Easyjet A319 economy class

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Published: 28/07/2010 - Filed under: Tried & Tested » Airlines » Tried & Tested » Tried & Tested » Airlines » Easyjet »

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CHECK-IN I arrived at London’s Luton airport via shuttle bus from Luton airport Parkway station at 0750 for my 0945 flight to Istanbul. The facility was fairly quiet on this Thursday morning and I went straight to the Easyjet bag-drop desk (55) as I had already taken advantage of its online check-in service and printed my boarding pass. The check-in desks were 48-50 and there were long queues for these but fortunately there was no one waiting at bag-drop – my luggage was quickly processed and I then headed upstairs to security.

There were short queues at each of the four lanes that were open and passengers who had not brought a clear plastic bag for liquids with them had to pay £1 for four. Laptops had to be taken out, as usual, and shoes and belts off. I was airside by 0815 and passed the time exchanging some currency and grabbing breakfast.

BOARDING At 0915 the gate (17) opened. As seating is not pre-assigned I went there immediately in the hope that I would be able to board earlier than some of the other passengers and consequently get a decent window seat.

It was a three-minute walk away, following the signs to Gates 1-18, and I was indeed one of the first to arrive. There was a ten-minute wait in a holding room at ground level before being ushered across the tarmac at 0930 to the aircraft.

Even though I had not paid the £9 outbound fee (£6 inbound) for Speedy Boarding I was one of the first 20 passengers to board, with the choice of entering from the front or back of the plane.

THE SEAT The A319 was configured 3-3 (A-B-C, D-E-F) across 26 rows. I opted for seat 6A just in front of the wing, which was a mistake as it had crumbs on it – there had obviously been no cleaning service after its last flight. It felt quite cramped as the person next to me was fairly large and had her elbow on the armrest for the entire time.

WHICH SEAT TO CHOOSE? Avoid middle seats B and E, and if you want unobscured views out of the window, don’t go for seats in rows nine to 17. Exit row seats with extra legroom are in rows ten and 11, while row one also offers a greater pitch and means passengers sitting here can disembark first. If you have long legs or feel claustrophobic, go for an aisle seat (C or D). For a seatplan of this aircraft, click here.

THE FLIGHT There was a short wait while the plane was being refuelled, followed by an even longer wait due to air traffic control delays. We started taxiing at 1020 to the sound of a screaming child sitting in row five ahead of me. His or her little brother then proceeded to stand on his seat and jump around until a stewardess asked the parents to sit him down. Take off was at 1035, almost one hour late.

The drink and snack service, which started at 1100, was paid for, as is the norm with this no-frills carrier. I declined the offer of refreshments and managed to read my book for the duration of the 3.5-hour journey despite some disturbance from the children in front.

ARRIVAL The aircraft started its descent into Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport on the Asian side of the city at 1330 (1530 local time) and was on the ground 20 minutes later. There was a mad rush to exit with people grabbing bags out of the overhead lockers and pushing to get off.

Once in the terminal at 1605, there was a three-minute walk to immigration where entry visas need to be purchased (£10 in cash – no receipts). There was then a short wait for passport control. By 1630 my bag had appeared on the carousel in baggage reclaim a short walk away, and once landside I found there were plenty of taxis waiting outside. It costs NTL60-100 (£25-£42) to get to the city centre and the journey takes about 45-60 minutes, depending on traffic.

VERDICT Despite taking off almost one-hour late, the flight was only 20 minutes behind schedule landing. Rates for this service are relatively high in the summer months and business travellers will have to compete with holidaymakers for space and comfort – there some noisy children on my flight but I managed to ignore them most of the way.

Flying into Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport is also less convenient than Ataturk, which is on the European side and is closer to the city centre, but the former is the only one Easyjet flies to. Crew were professional and the pilot kept passengers informed.

PRICE Internet rates for a return flight from London Luton to Istanbul started from £234 in August. (No luggage included – £18 per case.)

CONTACT easyjet.com

Jenny Southan