Back in July, Times Travel online asked readers whether Ryanair was the least Family
Friendly Airline in the sky? Now it seems there is a new
rotten-to-families contender: easyJet
and its so-called Speedy
Boarding "service". A recent reader’s rant on our Your
Say pages offered up the experience of Dr Alistair Smith from Stroud
flying from Barcelona to Liverpool. He paid £7.50 fee per person to board
the plane first with his three young daughters, only to find no preference
given to him at all.
Not only was there no call to board first, but also the usual procedure of
boarding families with young children after Speedy Boarding was waived as
well. Instead, the poor doctor and his family were caught up in the general
stampede for the plane, with the family split up and much distress among his
daughters.
He wrote more than once to complain, but easyJet would not refund his Speedy
Boarding premium (after Travel Online got in touch, to answer Mr
Delaney from London’s question, it has consented to do so). One reader
asked whether budget airlines were trying to deter families from travelling
with them at all.
Before we get on to easyJet’s
response, may I just remind the budget airlines, for whom customer
service seems to be an irritating afterthought, quite how vulnerable
the average family feels when herded into a final departure lounge.
Surrounded by nothing but planes, visible through windows and on the walls,
the tribe suddenly clings together sensing danger ahead. Like the drawings
that children do, parents view planes as flying tin cans, transporting their
precious progeny by a miracle of science that could simply fall out of the
sky at any moment.
The lounge becomes a sensory deprivation chamber, the family is unable to
leave, has no access to food, water or toilets, and is forced to wait for an
unspecified time. This is not the moment to catch up with the newspaper that
adult passengers might do, small children sense the air of anxiety and act
up. You have already been urged to arrive there early by a misrepresentative
“Now Boarding” flashing light, and every minute feels like ten during that
final countdown. You are in hell’s waiting room, and all you crave is some
flimsy reassurance that you will soon be safely in your seat.
So, how do the budget airlines respond? By adding another charge
to the many others, without delivering any guaranteed service at all. Flying
back from Ancona with Ryanair this August, I paid the £2 per person priority
boarding fee for myself and 6-year-old twins each way, and joined what
seemed like a bigger queue than the other (a maximum of 60 priority
boarders? Who’s counting?).
Fearful families needing to sit together sweated behind the Priority Boarding
post, while the rest of the travellers were free to move around the lounge
awaiting a call. It was a degrading experience, and don’t forget that
Ryanair used to board families first for free. Now, it seems families are
forced to subsidise the rest of the budget-flying public in order to sit
together.
To add further insult to injury, even when the families are allowed to board a
bus first, this often makes them the last to get off the bus that ferries
them to the plane, as Mr Blackburn from Newcastle-upon-Tyne notes on a
separate rant.
Ignorance from ground staff makes the plight of the family no easier.
Onora
from London wrote to us saying that when travelling on easyJet from London
to Belfast with a six-month old baby, she was told that she should bring the
buggy to the foot of the steps of the aircraft. Going through the gate
first, She and other buggy-laden parents were met with two long, steep
flights of stairs which required a folded buggy and some help to get down.
“It meant that I and other people in the same situation had to wait until
other passengers came through to ask for assistance." By the time the
kind few stopped to help, lots of others had filed past the families
“defeating the whole purpose of priority boarding”.
Issues with buggies seem to be a common problem, and Sam
from Sheffield found that a lack of clear policy with Ryanair meant:
“Despite being at the front of the queue for boarding and explaining that we
wanted to sit together as a family, we were made to wait until last because
they didn’t know if they could accommodate the buggy (the check-in desk had
told us it would be stored in the cabin). In the end, we had to sit
separately.
This also happened on the return flight.” Tracey
of Milton Keynes found the manner of the unhelpful staff the worst aspect of
flying with Ryanair to Bergerac on her own with a one-year old in a buggy.
“The buggy was chucked onto the tarmac at Bergerac breaking the parasol.
When we arrived at Stansted on the return journey the Ryanair Staff stood by
watching, or should I say smirking, whilst I struggled up the stairs. A
passing policeman finally helped me back to the terminal…have since
travelled with BA to Bordeaux and Easyjet to Amsterdam on my own with child
and both were fine – in fact, Easyjet couldn’t have been more helpful.”
We found that easyJet was at least accessible and open to press enquiries on
their procedures. Press Officer Samantha Day did urge families that might be
split up to “make more of a fuss!”. “Ask the cabin crew for help. Because we
don’t allocate seating, cabin crew are on hand once you have boarded to sort
it out, and they can ask passengers to move to keep families together. If
the crew are short of time, they can even wait till take off and do it when
in the air”.
EasyJet limits Speedy Boarders up to 20, but don’t offer refunds for problems,
according to their terms and conditions. Ryanair, on the other hand, who we
invited to comment via email and numerous failed attempts to its phoneline,
did not respond. However, there are a number of consumer websites such as
the Ryanair Campaign which
offer support to anyone trying to raise a complaint against the company.
I think my favourite response was offered by a baby on a Ryanair flight when
the stewardess refused to warm up his milk “for health and safety reasons”.
Writes Sam
from Sheffield “We did get our own back when our son was copiously sick on
the stewardess”. Out of the mouth of babes.
I no longer fly Ryanair. I hate the attitude of its CEO and this is reflected in the attitude of its sub-standard employees. The interesting thing is that since I have started flying with proper airlines again - if I take all flight related costs into account, in total, It has not cost me any more,
Ray, Cambridge, UK
If there is a choice to Ryan air I will always take it . I don't even use them to compare prices anymore.When all the additional charges are added on and the lousy travel experience is taken into account, then they are no longer cheap.
I loath the introduction of inflight phonecalls.
alan , London, uk
Before I had my first child, I took the cheapest flight I could find. I had the flexibility to pick up and go anytime, anywhere. But once I had a baby, I didn't even try going budget. My next 3 trips, I paid out for airlines with a good reputation and received my monies worth and more. For one flight that I knew would be particularly pressing, as my parents would be taking my daughter without me, we paid for first class. The Grandparents may look young enough to be parents, but they certainly are out of practice for keeping a small child quiet on a long haul flight. They were so happy for the help and the night cap.
Emily, Toronto,
Just to back up the comments about "full fare" United airlines, we will never fly with them again if possible. On one occasion we have been shouted at and told to "just get out of the seat" by a "customer service" person at LAX when they issued duplicate boarding cards to us and two very patient people who were quietly waiting. The fact that my wife was breastfeeding the baby to quiet it, and that we were on the flight to see my wife's stepmother with newly diagnosed cancer which supposedly gave us "special attention" did not make any difference.
Another time we took the baby to change it in flight but found that the changing table had been removed, when we asked the cabin staff if there was one we could use, the response was "just do it on the floor".
Sadly, United has survived bankruptcy but Air New Zealand, Thai air, Druk airlines (Bhutan), Aliatlia and BA are all much better.
Dave Parry, Auckland, New Zealand
To all you complaining about not being able to sit together as a family on a budget airline:-
When flying back from San Francisco to Paris on United Airlines (full price ticket) with my partner they could not even put us on the same airplane. Let alone two seats somewhere near each other!
The original direct flight was canceled and we were told to come back the next day. We did and after waiting about 4 hours we were put on two different flights (and yes we did protest loudly! Our planes took off one behind the other on the runway at San Francisco. One flew to Boston, the other to Washington DC. We arrived nearly two days late!
Then their are horrible airports - like Paris CDG, where it can take 1h:30 minutes to get from check in to departure gate due to security checks. Then you have to take off your shoes and there is nowhere to sit (though I did find the desk of the supervisor who was not pleased at me sitting on his paperwork and getting it creased)
Michael Chapman, Montpellier, France
People are looking at this the wrong way round. CAA guidelines state that families should be sat together.
This is nothing to do with hard done families moaning, it is a safety issue. If the plane crashes a parents instinct would be to seek out their child. This could impede the evacuation of the aircraft as others head for the exit and lead to injuries fatalities. In the event of an accident the priority must be to evacuate the aircraft.
D Morris, Rugby, UK
If the price of a return trip airline ticket is cheaper than the bus fare to the aiport, then the more astute amongst us will work out fairly quickly that the level of service, professionalism and care that may be expected will be less than stellar.
If this bothers you, don't go.
Fly with a decent airline and you will find that the cost actually is not that much different if you book carefully well in advance and take advantage of all the full service facilities that one has to pay through the nose for on the 'cheap' services.
Cheap airlines are cheap for a reason. And that reason is your comfort and wellbeing.
Rule of thumb: Expect nothing. Up to and including getting there. Anything you do get, is a bonus.
Eddie, Dunfermline,
its a disgraceful con, families on a recent disney trip were just shafted for lack of any better expression. As for terms and conditions which easy jet threw into my face, I actually bothered to read them highlighted the fact they do guareentee sppedy boarders get on first, joked they needed to re write them they did with loads of new conditions on Nov 17. Anyway here are terms when I booked, which Andy Harrison from Easy jet refuses to acknowledge. So if you did take or book a flight before NOV 17th, you have right to claim under their own terms.
"Please note that if you have also purchased speedy boarding, you must present yourself at the boarding gate no later than 25 minutes before the scheduled departure time of your Flight in order to board the aircraft first otherwise you will lose your place in the speedy boarding group and no compensation will be given"
Quite simply speedy boarding isn't and the title doesn't reflect the service unless you go easy bus
Andy Pycock, Milton Keynes,
Recently flew speedy boarding with Easyjet. Total fiasco ! Paying extra money to board first and sit together waste of money. Everyone boarded together. Boarding proceedure disgracefull. Everyone herded into small space and the free for all.Easyjet need to sort this out.
D Ryan, Belfast, Ireland
In respons to your article about airlines and treatment of economy passengers. Best one I have ever travelled on is Bangkok Airlines. They have their own lounge for ALL passengers. Breakfast was provided as as soft drinks. It was great to be treated in this way. Worse airline out of the 6 I have flown with this year is BA. My friends paid £3000 less to travel 1st class with THAI and apparently the service, food etc was much better than BA. Have now decided will look for alternative carriers if price is not much more rather than BA. Virgin wasnt much better a couple of years ago when travelling to New York. Service was poor and crew were lazy. Complained but never even got a response. Same wit BA my friend has complained and they dont even bother responding. Will vote with my feet as some OZ gentlemen said they would do on the flight to Bangkok this year. They seem to be sitting on their laurels and previous reputation. BA will be my last airline of choice from now on.
Christine Thorne, Sidcup, Kent
Just because a service is "budget" doesn't mean it need to be bad. I've flown a lot with Ryanair and easyjet with and without my family. When flying as a family it makes sense to put them on first. Do you really want to be sitting with my 3 year old and keeping him entertained and take him to the toilet every half an hour? Fine by me, I'm more than happy to have a relaxing trip at the other end of the plane. It used to be fine to fly as a family because there was no stress involved in getting a seat. Now it's a nightmare. On a recent trip to Sweden with Ryanair from Prestwick there were no seats at all in the "departure lounge" due to two other planes being delayed. We had to sit outside (2 adults, 3 year old, 1 baby and one teenager) amongst the smokers who were sitting smoking where they shouldn't be (who enforcing the smoking ban at Prestwick Airport?). It was a complete scrum to get on the plane and very disturbing for small children who could easily be injured. Never again!
Greg, Scotland,
It's easy to believe that acceptance of such poor service on airlines is a British way of thinking - not so! Here in the USA "full service" carriers offer nothing in the way of frills at all. On a recent 5hr 20min flight from East to West coast on Jet Blue we were offered a choice from a selection which included crisps, nuts, small packets of biscuits and other such calorie laden nutritionally challenged snacks. The kind of "service" which has you longing fondly for Ryanair's new up-market in-flight snacks/drinks collection in other words! What's more even with so-called low cost carriers you don't find the kind of prices which come anywhere close to the super low fares available within Europe. Pay the extra couple of quid for a priority boarding pass or a fiver for a suitcase - it's still remarkable value when compared to what is available in the new world!
Yvonne, Washington DC, USA
Why don't some budget airlines allocate seats at check in? I can't see that doing so would add to their costs at all.
Mary, London,
Recently flying from Berlin to Belfast, I noticed some customers " ducking" under the belt which separated speedy boarders from the rest of us!
From their expressions and sniggers, I dont think they held speedy boarding tickets, yet whilst the rest of us had to stand in boarding lounge due to lack of space, they sat in comfort, then boarded first, not once having been checked by staff to see if they were in fact entitled to board early.
have to admire their cheek, but not fare on the legitimate passengers who paid for the privilige. Eve, Belfast
Evelyn hamilton, Belfast, N. Ireland
Having split my lip(needing 2 stitches) I wanted to return back to Lyon from Stanstead 4 days early. I had checked the web site before hand and there were plenty of spare seats available. At the airport, after the dealine had passed for last purchases(but before check-in had closed) there were 25 seats free. I asked if I could change my flight, only to be told it would cost me £100 more and a £20 amendment fee.
Pointing out the fact that they could make use of the seats that would go to waste and resell my ticket, I was bluntly told that wasn't the way it works and that ruiles are rules.
I then travelled all the way back to South london in some discomfort wondering how a bit of common sense and compasion couldn't prevail over bureaucracy and profit.
Jonathan Brandwood, Croydon,
If you can afford to have children and can afford to take them abroad then you can afford to choose an airline that suits your needs.
Budget airlines have many qualities such as low price and punctuality records and for that you must compromise on non essential things.
This is all a load of hot air by "hard done by" parents. The amount of times I have been on a (seat allocation by ticket) flight that has been delayed and lost its take off window purely because the poor air hostesses are trying to seat a family of 4 together when said family could easily have arrived early and got seats together.
Also on Ryanair, I have not been able to sit with the person I travelled with because at least one family of 4 was straddled across a row of 6 seats.
Please stop adding fire to the ever increasing view that people with families are more important and more entitled than everybody else.
Amber, Slough,
I've flown with both EasyJet and Ryan Air and have had very good service from both. As my partner is disabled we are usually boarded first (note to those who moan when we are called out not all disabled use wheelchairs) so I admit we do not have to fight for seats, however I have been mainly impressed by the staff and must say I have yet to suffer a significant delay. I have never yet seen a family unable to sit near each other but I did once see a family put the children across the aisle a row behind the adults !!
Sue, London, UK
Fact is that frequently there is minimal extra cost between BA, FLYBE, both of whomn together with Thomson I rate highly compared to Easyjet and Ryanair.
Ryanair seats are apallingly uncomfortable and the Easyjet experience is just not in the same league as those in my preferred list.
David Brunskill, Lymington, Hampshire, England
The cost of flying has become far too cheap, why do all these folks have to go flying for their holidays or weekends away? They are clogging up the airports and the skies, most of them are unpleasant louts with a grave lack of manners. The introduction of these budget airlines has made flying more stressful for us frequent flyers who have both the reasons and the means to take to the skies. You have to realise your place in society, you cannot expect that it will be possible for all of you to take frequent flights, it is just meaningless. Do you have a house abroad or business to attend to? thought not. Do you even have the interest or capacity to enjoy the culture and history of wherever you are flying to? Can you even afford to enjoy yourself whilst there? I doubt it. Stay at home.
Charles, London,
When booking in the comfort of your own home and after reading the gumph on the airline websites it is normal to be taken in by the chepo fares on offer as one thinks , how bad can it be ? and we will cope no matter what - unfortunately the human mind seems incapable of either remembering pain and hassle or the stench of saving a few quid x the number in your party is too strong , in my experience the memory of bad travel experiences is often accompanied with a smile and a laugh in my mind as the thoughts of how we manged through it appear to take the form of an adventure , maybe the cheapo airlines have done studies into this and realised that the human brain remembers bad experienes but not the actual pain and panic associated with this memory , just a though on my part as to why most people who complian are not first time users , they normally have had bad experiences with cheapo Ltd before but return due to the lure of the saving which has a happy and uplifting side to the thought
dave tole, liverpool, uk
Why would you bother with the budgets. They land in the middle of no where so the cost to transport the family and the stress involved offsets any gains you get against BA or BMI. These two airlines (if you organise yourself early enough) have reasonably priced flights at airports you can get to.
Next time add the cab price, the flight, the cost of additional food or drink and the train and compare it to the real airlines.
Together with seating annoyances you are better off.
Andrew Harris, London, UK
Granted there's some class 1 grade A whingeing going on here. However airlines' service levels (budget & "premium") have deteriorated to unacceptable levels & regularity. Only the premium fares i.e. Business & First aren't handled like livestock, especially when delays or cancellations are involved. The much trumpted passenger charter is ineffective & airlines are experts at avoiding accountability for their tremendous service quality problems. Staff are underpaid, overworked & subject to continuous stress, as well as vulnerable to the next round of cost cutting & outsourcing. This is probably a major factor why service quality suffers continually. You buy cheap and get as one reader so perfectly phrased it, "crap"...
Ashley, Plano, Texas,
i have flown with BA cheaper t han the budgets. never paid for speedy boarding but by following the others - got on speedily.
agree - vote with your feet!
sue, newcastle under lyme, england
When ARE you guys going to get the message?! Don't fly with these companies. Even if the fares can be cheaper (although, I have never yet failed to find competitive fares with BA and BMA) the stress and unhappiness you experience surely negates any meagre price difference.
Vote with your feet!
Both RyanAir and EasyJet depend on that old British habit of accepting of crap service without a word. It will only change when you do something positive about it.
Carey Gunn, London, UK
You whiners make me sick. Do you know the problem with people today - they want everything on the cheap, but expect a first class service. If you want to be treated like a king and queen, and your screaming brats princes and princesses, then avoid any service or product, airline or otherwise, that contains the adjective BUDGET. Budget means cheap, and cheap means crap! If you are too stupid to realise this, whose fault is that? I can't afford to fly my family first class but I hate flying budget - the experience is so utterly crap it literally ruins my holiday. So guess what I do - I holiday in Cornwall and have a wonderful time.
Bill, Sheffield,
I recently travelled by easyJet from Berlin. The plane was announced as an hour late, so I relaxed with a drink until "now boarding" appeared on the screen. I duly moved to the departure lounge to find this small room crammed with fellow passengers. I estimate there were roughly twice as many passengers as chairs. There was a vending machine, but no toilets. Along with mothers and children, I stood for a further hour until the next announcement; that the plane was to be delayed by a further 60 minutes. A flight from Luton to Berlin takes 1 hour 50 minutes. This means that when the announcement was made that the plane was boarding, it was likely still on the ground in London. I know the airline exists only through trimming margins, but surely calling boarding while the plane is stil in another country takes it a little too far?
David Taylor, London,
A sad but true situation faced my many families. My only difference of opinion on this article would be that it is not only the budget airlines that do this. My wife had a bad experience with Virgin and I myself have had similar experiences with BA and Jet Airways. BA is better now as I can check in online at home and choose my seats.
My trip to Italy last year by EasyJet was a pleasure (Gatwick to Venice) as all families got priority and I did not pay a thing extra. I think a lot depends on the ground staff. Maybe it is time some airline started a family only service....anybody reading this???
Rajat Srivastava, Bedford,
After loads of very irritating ( and expensive) problems with Ryanair that came from their lack of information before flights my final straw was my last flight with them at Paris Beauvais.
The departure area was busy, several flights were called to board for planes that hadnt yet arrived. What got me annoyed was the lack of seats for passengers including old people, pregnant mothers and generally tired pissed off passengers.
As usual Ryanair are a faceless bunch when it comes to any problems. Like the architects who design the high rise estates I wish the Ryanair executives were forced to experience the fruit of their labours regularly.
rob mchardy, Paris, France