Tried & Tested

Easyjet B737-700 economy

18 Mar 2009 by Tom Otley

CHECK-IN I checked in online for my Easyjet flight U2107 the day before departure. On this Tuesday flight Easyjet had 3 departures to Berlin Schoenefeld from London, two from London Gatwick and one from London Luton (1740), although there seemed to be an extra early morning departure on a Friday (0640).

I had only hand luggage, for which the restriction is simply one of size (55x20x40=115cm), so instead of the normal wheel-on bag and laptop case on top of it I slipped my laptop into my case and made do with the one bag to avoid checking any bags. Easyjet charges for checked in bags: £6 per bag if pre booked and paid for, and £12 per bag at the airport. Passengers are allowed up to eight pieces of checked luggage, up to a combined weight of 20kg.

BOARDING The flight departure time was 1740, and the gate closed at 1710. Having checked in early online I was in Boarding Group A, which in practice means first behind priority boarding (PB) (£7.50) and families (PA), of whom there were few this Tuesday afternoon. Around 1640 having arrived at the airport by train and then shuttle bus in good time I walked down there to join the queue. The airport was reasonably busy, and when our gate appeared we walked down to it to join one of four queues: PB (Priority Boarding); PA, then A (where I was along with most people who had checked in online) then queue B. We were then bussed out to the aircraft and boarded by both front and rear doors.

THE SEAT Normal advice is to head for an aisle seat close to the front to allow quick departure on arrival, particularly if you only have hand luggage, but I sat towards the back because I wanted to get a good look at the seating on the aircraft. There are 149 seats on the aircraft, in 25 rows of 6 (3-3, ABC – DEF). Row 12 is the over wing exit and is 2-3 (hence 149 seats instead of 150). Because there is a front toilet on the right hand side of the aircraft looking forward, and a toilet on the left hand side at the rear, the seating rows are slightly staggered, as shown by our seat plan. By way of illustration, I was in 17F, yet looking to my left row 18 was practically in line with row 17.

THE FLIGHT at first I thought the flight was lightly sold, but in fact there was another bus load of people coming and it was very busy. We had no delays, pushing away on a few minutes late, and with a flight time of 90 minutes were in Berlin Schonenfeld on time. I wasn’t in a rush to get off the aircraft, but this was a mistake. I was towards the back of the queue at immigration, and it took nearly 20 minutes to clear.

VERDICT a good flight, leg room is ample and the crew were cheerful and welcoming.

CONTACT easyjet.com

Tom Otley

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