When most travelers think of customer service, Easyjet is not the first airline that comes to mind.
The European budget carrier may not be as barebones as say, Ryanair, but they have long had a reputation for no-frills travel, with surcharges for almost everything.
Yet now this no-frills carrier has actually decided to adopt a stance that is more generous than major U.S. “legacy” carriers — on the issue of standby.
Easyjet’s new policy is simple. If you arrive at the airport early, and there is space to your destination on an earlier flight, you can take it. For free.
In the fine print they do add “and where it would not cause a delay to that flight’s departure.” Translation, you must observe normal check-in times. And if passengers show up at the last minute, they aren’t going to hold the boarding process, which seems eminently reasonable.
In fact, the whole policy seems eminently reasonable. It’s not only customer-friendly, but also when someone gets on an earlier flight, then it means one more seat Easyjet can sell on the original flight.
Yet, for what seems like a “win-win,” most other carriers seem to be moving in the other direction.
Same-day standby once upon a time was mostly been free with the legacy carriers, except U.S. Airways who charged for standing by after the original flight had departed.
U.S. carriers started implementing same day standby fees. Over and over again, I hear and read complaints from passengers who arrive early for a flight, there is another plane with empty seats, and the carrier demands money.
Some carriers, American Airlines, for example, waive fees for elite mileage level travelers. But others do not, unless a gate agent waives the fee, which seems to be a sporadic occurrence.
United said when they implemented the fee that it was “to continue offering our customers flexibility and choice in their travel experiences, and to make planning easier.”
Right. Let’s be real. Its about money. Strangely, Easyjet, which charges for almost everything, including on board soft drinks, and even adds a booking fee for most credit cards, is waiving standby fees.
Clearly this large discount carrier thinks free standby will help their image and not damage their bottom line or create too much work for the airport agents. It will certainly make their passengers happier.
So what’s with U.S. carriers? Customer service seems to have been forgotten. Maybe it’s been so long since they’ve made consistent profits with an intelligent pricing model, they’ve forgotten how to do it? Make money, or provide customer service.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
