Concerto

I just booked easyJet Flexifares from AMS to LGW and back to AMS for two people, for a total cost of €306. This appears to include all extra perks, such as easyPlus bag drop, fast track at security, Speedy Boarding, free seat selection and free checked baggage (20kg per person). It also includes, apparently, ticket flexibility and even a change of routing. But do you still have to pay the fare difference, I wonder?

If I had just booked the normal fares for the flights I want, it would have come out at €219, including the addition of baggage and seat selection (but not Speedy Boarding and fast track at security). So it seems like a really good deal to me, for €44 more per person.

The way I understand it, what is not included is -
1) lounge access;
2) inflight catering;
3) ticket refunds.

Tickets on easyJet have always been non-refundable, right from the beginning. You can cancel within a 24 hour window, but there is a €13 admin charge for this.

There are no reports from FTers using this fare type, but I wondered if anyone had any experience to share.

Mizter T

Here's easyJet's webpage explaining their Flexi fares.

There are a few previous FT threads on Flexi fares including this one (about the possibility of taking advantage of the -1 week/ +3 week flexibility from the date of the original flight booking).

The 'free' route change is I think a relatively new addition, but do note that it's only free in the sense that there are no flight change fee, so if "the new fare is higher, then the applicable [fare] difference applies".

I've used Flexi fares, and they work just as promised. Note that they can't be changed within the first 24 hours after booking, but that restriction is lifted the minute after 24 hours have elapsed (I checked once!).

The full Flexi fare conditions are in section 9.2 of the easyJet Terms & Conditions, and are pretty straightforward - no hidden surprises.

Of course in the case of your flights some people would rather keep the €44 per person in their pocket and forego the extra perks, so it's all down to what one finds value in. Seems to work for you so that's all good!

Concerto

Thank you very much for flagging that thread, I couldn't seem to find it when I looked last night. I probably didn't go back far enough, because I see it dates for 2012.

Thanks also for the various useful links. I think the flexibility is something I will be grateful to have, especially connecting to other, long haul flights (on VS). You never know what can happen with the weather in winter, even though I have an overnight between flights on the outbound and several hours on the inbound.

Can I just appear at the counter and get rebooked on an earlier flight (if my inbound gets in early)?

ft101

http://www.easyjet.com/en/help/booking/earlier-flight

Concerto

But I would have thought that with the Flexifare option you could do this anyway.

The one downside, or real negative point, in all this is the fact that tickets are non-refundable under any circumstances whatsoever. That has always been the case with easyJet, right from the beginning, and surely it is one of the reasons that they made so much money. I can testify to it, even the death of your mother won't make them budge one jot. That's just how they work, and you accept it when you buy a ticket. I don't really accept it, so I have tended not to buy tickets from easyJet for the last 5 years, except once from BSL to DUS.

A true business class ticket should be refundable, but most carriers these days have promotional business fares which allow you to enjoy most of the perks but remove any entitlement to flexibility. Fair enough, or should I say fare enough!

Anyway, I'll report back here on the experience once I've completed my itinerary in January.

HelloKittysMum

Isn't that what insurance is for?

warakorn

For most circumstance insurances wont pay anything, because it is not covered by the CoC.

ft101

I think, once again, that you have totally missed the point.

Insurance will usually pay out in the event of the death of the insured or a close family member. It doesn't matter what an airline's CoC says, unless they do cover it and the insurance co will expect you to claim from the airline.

Concerto

If I have already checked in, can I still use the flex feature? If my Virgin flight in a week's time is on time at LGW I hope to be able to transfer to an earlier easyJet flight, although I will have already checked in for the latter.

warakorn

Fly with U2 out of Germany. Via court action you may get back 95% of the fare.

Concerto

The answer to my post just above is "yes", you can change your ticket, even if you have checked in. I arrived much earlier into LGW than expected (with VS), went to the easyJet "Customer Service" counter (for there is no such thing as a ticket desk) and in less than 10 minutes was my ticket changed to an earlier service at no cost and I was on my way. I cannot praise highly enough this Flexifare concept, it really bailed me out this Sunday, at real low cost compared the price of a normal flexible ticket.

The only thing was, the agent had no idea what a Flexifare ticket was and had never seen one, and was going to charge me for the change. Fortunately, there was a more experienced agent there who took care of it. So, you need to insist and say that you booked a Flexifare, otherwise they might think it is a normal easyJet ticket. Still good service, though.