I took my first easyJet flight this weekend from Paris to Barcelona.  In the US we are envious of European discount airlines and the possibility of going to many interesting cities cheaply by air.

We are envious but also a bit dubious.  How comfortable and pleasant can a discount flight be?   As someone used to only flying with major airlines (and with a platinum membership level) I was a bit worried.

 

Well, A++ to easyJet.  I would happily fly them again.  It definitely provided a good value for the money.

Boarding – I loved the jetways with two corridors. As the passengers were disembarking, we were lining up to embark.  That’s a big saving of time for easyJet and makes for cheaper flights.  Passengers also boarded both from the front and back of the plane. That was a bit of a pain carrying the luggage up and down stairs since we were in the back.

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Luggage –  We went inexpensive and didn’t pay for extra luggage. So that meant and I had to pack for six days, two people in two carry-ons.  That’s it.  So I had my lap top bag and one small suitcase.   No problem!

Seating –  We weren’t in the ‘extra leg-room’ section up front but for a two hour flight it was fine.  The seats don’t recline which I liked.  Reclining the seat doesn’t make that much of a difference to me but having someone else’s seat in my face does make my flight less fun.   So ensuring that no one reclines is fine with me.  Also the armrests don’t have to have the mechanisms to recline the seat so they can be smaller and less obtrusive.

Getting through security – EasyJet (I think it was easyJet because they looked like their uniforms), had tons of people at the Paris airport helping with getting through security (moving the bins along, bringing out more bins etc).

I’ll let you know if the flight back from Barcelona to Paris is as good.  Let me know how your experiences have been with easyJet or other discount airlines.