Help for those flying with Easyjet: Easy Jet advice- straight from the horse's mouth!

[salt101]

Hi All
I've been scanning the net for info re traveling with our 8month old on Easy jet. Couldn't find much info so I emailed them and got a very speedy, detailed response!
Might come in useful for those thinking of jetting off this summer/easter!

My questions to them:

1. are we allowed to take any luggage for the infant?

1. Are we allowed to take a car seat and put it in the hold? Is this included in our baggage allowance and weight?

1. are we allowed to take a pushchair and put it in the hold? Is this included in our baggage allowance and weight?

1. Can we take a pushchair up to the plane?

1. Can we take a car seat on the plane if we haven't purchased an extra seat for our son?

1. If we are flying from Luton- how much clear sterlised boiled water are we allowed to take for feeds? Is it ok to take baby formula through security?

1. Do you have priority/early boarding for those with infants or should we purchase speedy boarding?

Their answers:
I understand your query is regarding carriage of pushchair and car seat for the 8 month old infant. I also understand you need to know about the allowed baby food and the boarding order for passengers travelling with infant.

I am happy to confirm that pushchairs and car seats do not form part of your baggage allowance and therefore are carried for free, provided that the child is travelling as well. However, we do not offer a separate baggage allowance for infants.

I would also like to advise you that you can carry up to 2 such portable items of mobility equipment free of charge.

Pushchairs and car seats can be taken right up to the aircraft, where they will be taken by cabin crew and stored in the hold. However, if it would be easier for you, you can check it in with your baggage at check-in. Full sized, non-collapsible prams cannot be accepted for travel.

At some of our airports you may have to pick up your pushchair from baggage reclaim so please ask the cabin crew about your pushchair on arrival at your destination. They will be able to advise you on what happens at this airport.

Yes, you can take baby food onboard provided you are travelling with an infant or a small child. You are also able to take baby milk onboard. Please note that you will be required to taste the milk while passing through security.

Passengers may take liquids on board in their hand luggage provided they meet the following restrictions:

1. The liquid is in a container with a maximum volume of 100 ml
2. That all liquid containers meeting the maximum volume of 100ml can be fitted comfortably into a transparent, re-sealable 1 litre plastic bag.

The plastic bag should be presented separately at security.

You may be required to dispose of liquids which do not meet the above requirements.

We operate a free seating policy which means that you can choose where you sit on the aircraft. easyJet operates a strict priority boarding system and you will be boarded by the sequence you checked-in at.

The aircraft is boarded in groups, starting with passengers who have purchased Speedy Boarding (boarding group SB), followed by passengers travelling with babies and children of 5 years old and under (boarding group SA). Boarding will then continue with group A boarding cards, and finally group B. Group A is reserved for passengers who have checked in online, and the first 30 people who check in at the airport. Please remember that if you booked speedy boarding you must be at the gate no later than 30 minutes before the scheduled departure of your flight or you?ll lose your place in the speedy boarding group.

If you are travelling with an infant you will be boarded in SA group which will be boarded after the SB group. If you wish to board in the first group then you can add speedy boarding in your booking.

There is a range of charges, depending on route length and boarding and check-in arrangements at individual airports, you can add speedy boarding to your booking. Simply visit the my easyJet.com section at the top of the homepage, click to view your booking and add the speedy boarding option.

Alternatively you can contact us by telephone to book speedy boarding with our customer service department on 0871 244 2366 (calls cost 10p per minute; calls from mobiles and other networks may cost more) and can give details on call and one of our representatives will be happy to help you. Our contact centre is open for business from 0800 to 2000 hrs Monday to Friday, and 0900 to 1700 hrs on Saturday and Sunday (UK time).

Please note, if you wish to take advantage of this service, all passengers included on your booking must use speedy boarding, as it is not possible to add only one passenger at this time. Speedy boarding must be booked and paid for at least 2 hours prior to the scheduled time of departure for your flight.

If you wish to check-in as normal then you need to present yourself at the appropriate check-in desks, which will open two hours before the scheduled time of departure.

Passengers who present themselves later than 40 minutes prior to scheduled time of departure will not be accepted for travel, and will forfeit their seats. It is recommended that you check in two hours before the scheduled time of departure.

I have included a link for more information on travelling children:

www.easyjet.com/EN/Book/regulations.html#infants

More information about our baggage allowance can be found by clicking on the following link:

www.easyjet.com/EN/Book/regulations.html#baggage

I have also included a link on more information on speedy boarding:

www.easyjet.com/EN/Flying/speedyboarding.html

We just had the most appalling experience with easyjet. Since our relatives live abroad we are frequent flyers and have used a variety of different airlines over the years. This however was the most ghastly adventure ever and I swear we will never fly with them again. You will end up paying more than with other airlines in the end and certainly service with easyjet is non-existent.
Indeed our car seat was refused to be carried from Gatwick, we had to pay 25 pounds extra to bring it along and they denied us to speak to one of the managers. To make matters worse, once we arrived, neither our car seat nor our regular luggage arrived. There we were abroad, without clothes for us or the baby having not much more than 2 bottles, some formula and 4 nappies. We lost more than an hour over finding staff, the easyjet "service desk" was deserted and when finally a staff member turned up, they were not able to do anything for us and we were told that it may take up to 3 days to forward the luggage to us. We would have to simply fork out the money to buy new clothes, toiletries, and baby stuff without any guarantee whatsoever that it would ever be returned.
Let anyone travelling with young children be warned that unexpected unpleasant surprises are likely to occur and that in such case you will find easyjet customer service non-existent.

Just had the email from Easyjet promoting their child friendly rules.

For every infant (even if on your lap) or young child you can take up to two of the following items free of charge: pushchair, baby buggy, travel cot, back carrier, car seat etc. You also have to use the car seat if you chose to bring it on the plane otherwise it should be checked into the hold.
So don't know if ronroncelup went over the allocation or if he/she was planning on putting the car seat in the overhead locker.
It's a pain when bags go missing but it's usually the handlers fault at the airport not the airline itself. How could someone at a desk ever get your bag back from a different country then and there? Always have good insurance and you can claim the money back for items bought.

Do you really think I had not scrutinized the policy prior to booking smartpants ? I bet you are an easyjet representative trying to sell your services. The seat was refused as it was not packed in a see-through bag. The staff at check in were exceptionally rude, the manager refused to come. We have made 24 phone calls and had been given 3 different numbers by easyjet customer service staff. Currently trying to file a complaint and guess what ? when you click the link to send an email you end up on a blank page !!! Represents the customer service of easyjet if you ask me, so avoid if possible to ever fly with easyjet. My British Airways experiences were soooo much better.