NickB

That is my experience too. I have never known an Easyjet flight to be fully boarded and closed 30 mins before departure.
Now, in special circumstances, you can conceive of it happening. Let us say that the airport is expected to close imminently (due to some mishap) and they have managed to get a take-off slot 15 minutes earlier than originally planned and they really want that flight to leave, then I can see how they would want boarding to be completed earlier than usual and they could throw the 30 mins rule at you. But that would be a highly unusual situation.

Andy33

This has actually happened to me on an EasyJet flight from RHO to LGW last year. The incentives were that a Greek ATC work-to-rule was about to start, and the inbound was 20 min early. I never knew whether this was because they'd done the same thing at Gatwick or because of tailwinds, but the ground staff shaved another 5 minutes off the turnround and the plane started to taxi 25 minutes before scheduled departure (no airbridges at RHO, and no pushbacks required). On this occasion the loads were very light as it was early April, and nobody was left behind.
so Easyjet do leave early when it suits them, and they can get slots.

rcspeirs

Is this a domestic out of LGW? That extra security check for gate 55 (north terminal) can be really slow at times....

I think closing the doors 30 minutes early would be pretty unusual, but I've certainly experienced boarding complete and doors closed 15 minutes ahead of scheduled time. Yes - it was first flight of the morning.

Not something I would want to push my luck with.

alanR

I always assume that if such a rule exists then it will be applied to the letter. So I go with the theory of better 30 minutes early than one minute late.

mad_rich

It doesn't require the airport to be imminently closing or ATC strikes to cause them to dispatch early. It just requires an opportunity to arise.

Low loads and first flight of the day is a prime target. If slots are available (or irrelevant) then why not get away early? In fact, I suspect the dispatchers working the first wave of departures decide which flights to target in advance.

98.4% of the time you can turn up 15 min before departure and be fine. If you like those odds, and don't mind being delayed (chances are, you'd be transferred FOC to the next flight, but don't quote me) then go for it.

I don't think a 30 minute deadline is significantly more onerous than many other airlines. (Look at T5 conformance, for example.)

Jenbel

It is onerous if the choice is between sitting (or queuing) in the terminal, or sat in the lounge (or indeed, another 10 mins in bed!).

mad_rich

Good point. The time hanging around at the easyJet gate is dead time.

That said, I'd be much happier turning up at the easyJet gate 10 minutes late (98.4% chance of success) than turn up at T5 conformance 10 minutes late (98.4% chance of failure).

Jenbel

Oh completely. T5 conformance is a hard deadline you are not going to be able to talk your way out of if you fail to meet (you will try of course, but expect failure). In fact, as I've said once before, the T5 conformance is unusual in aviation as it is a hard deadline which has to be met - how often do we see stuff such as 'The gate closes 30 minutes before the flight' or 'boarding will occur 30 minutes before the flight' and know it just doesn't happen? How often do we turn up at the time stated on our BP, and there aren't even any staff at the gate?! We do get conditioned, as the travelling public, not to believe such statements as a result of our own experiences of how often the airlines themselves disregard them. And then we come up against the T5 conformance, where actually, they really do mean it

iahphx

As an American, I don't fly Easyjet that often, but I still remember my experience from a couple of years ago flying between CDG and MAD and there was absolutely no furniture in the gate area. You had to stand or sit on the floor. So waiting around at the gate WAS actually somewhat of a hardship! (The flight was late, of course).

This time, I'm flying from LGW to Germany. No crazy security back-ups at 6:15 am at LGW, right?

Koby

Of course, if the traveling public would just ignore it "en masse" en consistently show up 5 minutes late, they would have to give in eventually and change this stupid rule. But the traveling public in general doesn't have the b***s to go against something like this.

NickB

With due respect, if all the traveling public only turned up 30 minutes before their flight is due to depart and one had to wait to accommodate them, most flights would depart late.
Conformance was part of an initiative to make planes leave on time. It is somewhat on the harsh side and perhaps overkill to some extent but, at least, it has delivered in that respect.

AyrMiles

easyJet are not as ruthless as Ryanair but you should assume 30 minutes means 30 minutes. You're welcome to push the envelope but don't be surprised if you are denied boarding...

The LCC model is very tight on time - they expect the self-loading cargo to be fully ready to board the minute the plane is clear. These guys run a 25 minute turn around schedule (I know this is the first flight but they are just culturally more disciplined than FCCs).

"Customer service" means getting you from A to B cheaply - and that's it!

Having said that, if you know the system and how they work, LCC services offer amazing value. I used to commute from Glasgow to London every week with Ryanair for typically less than £50 return...

It's easy for expense account flyers to sneer, but for point to point it's often more convenient, as well as cheaper.

pacer142

I have heard that Luton were using 50 minutes, then I heard 40 minutes. Not sure if they are actually doing anything, or if they are I have a feeling it's manually enforced by the boarding card checkers.

Will they close the gate at T-30? Usually not, but you run a risk of being turned away if they decide to do that because everyone apart from you is there ready to go (EZY have been having a rather successful punctuality push of late, and part of that is that if everyone is there they will go early). I would always tend to aim to be in the terminal (through security) at T-60 then you've got some journey leeway. I've only once missed a flight because of that, and that was a 3 hour train delay.

Neil

pacer142

Mainly it depends on the airport/gate layout.

At GVA, the gate never opens until the inbound aircraft has arrived and unloaded, because there is no holding pen beyond the boarding card scanners. At LTN, at about half the gates there is a pen (in which case if you're not in the pen by T-30 you've got a good chance of being told to get lost) and at about half there isn't (in which case if they haven't physically started boarding yet you might get away with it). It's been ages since I flew out of Gatwick and I can't remember what the layout there is.

Personally, I'd aim for T-60 in your case and get a leisurely breakfast if you turn out not to need it. Stressful travel never works for me. If you want more kip, get to bed earlier

Neil

DYKWIA

I wish they would, as it would mean fewer people on my flights! The 35 minute conformance is the best thing BA have done for a long time. Flights generally leave on time - but then get stuck in the usual LHR queue.