Easyjet cancelling flights with few bookings?

LessThanSte

Hi all,

Quick question. We've a flight booked with Easyjet in a few weeks time. Its a relatively new destination (only started this year) and, currently, both outbound and inbound flights are about a third full. Its a flight only booking for us, but Easyjet Holidays are offered to this airport so fair to assume that some bookings will be a package. Either way, im slightly concerned that the flight may mysteriously be cancelled late on leaving us in a pickle...

What are Easyjet like when it comes to low-load flights? Do they tend to cancel them late on, or operate them regardless? I suppose it might depend on whether most of the seats have been booked as a package obliging them to find an alternative? We do have an alternative, but currently its over £150pp more expensive (and not many seats available). 

Any intel?

la531983

How do you know they are only a third full?

Not everyone books a seat at booking, so you cant rely on the seat map when doing a dummy booking. In fact Easyjet Holidays doesnt even let you until a month before and even then you dont have to, only gets assigned at check in.

eskbanker

LessThanSte said:

currently, both outbound and inbound flights are about a third full?

Are you basing your view about loading on the seat map or actual ticket sale data?

LessThanSte said:

I suppose it might depend on whether most of the seats have been booked as a package obliging them to find an alternative? We do have an alternative, but currently its over £150pp more expensive (and not many seats available).

Regardless of whether bookings are flight-only or packages, a UK/EU airline cancelling flights is obliged to (offer to) rebook passengers onto an alternative one at no extra cost, on another airline if necessary.

LessThanSte

Yes, taken from the seat booking page if running a dummy booking, which is as good a proxy for anything. 

eskbanker said:

LessThanSte said:

I suppose it might depend on whether most of the seats have been booked as a package obliging them to find an alternative? We do have an alternative, but currently its over £150pp more expensive (and not many seats available).

Regardless of whether bookings are flight-only or packages, a UK/EU airline cancelling flights is obliged to (offer to) rebook passengers onto an alternative one at no extra cost, on another airline if necessary.

Thanks, that occured to me after, so im less panicky about it now.

la531983

LessThanSte said:

Yes, taken from the seat booking page if running a dummy booking, which is as good a proxy for anything. 

eskbanker said:

LessThanSte said:

I suppose it might depend on whether most of the seats have been booked as a package obliging them to find an alternative? We do have an alternative, but currently its over £150pp more expensive (and not many seats available).

Regardless of whether bookings are flight-only or packages, a UK/EU airline cancelling flights is obliged to (offer to) rebook passengers onto an alternative one at no extra cost, on another airline if necessary.

Thanks, that occured to me after, so im less panicky about it now.

It really isnt, I went on a Easyjet Holidays trip to Iceland in Feb. One month before the seat map was over half empty.

We were told on the flight that it was full. And it looked it.

In any case. The return may be full. Depends on route and timings.

Westin

Mentioning the destination/route might yield more responses.

Not Rimini is it?

martindow

Can doing a dummy booking to look at the fares being offered give an indication?  High fares would imply there are not many seats left which they are confident of selling to people who have to travel on that date and will pay whatever is asked.

GlitterMedusa

Don't forget that airlines also make money by carrying cargo alongside passengers luggage. Both Finnair and Iberia regularly use long haul aircrafts on some short haul routes to maximise cargo.

I wouldn't worry too much about a light passenger load being the cause of a flight cancellation

Westin

Easyjet doesn’t carry cargo.

That aside, I still would not worry about a flight series cancellation based on the logic offered by the OP. 

MeteredOut

Westin said:

Easyjet doesn’t carry cargo.

That aside, I still would not worry about a flight series cancellation based on the logic offered by the OP. 

Unlike Ryanair, who treat all their passengers like cargo, and are very proud of the fact!

(someone had to say it )

eskbanker

I think "self-loading freight (or cargo)" is fairly standard industry slang for their victims passengers....