Easyjet A319 economy class

Published: 19/08/2011 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » Easyjet »

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CHECK-IN My flight to the Polish city of Krakow was departing London Gatwick at 0610, so I booked a stay at the Yotel in the South Terminal for the night before. I check out of the capsule hotel at 0500 and took the lift upstairs to departure Zone C, about five minutes away. There were plenty of Easyjet desks open (271-280) including one for those who had paid for Speedy Boarding.

I had already checked in online and printed boarding passes for both my outward and return flights but I still needed to drop my bag off. There was a 15 minutes wait to do this, which wasn’t too bad, considering the length of the queues for those who hadn’t registered online first.

I then went upstairs via a set of escalators to security, which has seen an impressive revamp with new electronic gates that allow you to self-scan your boarding pass and gain entry to the security channels. There were three lanes open. I chose the one with the shortest queue (obviously) and was though by 0530.

BOARDING Once in the airside departures area I nipped to Pret for a coffee and croissant before making the ten- to 15-minute walk to Gate 31. When I arrived at 0550 boarding had already started. There was a ling line of people but it moved quickly. Once on the airbridge, though, there was a bit of a wait while those ahead of me took their seats and stowed their luggage.

THE SEAT Although passengers with Speedy Boarding had priority, I still managed to get a seat I was happy with – 25A, a window seat one row from the back of the aircraft. It was clean and comfortable enough for this short journey, but the aircraft was full so I had someone sitting next to me, which always makes me feel a bit claustrophobic when sitting in economy.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? Avoid middle seats B and E if you are travelling alone. Exit row seats in ten and 11 offer a couple of extras inches of legroom, as do B, C and D in row one. Avoid the back row (26) as there is no window and if you are by the aisle you may well be encroached upon by people queuing for the washroom.

If you are adamant about having the first pick of seats then you may well consider it worth paying £19.50 for Speedy Boarding, but I never think it is worth it. However, if you are buying one of the airline’s new “Flexi” tickets, which are four to five times as much as normal fares, Speedy Boarding is included along with unlimited date changes, free hold luggage (£30 per bag) and no credit card payment fees.

THE FLIGHT The in-flight safety demonstration was performed by crew at 0610, and we pushed back shortly after at 0615. The estimated flight time was two hours ten minutes with some turbulence expected on the approach to landing. Take-off, however, was delayed when a passenger announced he didn’t know where his suitcase was and three members of crew went through all the over-head bins looking for it.

We ascended at 0630 and were at cruising altitude by 0650, at which time the refreshment service began. Items to eat and drink listed in the seat-back Boutique and Bistro pamphlet ranged from Starbucks coffee for £2.50, bacon sandwiches for £4 and 37.5cl bottles of Nicolas Feuillatte champagne for £16.

I tried to get a bit of sleep but what with all the announcements at various times throughout the journey, this proved difficult. At 0730 a trolley came around with duty-free items, and 15 minutes later the captain came on to wish happy birthday to “the drunken Caroline”.

ARRIVAL We started out descent at 0820 and landed 15 minutes later. There seemed to be some confusion about whether the crew had opened the doors too soon and I noticed the aircraft steps being driven back and forth at the front of the plane.

Disembarkation took place at 0845 and passengers were driven to the terminal in a shuttle bus. I was first off and so managed to get to immigration quicker than the other passengers, which resulted in me getting through in five minutes. Once landside, my bag was waiting for me. It’s a 20-minute drive to the centre of Krakow from the airport.

VERDICT A slightly shambolic flight but all in all decent enough for a cheap service that is designed to get you from A to B. The crew were friendly and luggage dealt with efficiently.

FACT FILE

PLANE TYPE A319

SEAT CONFIGURATION 3-3 (A-B-C, D-E-F)

SEAT PITCH 30in/76cm

SEAT WIDTH 20in/51cm

SEAT RECLINE 4in/10cm

PRICE Internet rates for a return flight with Easyjet from London to Krakow in October started from £67.

CONTACT easyjet.com

Jenny Southan

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