and they know when it is. So when it is inbound and they know the expected landing time. This is because there is little space and almost no facilities beyond the security check for the H gates pier that Easyjet usually leave from. Further, the ground staff will not check boarding passes and mark passengers as loaded and hold them in the gate holding pen, until the flight is very close, because there are no toilets and only a water vending machine in the holding pen.

My (fairly extensive...) experience of delays to Easy at AMS is that you end up sitting in the main departure lounge watching screens until the delayed flight arrives, then rush the security checkpoint and gate.

There is no conformance at AMS. If you are hand baggage only and you check in online then the first time anyone records your boarding pass is as you are marked as loaded onto the aircraft at the gate.

AMS is fast. The record in my company is 6 minutes to get from the taxi door on the road outside to the aircraft door (HBO, Privium, and a lot of running).

If you really do have free flights to use up, why not day trip it somewhere with 2-3 services per day, instead of a back to back,

Problem doing that at AMS is the planes don't tend to fly back to the same destination.

For example, the midweek afternoon route of one EDI based plane is:
EDI to STN (1720)
STN to AMS (1905)
AMS to EDI (2140)

Its worth noting, there is a plane doing the exact same trip in reverse. And there is a flight from AMS to STN at 2140 too (plane thats arrived from Edinburgh).

So you could fly out STN to AMS, get off, go to end of pier, find gate for new plane, and go and board.

Risk is plan getting on a stand at AMS, there's often a hold up on those stands for some reason. So you might be late and miss return.

I rarely experience waiting for a stand at AMS if the arrival is on time; all the occasions I can remember off the top of my head are due to an arrival before scheduled arrival time.

If that does happen, it could lead to a missed flight, but given how rare it is in my experience, I would be comfortable risking GBP60-ish on that.

Gatwick to Sofia same day return
 

EasyJet just cancelled my outbound flight on Saturday 3rd April from London Gatwick to Sofia . I am going to pick up my daughters (aged 10 & 13) who live there with their mother so they can spend a week with me in the U.K. all 3 of us are booked to return on the 12:00 flight from Sofia to gatwick on Sunday 4th April.

I usually fly out the day before the return flight and stay at an airport hotel

I’m trying to ask EasyJet if they can guarantee that if I fly out on Sunday morning flight at 06:10, will I be able to pick up my daughters and return with them ok the same plane regards at we are booked on

I’m sure their mother would be happy to check them in before and their luggage

I’m struggling to get an answer - maybe I could use the transit channel and meet them once they’ve come through passport control for example ?

Any thoughts or advice would be welcomed

I will have the same issue when I return with them on Sunday 11th April too - I now need to fly with them on Sunday 11th April and return on my own on the same day

Your first problem is that easyJet does not accept unaccompanied children under 15. Unless you meet them landside they will not be accepted for check-in:
https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/boar...-with-children

An our poster would have to clear the border then get around to the check in desks (which close 40 mins before departure) and then clear security and get to the gate before Easyjet closes it which I think is usually 30 minutes before departure.

I checked on google flights and are are 45 minutes between scheduled arrival and departure. No way they would get from the plane, clear immigration then get to the desks in less than 5 minutes.

This plan is not going to work and you need to make alternative arrangements to get to SOF.

Thanks for your concern. I have worked in the travel/education industry for decades and can assue you that I am aware of any safeguarding issues. My daughters would not leave their mother on the landside unless she was 100% sure I was waiting airside for them. And if necessary we would arrange a chapperone but I do not see it being a risk for them just to go through security and passport control unaccompanied as these areas are heavinly policed and secure. Many airlines still accept minors as young as 12 unaccompanied and with chapperones, I have known children as uoung as 8 to travel alone although I do not agree with this.

Thanks for your reply.

They would be checked in online - probably the day before. I will also be checked in online.

Their mother would only let them chekc in their case once she knows I am on the ay (she can check the flight status) . She will only let them go to the boarding pass check, security and passport control if she was 100% sure I would be waitign airside and, if necessary, we will arrange a chapperone with the airport to wait with them until I get to them.

So I would call their mother as soon as I land, they can then go through boarding pass check, security and passport control

We would all be together when we go to the actual boarding gate when called

Wouldn't this work ?

Im trying to find out if I can use a transit route to get from the arrivals hall to the departure hall without having to go out through passport control. Sofia Airport (Terminal 1) are telling me that the arrival hall and departure hall are in different buildings but I am sure I have seen a transit sign just before the arrivals passport control and surely they must provide this for people whco do not have visas to enter Bulgaria and are pssing through ?

I would strongly advise that you do this. Get there the night before, with some other airline if necessary.

Easyjet will not respond to your query; they cannot guarantee what you ask, and regardless, the problems are all yours and yours alone to contend with once it all goes wrong, as it most likely will.

Easyjet does not accept unaccompanied minors for travel, even on the say-so of their mother at check-in that their father is already waiting airside to meet them, or that you are about to arrive imminently on the inbound flight.

https://www.easyjet.com/en/help/boar...-with-children

There is no "chaperone" that you will be able to hire to accompany your children from check-in until your arrival, unless that "chaperone" is your wife holding a ticket for the same flight as the children, such that the airline thinks she will be flying on with the children. However, for her to then hand over the children to you and fail to board is likely to cause a security alert and the offloading of the then seemingly unaccompanied children, so I would not recommend this either.

The best and most logical course of action is for you to arrive the day before and for you to check in with your children and accompany them all the way through their journey.

thanks for your advice - one option i have is to fly out with wizz air who land at 02:50 so not much point in bookinmg a hotel
I just wanted to be sure I had explored evey possibility before doing this

Ive already lost hundreds of pounds rescheduling christmas flights and wanted to try to save as much as possible to maximise the number of times i can see my daughters in the futire

Worth also remembering that easyJet is a big fan of the board then hold concept.

Many airports (not all) will already start scanning boarding passes when the aircraft is on long finals or has just arrived and passengers haven't even disembarked. My personal record was a flight ex-NTE where they "boarded" it 50 minutes prior to departure, plane only landed 15 minutes after they started to scan boarding passes.

Sure enough some people were denied boarding later on despite the fact that they were at the gate 20+ minutes prior to departure.

Very different from the legacy carriers who will only board when the aircraft is ready.