Speedy Boarding charge. Is it worth it?

JJ7

Hi, is it worth paying the extra for speedy boarding (on flights)? Will it make much difference not paying it?

Thanks

Incapuppy

If you do a forum search this subject has been covered many times previously.

sturll

Ive heard its worth it because if you manage to get a seat at the front you get there before everyone else on the flight...........

Beaker99

Easyjet is good , as you also get seperate check in anbd priority baggage (airport depending), Ryanair just lets you on with all the online check-in people - but they only charge a little for it.

If you value an easy life travelling (my OH hates flying) it makes perfect sense to me to do anything to make her experience more comfortable.

On the negative side, it can create some awkward moments with boarding as some people don't think you should be allowed to go on first, even though you've paid for it. you get (generally mid-aged women!) saying loudly to their husbands that they're 'not so stupid to pay that' so you can hear as you walk past.

omelette451

No it's really not worth it. Speedy Boarding is used as a way to make money out of the gullible so as to subsidise travel for normal people.

jaymac_2

If there's a bus out to the plane all speedy boarding does is get you on the bus first, which means you're last off and last on the plane. Not worth it!

TwiggleTwoggle

I think undesignated seats should be scrapped, I really don't see the benefit apart from making more £ by getting people to pay for Speedy Boarding.

Last time I travelled with EasyJet on Speedy Boarding, we had to stand in those queue lanes for about 45 minutes before boarding started. Then when they opened the door to walk out to the plane, they didn't leave a time gap between the seperate priorities (Speedy Boarding - Families - Others) so people from the other queues just ran ahead.

You're supposed to get priority check in on the way out and return, but both times neither of those check in desks were open, and on return it seemed as though the entire plane had booked Speedy Boarding.

Waste of money.

omelette451

TwiggleTwoggle wrote: »

I think undesignated seats should be scrapped, I really don't see the benefit apart from making more £ by getting people to pay for Speedy Boarding.

When the low cost operators started allowing people to choose their own seats there was no such thing as 'speedy boarding', so I'm not quite sure how you can say that they only intended it to make more money out of people. The reason they offered a 'free-for-all' is that it makes for much quicker boarding of the plane if people don't have to sulk around finding the seat they've been issued, and of course you remove the awkward time spent at check-in where people ask staff for window seats when there aren't any left, or where staff feel they have to re-arrange everyone else so they can issue families with seats together. Undesignated seats also means they can use both the front and the back doors on loading, which would be very difficult if people had specific seats. Finally, the airlines quickly realised that people tended to turn up promptly for their flights if they knew it meant they could choose the best seats - people famously tend to dawdle in the cafe of bookshops if there's no danger of having to sit in the crappy seats. As I've said before, speedy boarding is only for the stupid and gullible, but unassigned seating is very sensible.

Beaker99

omelette451 wrote: »

When the low cost operators started allowing As I've said before, speedy boarding is only for the stupid and gullible, but unassigned seating is very sensible.

I can't see how you can really say that. speedy boarding alla Ryanair is certainly not worth it, as you just get the chance to queue with the 80% of people who checked in on-line, but with Easyjet you get seperate check in, priority labels on your baggage, as well as being first on. I don't go without it. It's particularly good if you need to turn up to check in late, and walk straight through without the worry of not being able to sit next to your other half. It definately has it's place in my eyes.

As for unassigned seating, it's just part of the business model. I don't have any problems with it. If anything it gives me a smile everytime I see someone go to a flight attendent complaining that 'someone's in my seat' whilst showing them the seq no.! - oh the little things...

edit: before anyone says anything, the extra speeding boarding stuff on Easyjet (priority baggage etc) is airport dependent...

omelette451

Beaker99 wrote: »

I can't see how you can really say that. speedy boarding alla Ryanair is certainly not worth it, as you just get the chance to queue with the 80% of people who checked in on-line [...] and walk straight through without the worry of not being able to sit next to your other half.

edit: before anyone says anything, the extra speeding boarding stuff on Easyjet (priority baggage etc) is airport dependent...

...But you obviously haven't checked your facts about Ryanair. They abandoned the 'free priority for online check-in' last year and you now have to pay extra for it, and it's only 75% of passengers who check in online. Furthermore, despite all the complaints from people on here and elsewhere, I've never seen any couple being forced to split up because they can't sit together. In any case, on occasion I would pay not to sit with my family, so it works both ways!

PolishBigSpender

Speedy Boarding in my city is fantastic. You see plenty of idiots paying for it, despite all passengers being bussed to the aircraft. So of course, every time, I'm on the aeroplane first by virtue of standing next to the doors.