The joys of easyJet boarding

[Stressalot42]

So I’m sat in the lounge waiting to board. The usual first calls for speedy boarders and passengers with children under 5.

I’m happy to sit and watch, after all I have designated seat and bag small enough to put under seat. The plane will get me on.

So speedy boarders and half the rest get up. Including a family of seven adults with one pre 5 year old. This family are then arguing with others, we’ve got an under 5, we should go first!

Really a total of 7 adults need to board with one child? It looks like child, parents, aunts, uncle and GPS! No one else is old infirm etc.

This could be a lonnnnnnng flight with then saying just push in we should get on first!!

AIBU to say the direct parents get one first and the others just chill!!!

And breathe!

Xh and I used to fight to be the last in the days before kids too! It's quite hard to do as there are always a few playing the same game

But I agree OP, a limit to the number of adults who should get on per child.

I fly alone with my toddler a few times a year and it used to be great to be on first away from the bustle but now he's active and needing entertained I've been wondering if it wouldn't be better to be last on so that there's less of a wait. I don't mind my cabin bag going in the hold so long as I can have my entertainments bag out.

I am with you. I really don't get why priority boarding is even a thing?

Why is it a treat? Ooo yes let me get on first to sit in a squashy seat for hours. Oooo me first please.

Ok I get the baggage thing but I always check luggage due to liquuds etc but that makes sense but on airlines where it's included why? Also if you have a phobia ; get that too. Maybe proper first class ( ie not prem economy or first choice ) where you get champagne and a flat bed. Yes I get that.
But why though the standard pax? To me its a punishment. I mean to pay for it like its a reward. It just isn't; its prolonging the torture of cramped seats and steamy air vented cabins. ( ok only seen the steam a few times but still)

Am I missing something?

Getting on first with small children is the worst!! We always wait until the end - I'd rather they ran about and blew off steam until the last possible minute.

Evelyn easyjet do still prioritise under 5s.

We pay for priority boarding and for specific seats. We get on, hand luggage in the locker then get comfy while everyone else fights over where their bags are going and where they are sitting.

We like specific seats (well DH and DS do) which is why we pay for the seats and to get on the plane first. We don't go on package holidays so a transfer is our own taxi so no rush for that.

Am I missing something?

We do it so we know our carry on will be in the locker above our seats and that we will have the space for it. As people were getting on after the priority boarding and by the time the plane had filled up, there wasn't space for someone's hand luggage so it has to be checked into the hold.

Sometimes we get a better deal if we travel with hand luggage only so I don't want to check my only hand luggage into the hold in case it goes missing.

I've had luggage go missing before so I put things I wouldn't want to lose if my bag went missing.

And it's never too bad, we flew at 7am but were in our seats by 640 and every one else was on by 650.

Also I bring things back from America that are breakable so I want those in my carry on too so they are not being thrown around by the hold staff!

But if you habe booked seats in advance they are still waiting for you when you get on. Then I put my bag under the seat infront.

No fighting. Why sit in a tiny chair for any longer than you have to? Especially with kids.

I think all pull along cases should go in the hold and this should be free.

We flew with EasyJet this week. We arrived at the check in desk and queued behind a family who were arguing with the member of staff that their bag was small enough to go in the cabin. They were very stroppy with her and really uncooperative. She made them try it in the sizing what-not and it was too big so she charged them to put it in the hold.

In the meantime a second desk opened up and we checked in and put through our bigger bag. The member of staff then asked if we would like to check our other bag for free as space was at a premium in the cabin.

We checked both bags and were able to wander round with just a hand bag each. When they called the priority booking through we hung back and planned to join the queue when about two thirds of the passengers had been processed. Everyone rushed to go through - and they were herded into a holding pen before being loaded onto a very full bus to go to the plane. The twenty or so of us that hung back went on the second bus and we all had a seat. I'm a bit of a nervous flyer and it made all the difference not being in a claustrophobic situation.

But if you habe booked seats in advance they are still waiting for you when you get on. Then I put my bag under the seat infront

Because my carry on bag is too big for under the seat but the right size for the overhead locker and that space isn't guaranteed.

No fighting. Why sit in a tiny chair for any longer than you have to? Especially with kids

It's literally an extra 10 mins, hardly a life time or a dwarf sized chair. It doesn't matter you don't understand it, you don't need to, just accept that it's my preference and not yours.

I do about 14 return flights a year to prefer this way and to guarantee a space in the overhead locker and for 10 mins wait, it's absolutely worth it.

I pack my cabin bags knowing they may be out in the hold. We have one canvas bag that anything we want for the for the flight, within the cases. And then if we are asked it place cases in the hold we remove hat and I problem: they at least on so first off the plane. When ever we've landed they've been on the carousel waiting for us by the time we've got through passport control.

Seats are always allocated now so no issue re grabbing seats together.

Earlier you board the more lovely champagne you get to drink before take-off.

Woolly it wasn't at Schipol was it? The easyjet staff at Schipol at the gate are awful. So rude.

Sorry, misread that - thought the strop was the staff not the family!

It's literally an extra 10 mins, hardly a life time or a dwarf sized chair. It doesn't matter you don't understand it, you don't need to, just accept that it's my preference and not yours.

I do about 14 return flights a year to prefer this way and to guarantee a space in the overhead locker and for 10 mins wait, it's absolutely worth it.

I did previously say I got it if you wanted over head space and for ten minutes yes it isn't long.

However the transatlantic can take up to half an hour. Plus it's also nicer to just walk up to the desk rather than queue.
Also if the flight is delayed as my recent Copenhagen one was. People were stood in the Q for ages in like a glass holding pen and they paid for that experience!! Easy jet then came and took all of the bags from them and put in the hold.
Mad World.
Different strokes...

I wait until the end in the hope they will put my cabin bag in the hold for free! I just put the necessities in my handbag. I hate fighting with the overhead lockers!

We did the holding back to board this year returning from Alicante. I can't stand unnecessary queuing. There were a couple of men behind us. Unfortunately the flight was overbooked and volunteers were being asked for to get the next flight the following day, no one came forward and the men weren't allowed on the flight. Another day in the sun would've suited me and DP but my 80 year old mum was starting to panic. I can see her insisting we're front of the queue next time 🙄

If you're in the extra legroom seats then you can't put your bag under the seat in front of you.

I think this is why easy jet give speedy boarding to those who have pre booked exit seats.

I do think flying brings out the worst in some people. I had one woman in the row behind me in premium on Thomson tell her husband to fling my small soft bag out of 'her' locker. My bag was only in there because the locker above my row was full of the first aid kit.

I’m a fairly calm person in general but boarding a plane is just one of those things that stresses me out, thanks to other people.

We went away last month with 4yo and 6 month old. We had to give them our buggy at the boarding gate, so when the gate number was announced, we went straight to the gate desk to give it to them just so it was dropped off as early as possible.

Turns out we’d caused carnage. Like cattle, people had seen us as a family of 4 going up to the desk and assumed it was time to board (even though it was far too early), as when we turned round there was a queue about 25 people deep. We were said to the people behind us “we’re not actually queuing, we’re just dropping the buggy off”. They ignored us, and we went to sit down. People in the queue stayed standing, even thought the airline staff said we won’t be boarding for a while!

Then when it came to boarding time, they asked for families with children to come up, so we got out our seats and went to the front people were apoplectic! “That’s not fair, THEY LEFT THE QUEUE!” 🙄 oh andit was a big family holiday so aside from DH and me and the kids, there were about 8 adult family members waiting to board. They queued like normal people, I’d have been mortified if they’d followed us up for priority boarding!

I also don’t get people who leap out their seats to get off the plane before everyone else. I stay seated til the end, other people seem to jostle to get to the airport before everyone else, forgetting that our bags all come off at the same time!

Last time I flew easyJet we paid for allocated seats as we had a baby and I needed to sit next to DH. Those with allocated seats were asked to board first. They let us on at the front. The allocated seats were at the back. Meanwhile, to speed things up, they let non allocated seat passengers board from the back. Spot where they went wrong!

Making your way through the crush of passengers with a baby in a carrier on your front is not fun. Thank goodness I did bring the carrier though, so I had the use of both my hands to protect DD's head!

However the transatlantic can take up to half an hour. Plus it's also nicer to just walk up to the desk rather than queue.
Also if the flight is delayed as my recent Copenhagen one was. People were stood in the Q for ages in like a glass holding pen and they paid for that experience!! Easy jet then came and took all of the bags from them and put in the hold

We did priority boarding as I like to get comfy before the jostle too. We did the priority boarding in March when we went to New York and will do it October and December when we go to New York again.

I've never queued for priority boarding either and March, we were the only ones going on the top level of the plane that had priority so they opened it, we went on, luggage in locker, sat down and got comfy. Think that was half hour before take off. Everyone else got on and was rushing for seats, scrabbling to put bags away then the stragglers get on last and couldn't sit together because they didn't book seats either.

I've never had priority boarding where you have been called before the plane is ready or delayed either? I've had a delayed flight but never called to queue.

And the queue for non priority boarding is always longer. and Budapest in August, we were the only ones who paid priority and so we were first on.

I'm intrigued that you find longer queues in priority, I've genuinely never seen that happen. They come down the line to check passport and ticket yet non priority have to queue at the desk one by one.

Priority boarding made more sense when you couldn't book seats, unless you were at an airport where you got a bus across to the plane.

I almost always travel alone and used to fly Easyjet a lot. I only once failed to get a window seat (which I prefer) without speedy boarding or anything, so I never saw the point of it, either, but people have all sorts of ways of doing things which makes them feel more comfortable travelling, and if that means they'd rather get to their seat earlier and settle in there, that's their choice.

I think they should just make people check trolleys into the hold.

It's utterly ridiculous at the moment, people take the absolute piss and boarding takes ages because everyone is trying to fit over stuffed bags in to the lockers.

I always check my luggage in if they ask and I'm delighted to do it.