Easyjet super speedy boarding worth it?

Factor25

Never having flown no frills before, I was just wondering if its worth the extra £9.50pp from Gatwick-Gran Canaria to avoid the dash for seats?

alared

In a nutshell

---

NO

The earlier you check-in the nearer the front of the queue you`ll be.
Easyjet boards by the first 30,then the next 30 and so on.
Those that have paid for "speedy" are placed in the first 30 but if you`re early enough and no more than 30 have paid for "speedy" you`ll still get on first.
Also they sometimes use shuttle buses for boarding so depending how quick and which side of the plane the bus stops at you could pay for "speedy" and still not be first.

tara747

NO from me too.

A few recent examples from my flying experience:

On one flight, half the plane had paid for speedy boarding. Cue indignant faces when dozens of people stepped forward at the same time!

I've also seen the speedy boarders march smugly ahead of everyone else, only to find them 10 mins later waiting on a bus, oh how I laughed!!

But the funniest was the time I was waiting to board a 1/3-full flight - the speedy boarders' realisation that everyone could have had 3 seats to themselves was hilarious! :rotfl:

Priceless.

Anyone else have similar stories?

hammy_the_hammer

alared wrote: »

In a nutshell

---

NO

The earlier you check-in the nearer the front of the queue you`ll be.
Easyjet boards by the first 30,then the next 30 and so on.
Those that have paid for "speedy" are placed in the first 30 but if you`re early enough and no more than 30 have paid for "speedy" you`ll still get on first.
Also they sometimes use shuttle buses for boarding so depending how quick and which side of the plane the bus stops at you could pay for "speedy" and still not be first.

no... speedy boarders are called first for boarding .

tara747

P.S. if you have kids you will be allowed to board first anyway.

don9999

No, for lots of reasons.....

On the one occasion I heard them call for early boarders, they didn't check anything. I saw lots of people go up who weren't early boarders, but were trying to go through early. And they did.

If they use a bus transfer (as they do at my local airport, Bristol), even if you are the first up, it only means you are first on the bus. More often than not, it means you are at the back, and hence the last 'off' the bus, and hence last on the plane. (Though if there is more than one bus, being on the first bus, is still 'slightly' quicker than being on the second bus.)

If you have kids you get called first anyway (although due to the bus issue above, I'm rarely tempted to take my kids through early.)

IMO, it's just an attempt by the airline to get some more cash from the punter, before they realise it's not worth it.

Cheers,
Don

hammy_the_hammer

tara747 wrote: »

NO from me too.

A few recent examples from my flying experience:

On one flight, half the plane had paid for speedy boarding. Cue indignant faces when dozens of people stepped forward at the same time!

I've also seen the speedy boarders march smugly ahead of everyone else, only to find them 10 mins later waiting on a bus, oh how I laughed!!

But the funniest was the time I was waiting to board a 1/3-full flight - the speedy boarders' realisation that everyone could have had 3 seats to themselves was hilarious! :rotfl:

Priceless.

Anyone else have similar stories?

not similar, but have paid for speedy boarding, turned up at the airport an hour before departure and checked in at the dedicated check-in in about 5 minutes while watching the queue of 200+ people snake round the airport waiting for conventional check-in.
i've looked at my boarding pass and realised i was the 90th + person to check-in for my particular flight but then been among the first 10 or so people to be called forward for boarding first.
also quite often get to sit in one of the 1st three seats with feet of legroom ......
all for the sum of about a fiver.
if i still used them for a regular route that i flew, i'd of bought the season ticket which would have added pennies to the price of each flight .

i actually hold the contra view that it's the non speedy boarding people who look peeved.
point to note ....it can depend on which airports you use but personally i'd pay it to just avoid the lengthy check-in queues

Factor25

Will prob give it a miss then, no kids but we are always at gate before check in opens. Thanks everyone.

hammy_the_hammer

just another quicky ....speedy boarders are called first for boarding before people with children

Factor25

hammy_the_hammer wrote: »

not similar, but have paid for speedy boarding, turned up at the airport an hour before departure and checked in at the dedicated check-in in about 5 minutes while watching the queue of 200+ people snake round the airport waiting for conventional check-in.
i've looked at my boarding pass and realised i was the 90th + person to check-in for my particular flight but then been among the first 10 or so people to be called forward for boarding first.
also quite often get to sit in one of the 1st three seats with feet of legroom ......
all for the sum of about a fiver.
if i still used them for a regular route that i flew, i'd of bought the season ticket which would have added pennies to the price of each flight .

i actually hold the contra view that it's the non speedy boarding people who look peeved.
point to note ....it can depend on which airports you use but personally i'd pay it to just avoid the lengthy check-in queues

Good point, not as though its a fortune and could possibly benefit inbound.

alared

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. 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’re late, we won’t wait!