Worrying signs - easyJet Cancellations again

A snowHead

This is worrying signs once again. As one of the big providers of flights for ski holidays its not good to see them again just cancelling a whole load of flights for the summer holidays - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66153416. You loose all confidence that once you have booked a flight it means you are sorted Sad

A snowHead

My mum has just been hit by this. French ATC is on strike though, so maybe this is the reason?

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I think these are before taking into account any strikes so more may well be coming.

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Plus airspace restrictiond due russia

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Used to rate Easyjet but a few issues over the last couple of years have made me a bit less keen on them.
Jet2 is my first choice of the cheaper airlines at present. I have had a couple of problems with them but they seem better organised re resolving things.

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Air travel is no longer reliable booked far out. I think people need to accept it is a risk factor when booking their own arrangements. Happens with everyone e.g. BA will sacrifice short haul slots to maintain long haul service when constrained.

After all it is free

@Garfield, I wouldn’t class Jet2 as a cheap airline these days, no such thing anymore….

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Not sure this is the full story, why are the cancellations only from Gatwick? None from Luton (or anywhere else for that matter). Problems at Gatwick or an attempt to fill planes (they are saying 95% have already rebooked on other flights)? If we were given a list of the cancellations we could see if they had only cancelled on the routes where they have multiple rotations a day. This is absolute peak season so clearly lots of spare seats around mmmmmm..

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@chocksaway, that was my thinking. Every time there have been strikes and cancellations, Luton has been minimally affected. Great little airport

@Nadenoodlee, must also be better now that they have DART instead of that ridiculous bus service from Luton parkway.

But I can’t understand why Luton would be minimally affected by the cancellations unless its very route specific?

You know it makes sense.

@ster, is it different unions? I know it was for the Border force strikes at Xmas just gone

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@chocksaway, @Nadenoodlee, @ster, I've read (not in detail) that EZ have been proactively consolidating flights where they can to hopefully minimise the impact of the various problems with European airspace.

Which then suggests that LGW will be most affected as the biggest hub with most situations where >1 flight to a given destination a day?

Luton much smaller.

A snowHead

@under a new name, i’d take Luton any day over Gatwick or T5 @LHR but LCY always for work.

A snowHead

@under a new name, There is certainly an element of that in that it’s easy (pun intended) to do and avoids revenue loss, but I’m not aware of any deal with Eurocontrol that limiting a companies flights from one airport that would then allow other airports flights by the same operator to avoid delays, ie weve reduced LGW leave LTN alone.

There’s quite a lot of noise in the aviation forums about EasyJet crewing issues at LGW and some handling issues. Add to that LGW is operating at close to full capacity so it can go wrong very quickly, it’s a complex situation.

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I also have lost faith in EasyJet. I have used them a huge amount over the years for business travel, and my kids always actually preferred flying EasyJet to BA.

In Feb this year they changed the return flight time from mid-afternoon to early morning (instead of a leisurely end to the holiday we had to leave the chalet at 4.30AM). I chose the flight based on it's timing for the return from Milan, and was happy to pay a bit more than for the early morning option.

For next Feb ski trip they first of all changed the flight time on the way out to Milan on the Friday from late evening to mid-day (so would have to take the kids out of school). They have now changed us on to a Thursday flight, which means 2 days out of school and the extra cost of over-night etc. Of course I can claim a refund, but I booked the flights in advance securing relatively cheap fares and again based on their published schedule.

It is getting to the point where you are simply taking a huge gamble making any booking with them at all. We will probably just suck it up this time as there are few alternatives, but I won't be choosing them as my default in the future. I can choose any airline and route I want for business, and cost is not a consideration, switching from EasyJet as my default will lose them thousands per year. It's a shame as with the exception of a few understandable problems over the years I have been very happy with the service overall.

Lots of airlines are playing the consolidation of flights game, but what they don't seem to realise is the long term impact on customer loyalty. It will save them money in the short term but many, like I, will base future purchasing decisions on the level of service I receive today. Sad to say EasyJet have lost on that basis.

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@zikomo, I don't think they (in parallel with all other airlines) care about customer loyalty, they can fill their planes without being bothered about who the customer is imv.

I booked a winter trip with them yesterday from Manchester (not ski related) and don't consider it a risk any more than if i'd booked with Jet2 or Ryanair. They are a business and they are there to take our money and make a profit, that's all that matters to airlines after the last 2-3 years to them imo.

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@zikomo, I know very well how airlines work thanks - on the whole the days of cheap advance tickets are a thing of the past, and they will fleece you for as much as they can get away with. If you believe that the loyalty schemes are there for any other reason than to try lock you in, and seek to stop you going elsewhere then good for you. Imv it's not about service with airlines (they are all pretty average imv and i've never heard an apology for taking off late, landing late, or my missing a connection due to their poor logistics on the ground) it's all about getting maximum utilisation of seats on that plane and maximising revenue, and charging as much as they can get away with at the time you decide to book, yes more nearer the date because they can, and there'll always be someone who will pay it. I go into anything to do with travel with a view that I am going to get charged handsomely be it fuel for my car to the airport (monopoly between oil companies allowed to rip off their customers by charging inflated pump prices, blind eye turned by government so they can maximise tax return on fuel) airport parking, food in the terminal, flights costs, hire cars, CDW and add on insurances etc. It's a game we choose to play if we want to travel and we go into it eyes open, but loyalty nowadays with airlines and service culture, nope i'm not buying it.

After all it is free

Yes, all airlines are there to take our money and make a profit, but I think @zikomo is suggesting that easyJet's high frequency of schedule changes and cancellations are risking customer loyalty to an extent that it will damage those profits, to a greater extent than other airlines. I'm inclined to agree.

I'm a long time easyJet user and I think booking with them well in advance is currently more risky than Jet2 or Ryanair (etc.). I've booked about a dozen easyJet flights over the past few years and about 75% of them have had their times changed, sometimes due to amalgamation of multiple flights. Sometimes the time changes are only a few minutes, often it is several hours, and a few times to a different day entirely.

As a result I tried to book with Ryanair for this year's flights, but easyJet has a much better choice of flights from Edinburgh so I decided to take the risk again this year, booking four flights for next winter. Three have been rescheduled so far, but fortunately all in our favour, unlike previous years. If the messing around with schedules continues, I'll be even less inclined to use them next time.

@zikomo, if Easyjet has changed your flight time by >5hrs, you're entitled to pick an alternative flight - e.g. the Saturday or Sunday flights, that might otherwise have been a lot more expensive to book. You can play the system in your favour, you don't have to accept whatever the airline offers.

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A friend is arriving today from LGW. Initially scheduled to land at 16:10, so I could get him on my way home from work.
EJ have shunted him onto the flight which lands at 22:30. Which is a ballache as the Leman Express doesn't run at that time.
Before he booked, we looked at BA and EJ. I suggested that he pay 24 GBP more and Fly with BA, which landed around the 17:00.
Now I have to pay my son 60 quid to go and fetch him, so a real false economy.

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@OuatteDePhoque, a change of that duration, at that notice, should invoke a) duty of care, and b) (dependent on reason) potentially EU261 compensation.

Duty of care would mean EJ paying for his taxi because public transport doesn't run.

EJ rules also permit routing on alternative airlines where there is a material late change/cancellation.

If he's prepared to do the work himself and put alternative options to EJ, it could work out fine.

On BA, even if the flight had changed, with a change of this scale he'd have been able to do a lot with the booking - potentially even moving it to any alternative flights within 24months.

@snowdave, Thanks for the advice.
He just accepted the first thing they offered which was the later flight (before consulting with us), so his ability to dig his heels in has gone. So it's 2230 arrival with no compensation.
I would have pushed to be transferred to the BA flight.
Actually that's not true, I would have just booked BA to start with.

You know it makes sense.

@OuatteDePhoque, unless the reason for the change was genuinely out of EJ's control, he can still claim compo. Accepting the change doesn't get the airline out of EU261 obligations.

However, the moral of the story is the same as for Zikomo above - do NOT just accept the first thing the airline offers you. Find an option that works for you, within the legislation (which might be "a super-peak priced half term flight to Geneva in 2024") instead of whatever the airline is offering.

I win much more than I lose on schedule changes - to the extent that BA once told me "you can't keep doing this" to which I answered "it's you cancelling the flights, which means I can do this!".

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perhaps its time to start hitch hiking to the slopes again.
Those were the days.

Help!!

Worrying signs - easyJet Cancellations again

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