easyjet virgin...talk me through it please!

pinkcandyflossprincess

hi fellow money savers:o
i have booked flights for cyprus in Jan from gatwick with easyjet. it offers the option of free night before check in which seems good as we fly at 8am so chance of extra sleep.
now do i have to get there at 8 pm the night before (check in open time) to ensure best boarding for adults and small children

i see seats arent reserved so does it matter when we check in?

also what happens at boarding? it says the cut off for boarding is 25 mins before the flight so what time do i have to arrive as unsure what they do.
is it a case of we all leg it to the plane and they board you in the order listed once outside the plane or do they call you out in the boarding place ie they call pririoty booking people, then familys etc

any advice would be great. thankyou
jo

Engadine

Easyjet board their aircraft in groups, they start with passengers who have paid for speedy boarding (this is extra) then it is families with young children under 5 years old, next is boarding group A, then group B and Group C.

Boarding group A is everyone who has checked in online and the first 30 people to check in at the airport.

If any of your children are under 5 then you will be in the second group.

spiro

Remember just because you check in the night before you still need to allow the time to get through security etc. With small children this can take longer as things like buggies have to be checked. Personally I would arrive no later that 6:30am because all you avoid is the need to queue to hand over your bags. You also need to remember what you can and cant take in your hand luggage if you check your bags in the night before.

Pooky23

The last time I flew EasyJet it was a complete chaos at the gate. Despite being almost the first passengers to check in (with two young children in tow) there was a crush at the gate with everyone pushing and shoving to get boarded first.

Passengers who had paid for speedy boarding went first and they had to push their way through the crowd packed around the gate. Families were meant to go next but in practice this was ignored so there was a huge surge of people trying to board first.

On boarding the plane, as no seat numbers are assigned it was a rush to try and be seated near each other. We were lucky but many others were not.

I would add that this was travelling at peak time so you may find that the plane is quieter and therefore less chaotic when you travel.

Given my recent experience (and I have travelled with Easy Jet a few times) I would rather pay more to another airline to have seat numbers assigned, therefore avoiding the ridiculous and stressful crush at the gate.

pinkpong

We`ve been flying with Easyjet for the last 5 years atleast . Never have any problems. Our youngest one is 9 and they tell us to come forward, so we board straight after the A people. You have to be at the airport an hour before the flight. I don`t know about sleeping if it make any difference. I would never pay extra money just to go in a few seconds before anyone else. We usualy wait for ages at the airport so it make no difference if you sit at the lounge or airplane.
If you have small children go straight to the boarding counter so they can see you. Tell tell you to get in amangs the first ones in.
The last time we went people were pushing like mad and didn`t like to let any children through. This was mainly the men and older people as though the plane will fly without them, not nice but it happens.

pinkcandyflossprincess

thankyou for your replies
well im travelling with a 5 month baby a 2 year old and a four year old plus my mom so i think i will have to tell mom to leg it on the plane with the 2 who can walk as i know ill have to fold up the pram so by the time i do that no doubt everyone will be on the plane:eek:
i found a site explaing the full nightmare of easy jet and how people run on and then refuse to move for families, and the priorty boarders have no chance even if they have paid! i have a vision now of old biddies whacking me with sticks so they can get on 1st!

the only thing in my favour is my 2 year old is a nightmare so he would refuse to sit next to someone else and would probably attack them, he is the size of a 5 year old though with a toddlers brain so it would be revenge on anyone who refused to budge if he got sat next to them for hours:rotfl:
i am now scared of going but the flights were very cheap to cyprus so thought i will have to cope.
x

stephb34

Hi dont worry its not that bad i have been on my own with a 2 year old on easy jet you do get priority boarding after the group 'A' lot, and dont worry about being split up from the kids its illegal for minors under 16 to sit on their own without a legal guardian so the stewardesses would make people move so each adult is with at least 1 child. You will probably have to sit separately from your mum though hopefully across the aisle. Dont let it worry you, have a great holiday. Stephanie.

pinkcandyflossprincess

thanks
i phoned mom up yesterday and told her that she would have to rush on with the two little ones whilst i sorted the buggie so shes now in a panic lol and she has flown easyjet and said the people were rude and horrible and pushed her and my auntie about. they are both quiet and not queue jumpers so imagine it was a bit of a trauma for them. saying that it was the same on first choice when we went to greece with the old people and they have seat no,s anyway so dont know why they feel the urge to go mental lol

lesley1960

it does depend on the airport you fly out of , we flew out of Madeira a few weeks ago and that had the boarding down to a fine art .We all had to be bused out and they made sure every group went separately , allthough the last group always has the most people in it so it pays to be quick off the mark lol. If you have small children you should be one of the first on