EasyJet pile of pants - so fed up and dissapointed

[PamShipman]

Yesterday evening the DC (16,13) and i were meant to be flying to Berlin for 4 days. We were really looking forward to it. DS did his GCSEs this summer and loves European history; DD loves travel and exploring new places and has never been to Germany and I have always wanted to go since I watched the wall come down on a little b&w telly in my student flat in 1989! I was also looking forward to not having to think about food, entertainment or driving for a week.

Our plane was an hour late. We started to board. People with young children were on board. 40 mins later the (full) flight was cancelled. EastJet gave us forms to fill in for refunds and escorted us back landside. We had to go back through passport control without having been anywhere. Just at the time we should have been landing in Berlin, DH arrived to pick us up and take us hime.

We booked flights + hotel as a package through an independent travel agent, who was looking for all the alternatives to get us there, but nothing doing in the time I have booked off work. She’s arranged a full refund.

Any ideas for a very last minute break this week with two disappointed teens in the UK, that involves land travel only? We’re halfway between Leeds and Sheffield.

I’m curious why you used a travel agent to book an easyjet package? Did they also plan your itinerary in Berlin?

Ok yes, seriously and honestly.

I don't have the school holiday's to factor in anymore, yes that's significant.

OTOH I a few times a year regularly between one of the London Airports (which one varies) and a major airport in Europe (both a touristy and business destination).

I have the option of BA, Easyjet and Ryanair between the city pairs..all do multiple flights a day year round.

If I'm planning trip I always quickly run through all three options and in all honesty BA probably wins out 50% of the time certainly, for HBO, they are often the cheapest option if you need to check a suitcase in.

Now I accept that's to some extent route specific but I'm basically warning against the commonly held belief, that often leads to people not even looking at BA prices, that they are always, and bound to be, more expensive than the LoCos..they are not.

Did you look at Boggle Hole Youth Hostel outside Robin Hood's Bay? That's a lovely one.

That's really why I mentioned KLM as a rare non-charter carrier that does operate international routes direct out of Leeds. Although the flights have the most enormous quantities of code shares on them given how many airlines are using Schipol as a hub!

I used to commute from somewhere that was either BA or Easyjet and agree that BA can be cheaper than Easyjet or not enough more than it's not worth paying the extra for the frills (frills declining at a rate of knots of course). I usually used BA for that reason. But that was just for me - as soon as I added the family in, and the peak time travel, BA was never competitive. Locally, among people who flew a lot and knew their options, the only people who used BA for family holiday travel were either wealthy, or connecting onwards and wanting the guarantee of a rearranged onward journey.

And their lack of regional presence will simply rule them out for many too. I've twice tried to connect on with BA internally in the UK, and twice missed the connection owing to a delay on the first leg. That's just the risk of modern air travel. No one wants to be getting kids on and off a whole extra plane, plus the risk of a missed connection, if they don't have to. I've done it via Amsterdam with KLM to save a bit of money and to be honest I would pay more not to repeat the experience, which wasn't THAT bad. I certainly wouldn't pay the same or even more to do it!

How about spending time in Liverpool?

You are not too far from The Peak District.