Easyjet

[lisa]

We recently had our flight cancelled so are now travelling with Easyjet from Gatwick. I've heard a few horror stories about Easyjet but am hoping that they are a minority. I'm guessing that some of you must have used them to get to Rhodes. Any comments? I'm hoping that we can book in online and not have to check in too early as the flight is at 0555. (Nice long lunch at Kamiros at least)

[kathy]

Hi Lisa,
We have used Easyjet quite a few times. although not to Rhodes.
We have always had good flights with them, with no problems at all. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I'm sure your flights will be fine!

;D ;D ;D

[howard]

Greetings Lisa
Lynda and I have used Easyjet for some years, initially to Athens and back, but for the last 2 or 3 years out to Rhodes and back from Athens. As far as we are concerned, the do what it says on the tin. As long as you check in on time and you can now do it on line there is not a problem. If you can board in the first half of passengers and go near the rear of the plane, you can often get 3 seats for two passengers if it is not full.
The great advanyage of Easyjet over charters is that they are not pushing carts up and down selling things all the time, so you can get up and stretch your legs.
We have always taken the afternoon flight from Gatwick on a Sunday, so I cannot comment on the morning one. As for the return, I will not do Rhodes Airport outbound, so we get the Blue Star Ferry to Piraeus and fly home from Athens, a lot more expensive, but very civilised.
Athens is my favourite Airport, very much better that Gatwick.
Last year we had a 6 hour delay on the way home due to technical problems with the plane. Easyjet kept us informed, so we went for a long lunch in the Athens Airport Food Village.
By and large, I rate Easyjet as better than BA and a hell of a lot better than most charter flights!

[Deleted]

I hope any of you fine folk were not heading for Halki yesterday on Easyjet 14.55 from Gatwick. Cancelled at the last minute and you will have lost a chunk of your holiday. No replacement flight! All Rhodes/Athens flights back to Gatwick now full until Wed.29th!! Great.

[daisy]

:ojust when I was feeling really confident about booking with them next year

Does anyone know how many times that has happened this year?

[Kinygos]

What sth has not said is, in my view, more important.
We begin with the strike of French ATC. The rights and wrongs of this do not interest me; it is a fact
Knowing this Sleazyjet have to decide if they can send planes out, or not; their decision.
It takes four hours for a plane to get from Gatwick to Diagoras.
There is in existence “wireless telegraphy”; it has been around for some time.
There is the internet; a modern innovation and an upgrade of the original wire telegraph.

sth sat in my house using internet information and SKYPE calls to find out what was happening. He spent some time doing this.
He was told that, despite the fact that the plane was at least four hours delayed that he would have to get in to check in at the scheduled time.

After doing everything as he had been instructed, at the end of the pantomime, they announced that flight was cancelled. He then had to get back to Rhodes town and find another hotel room in the middle of the night.

Whatever happened to “The information superhighway”?

So, a suggestion to Sleazyjet; if the plane is on the ground at Gatwick, there is no way through French airspace, and there are no slots available to get round French airspace. It is not going anywhere, therefore, why not tell your passengers. This was not, after all, a sudden unexpected catastrophe.
My guess is that this is some form of sport for the airlines. Keeping people informed with the truth would spoil all the “fun”.

Perhaps someone who works for an airline can explain this to us and justify the system of “mushrooms”.

[janeandtony]

Oh dear. Was it because of the french strikes that it was cancelled? Jane did say on Wednesday that flights on Thursday would be affected because of the strikes.
We flew with Easyjet this time and it was all fine, especially the times of the flights which were brilliant.
The 12.30 flight home was just right for timing and meant very little time hanging about at Rhodes airport but plenty of time for shopping etc. We caught the 7.50 ferry and were at the airport before 10.00. Hopefully next year the flight times will be the same. We wouldn't hesitate in booking with them again.

[janeandtony]

Just seen the post from Kinygos. That wasn't there when I started to do mine, so please disregard the beginning of my last post!!!!!

[Kinygos]

Was it because of the french strikes that it was cancelled?

I have to say that I am making an assumption because sth was informed that this was the cause of the original delay.

I am not taking issue with the problem itself; it is the "mushroom" syndrome for the predictable event that annoys me. I am not entirely sure it is even justifiable for the stochastic event either!

[Deleted]

While kicking my heels here in Mandraki and sipping an ouzo. let me pour some oil on troubled water.
Simon is perfectly correct in everything he says. The increasing delays appeared as the afternoon wore on. What firstly irritated me was being told at check in we would be boarding at 01.40 when in fact the aircraft was still at that time sitting in Gatwick. Secondly, having been canceled at about 23.00, and having collected luggage from arrivals, the handling agents would give absolutely no info to anyone. They handed out sheets giving telephone numbers and addresses for the various air authorities around Europe which as you can guess wasn't exactly what folk wanted. No info on re booking. No info on what was happening to the two hundred odd people wanting to fly from Gatwick etc. Their only chant was - Call Easyjet. Try that at midnight Greek time. I believe they eventually bundled those willing into a fleet of buses and took them off into the night. I preferred to look after myself thank you. To say they were unhelpful would be an understatement and I have made Eastjet aware of that. Along time on my PC and lengthy calls early this morning resulted in the knowledge that I would be unable to get re booked until Tuesday (28th) from either Rhodes or Athens. Because it offers me an earlier departure and psychologically a better chance of getting off the ground, I have opted for Athens and decided to hang out until then in Rhodes where everything is totally familiar. There will no doubt be wrangling with travel Insurance later.
I did however, ponder on why a BM Baby flight from Exeter slipped in and out again without as much as a stutter and having poked around a bit today, discovered that the reason for Easyjet cancellation was in fact a technical problem with aircraft and not the strike at all. This does in no way alter the issue as stated by Simon and to put it simply, I am cross!! Having called the Gatwick car Park who have my car, they told me a fair number of the Easyjet passengers returned for their vehicles having been told by Easyjet they would not be able to travel to Rhodes for "Two or Three days". Wonderful!!
Enough of that - my ouzo is getting warm. I may post again in the UK on the totally ridiculous On line/Speedy Boarding system in force at Diagoras Airport. Too much for me at the moment and could result in another Ouzo. having said all this - **** does happen and I will be using Sleazy again, no doubt about that.

[Deleted]

Clearly I could have flown back to UK today at huge cost to myself. Not sure that I would get any or all of it back and the fact that it is warmer here made me stay. The thought that I should return to Halki did flit through the brain cells but couldn't face the hassle.

[daisy]

Hmm think I have a clearer picture now

The 14-55 outta Gatwickwas cancelled which would have been the return flight for you sth and Easyjet can't get you on a flight for days :ocould you have returned with another airline??

I suppose this could happen with any of the Charter Flights too although I would imagine they would get another plane out asap to accomodate all the package holiday tourists

In a right dilemma now

Pay Thomsons an arm and a leg to fly outta Gatwick at 7am wait for Easyjet and take my chances on them not cancelling :oor fly out on a later plane and stay over in Rhodes on the Wednesday night

[Di]

We toyed with the idea of waiting for Sleazyjet to post their prices (about March) as we can catch a bus to Liverpool airport from the corner of our road and be there in 15 minutes ;D. and I know this years prices were ridiculously cheap when they first came out . However, on reflection, we've decided "sod it" and will book with Thomson again

[Deleted]

As said earlier - could have flown home today but at huge financial outlay to myself which I am frankly not willing to do as I am in the lucky position of "not having to".
Don't shy away from Easy. This is a one off. I will rebook with them for sure. Just b^^^^y annoyed right now although the pain is rapidly wearing off.

[Kinygos]

Having spoken to someone involved in “the business” I have been given some enlightenment.

The “pas devant les enfants” approach is a standard for travel firms to minimise the aggressive alcohol fuelled (dare one say Faliraki types) mouthing off at the reps and check-in staff.
I can understand this, but I still do not like it.
Those with the comprehension of children need to be treated as children, but the rest of us find it infuriating, particularly when we are independent travellers without a rep to act in loco parentis.

It turns out that the problem was stochastic and not deterministic.
However, sth had to dig out the fact that there was a technical problem with the plane a day later. The last official announcement was delays due to French ATC.
Failure to inform from the source outwards results in switchboards being jammed with incoming calls and tempers becoming frayed. “Their only chant was - Call Easyjet”

The logic is probably that it is better to keep Sid Yobbo in quiet ignorance and annoy Mr. Sensible who, even when he changes to Mr. Angry, is not going to swing a fist at the rep!

I still prefer to be treated as an adult and be told the facts. That is never going to happen!