Aviation Discussion

[TravelDream]

I've flown Wizz Air recently as in the last 6 months and your view is nothing at all like what I've experienced, in fact I say it's Ryanair that are utter and complete dross using your own description in fact I rather go wing walking or bungi jumping then spend any of my time and money on Ryanair, the fact that I would never go Bungi jumping says it all about how bad Ryanair are.

The best airline that I've used recently hands down is KLM CityHopper but you pay for the premium.

Wizzair is, IMO, worse than Ryanair. If you think Ryanair's terms are tricky and designed to catch you out, wait until you fly Wizz! However, Wizz have been running flights costing pennies during Covid though so excellent if you are able to travel.

If you are talking about application of the rules, you have to realise that Ryanair/ Wizz/ easyjet staff at the airport don't actually work for Ryanair/ Wizz/ easyjet. They work for the handling company who offers the lowest bid. Just because someone's in an orange easyjet uniform, doesn't mean they are an easyjet employee. Generally at a base, there'll just be an employed manager on duty. At an outstation, the airline probably won't have any staff of their own at all. It's one of the big differences with Jet2 IMO. They employ their own front of house staff at their bases and it really shows.

At the end of the day, you have to take them for what they are. Neither provides first class service. They provide low-cost reliable flights.


Often you get what you pay for, but not always. I have found some British Airways crew to be incredibly rude and unfriendly. Sad to say it's often 'older' crew members on World fleet and Eurofleet who are the surliest. The 'younger' crew of Mixed fleet tend to be a bit friendlier (if less polished). *my auntie works as cabin crew for world fleet so nothing against them personally.

 

[Butts]

Which of those was the prime attraction for you, Sir?

Benson & Hedges all the way.

Talking of Cigarettes I used Ryanair from Stansted and Edinburgh to Luxembourg on a number of occasions without any grief.

It was quite easy to get Front Row, Priority Boarding and 2 Bags On for around £50- £60 - a veritable bargain and rarely delayed.

 

[AM9]

I have found in the past that by flying the national airline of where you're going you will generally do OK, if paying a bit more. KLM is an interesting one, though, as the Dutch are all tall but the legroom is awful!

That's long been what I do on holidays, fly the airline of the destination(s), especially if it is the flagship national operation. There are exceptions, notably Garuda and some of the US carriers.
It makes the holiday feel like it's starting when you board at the UK airport, and generally get a smoother passage once landed. It's also pleasant to sample food from the host nation.

 

[eoff]

I can see it working both ways. Using a national carrier or being at a carrier's US Hub airport you may find yourself in part of an airport with much nicer facilities. On the other hand you could avoid crowds by avoiding certain airlines at busy times.

I remember asking the gate staff at one airport (Easyjet I think) if there was a bridge to the plane or a bus/walk. The answer was along the lines of "Jou are joking, we don't pay for that".

 

[Aictos]

I have found in the past that by flying the national airline of where you're going you will generally do OK, if paying a bit more. KLM is an interesting one, though, as the Dutch are all tall but the legroom is awful!

I found it acceptable for two reasons, 1. the flights were on Embraer E195s which I'm sure you're aware are 2+2 seating not 3+3 and the fact that even in those times of penny pinching they still found it possible to offer a catering offer on both flights.

Wizzair is, IMO, worse than Ryanair. If you think Ryanair's terms are tricky and designed to catch you out, wait until you fly Wizz! However, Wizz have been running flights costing pennies during Covid though so excellent if you are able to travel.

If you are talking about application of the rules, you have to realise that Ryanair/ Wizz/ easyjet staff at the airport don't actually work for Ryanair/ Wizz/ easyjet. They work for the handling company who offers the lowest bid. Just because someone's in an orange easyjet uniform, doesn't mean they are an easyjet employee. Generally at a base, there'll just be an employed manager on duty. At an outstation, the airline probably won't have any staff of their own at all. It's one of the big differences with Jet2 IMO. They employ their own front of house staff at their bases and it really shows.

At the end of the day, you have to take them for what they are. Neither provides first class service. They provide low-cost reliable flights.


Often you get what you pay for, but not always. I have found some British Airways crew to be incredibly rude and unfriendly. Sad to say it's often 'older' crew members on World fleet and Eurofleet who are the surliest. The 'younger' crew of Mixed fleet tend to be a bit friendlier (if less polished). *my auntie works as cabin crew for world fleet so nothing against them personally.

Didn't have any issues with Wizz Air trying to catch me out with hidden fees unlike Ryanair and yes even though the actual airport handling might not be directly employed by Ryanair, they still pay the company to provide a service and Ryanair is the only airline that I know of that stomps to such tacky levels that they feel the need to have a cheap marketing announcement upon arrival when most airlines have a more personal approach that say 1. how the weather is, 2. thank for you for flying with them which is all anyone needs to hear.

They don't need to present a tacky and cheap product when it can just be cheap.

Benson & Hedges all the way.

Talking of Cigarettes I used Ryanair from Stansted and Edinburgh to Luxembourg on a number of occasions without any grief.

It was quite easy to get Front Row, Priority Boarding and 2 Bags On for around £50- £60 - a veritable bargain and rarely delayed.

Gold I think yes? Did also look at Malta, Channel Islands and Gibraltar too for a duty free run. Is there anywhere else apart from Poland that does cigs a lot cheaper then the UK?

That's long been what I do on holidays, fly the airline of the destination(s), especially if it is the flagship national operation. There are exceptions, notably Garuda and some of the US carriers.
It makes the holiday feel like it's starting when you board at the UK airport, and generally get a smoother passage once landed. It's also pleasant to sample food from the host nation.

I wasn't going on holiday in the Netherlands but rather used them as a detour as my original route with BA via Heathrow had one of the legs cancelled so decided I might as well try KLM and stop over at Schiphol. Usually I do point to point flights and that was my first one on a hub and spoke flight but as the Schiphol to Vienna flight was classed as a internal EU flight it made so much difference being able to just walk off the flight and out the airport without having to go though passport control.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I can see it working both ways. Using a national carrier or being at a carrier's US Hub airport you may find yourself in part of an airport with much nicer facilities. On the other hand you could avoid crowds by avoiding certain airlines at busy times.

I remember asking the gate staff at one airport (Easyjet I think) if there was a bridge to the plane or a bus/walk. The answer was along the lines of "Jou are joking, we don't pay for that".

Main reason Sleasy board from the ground is that it's quicker as you can use both doors. They do use air bridges at some airports, though.

 

[Chester1]

Just pondering a trip to Gibraltar as never been and was wondering if anyone had any tips on when the best time was to visit eg when it's not expensive so outside the peak season and any flights they recommend.

I'm open to all airlines except Ryanair as I won't entertain the thought of using them, not even sure if they serve the place?

Is it possible to do a day trip there and back?

I have been in January and October. Temperature was about 13C and 18C.

For flights you have four options (none are Ryanair):

- BA run a daily service from Heathrow and this has operated throughout the pandemic to maintain a link with UK.

- Easyjet flies from Luton and Manchester. 2-3 times a week depending on time of year

- Wizz Air flies from Luton

- Eastern Airways is launching a Birmingham service on 28th May using Embraer 190s (2+2 seating).

Gibraltar is a very good destination for some people and terrible for others. Its a good destination if you are the sort of person who likes wandering around British tourist towns but that also likes a bit of European weather and culture. It has a castle and siege tunnels. It has 6 small beaches. Its high street is basically a warmer version of a British one but with really cheap boose and cigarettes. You can do snorkeling and other water sports. There is a dolphin / whale watching company (the straights are excellent place for it). The rock and its monkeys are the famous attraction and worth doing (don't bring ANY food with you) but there is other stuff to do. Cafes and restaurants are a mixture of continental and British.

 

[AM9]

I found it acceptable for two reasons, 1. the flights were on Embraer E195s which I'm sure you're aware are 2+2 seating not 3+3 and the fact that even in those times of penny pinching they still found it possible to offer a catering offer on both flights.


Didn't have any issues with Wizz Air trying to catch me out with hidden fees unlike Ryanair and yes even though the actual airport handling might not be directly employed by Ryanair, they still pay the company to provide a service and Ryanair is the only airline that I know of that stomps to such tacky levels that they feel the need to have a cheap marketing announcement upon arrival when most airlines have a more personal approach that say 1. how the weather is, 2. thank for you for flying with them which is all anyone needs to hear.

They don't need to present a tacky and cheap product when it can just be cheap. ...

I think that they are just adressing their target market which only has one criterion, i.e. price.

 

[najaB]

I think that they are just adressing their target market which only has one criterion, i.e. price.

Indeed, the rise of the LCCs wasn't driven by single-minded dedication to excellent customer service.

 

[Aictos]

I have been in January and October. Temperature was about 13C and 18C.

For flights you have four options (none are Ryanair):

- BA run a daily service from Heathrow and this has operated throughout the pandemic to maintain a link with UK.

- Easyjet flies from Luton and Manchester. 2-3 times a week depending on time of year

- Wizz Air flies from Luton

- Eastern Airways is launching a Birmingham service on 28th May using Embraer 190s (2+2 seating).

Gibraltar is a very good destination for some people and terrible for others. Its a good destination if you are the sort of person who likes wandering around British tourist towns but that also likes a bit of European weather and culture. It has a castle and siege tunnels. It has 6 small beaches. Its high street is basically a warmer version of a British one but with really cheap boose and cigarettes. You can do snorkeling and other water sports. There is a dolphin / whale watching company (the straights are excellent place for it). The rock and its monkeys are the famous attraction and worth doing (don't bring ANY food with you) but there is other stuff to do. Cafes and restaurants are a mixture of continental and British.

I didn't know you could do snorkelling as well as the dolphin / whale watching, might be worth spending a few days down there. I like the Embraer 190s so that might be worth doing too.

 

[Bald Rick]

For flights you have four options (none are Ryanair):

- BA run a daily service from Heathrow and this has operated throughout the pandemic to maintain a link with UK.

- Easyjet flies from Luton and Manchester. 2-3 times a week depending on time of year

- Wizz Air flies from Luton

- Eastern Airways is launching a Birmingham service on 28th May using Embraer 190s (2+2 seating).

Flight search engines show twice daily LHR - GIB (BA) and once or twice daily LGW - GIB (EZY), from September at least.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Indeed, the rise of the LCCs wasn't driven by single-minded dedication to excellent customer service.

No, but the two main European low-costs, easyJet and Ryanair, did, like the two main UK low-cost hotel chains, choose a rather different approach. Ryanair went for "cut to the bone" whereas easyJet chose applying the low-cost pricing model* to something that in quality terms is a bit closer to BA than it is to Ryanair.

Interestingly pre O'Leary Ryanair was, I believe, a full service airline.

* That is - single class of service, yield-managed pricing, all tickets changeable (for a fee and fare uplift), luggage and food as extras with food considered a profit centre rather than a cost centre.

 

[AM9]

No, but the two main European low-costs, easyJet and Ryanair, did, like the two main UK low-cost hotel chains, choose a rather different approach. Ryanair went for "cut to the bone" whereas easyJet chose applying the low-cost pricing model* to something that in quality terms is a bit closer to BA than it is to Ryanair.

Interestingly pre O'Leary Ryanair was, I believe, a full service airline.

* That is - single class of service, yield-managed pricing, all tickets changeable (for a fee and fare uplift), luggage and food as extras with food considered a profit centre rather than a cost centre.

I would agree with you on that. I've used Easy jet quite a few times between Luton and Edinburgh on business, and found the service basic but relatively hones in the way that it does business. Internationally I've used them only twice, once to Nice, that was not so good outbound and on the return flight the plane didn't arrive and it took two hours before anything was said. Eventually a leased 757 ISTR from Titan airways arrived. According to some of the other passengers that was almost unheard of.
The other trip was to Milan. On the return, it took one and a half hours to check in. There were between 6&8 desks open fo all EJ flights. The queue was very long but every so often it seemed to shorten. Then they closed one or two desks and the queue started to lengthen again. Once it got so crowded that movement in the check in area was almost impossible, there was an announcement that passengers could pay to use the express channel, that coincidentally check in staff just appeared at. This cycle happened three times in the time that I was in the area. I doubt that I would choose to use EJ on an international flight again.
Still, better than Ryanair seems, - I've neverflown with them, and unless I'm being evacuated from an area in an emergency, I doubt that I ever will. I will not do business with an airline that abuses its customers like they do.

 

[Bald Rick]

I doubt that I would choose to use EJ on an international flight again.

Not sure how long ago your bad experience was; I have had similar at Bordeaux with EZY, albeit that was more about the ‘Billi’ terminal and security rather than EZY specifically.

However what I will say is that in the last few years EZY seem to have got on top of the ‘check in’ / bag drop experience. I do Luton to Geneva regularly, and in the last 5 years it has never taken me longer than 15 minutes from arriving at either airport terminal to being through security including the bag drop.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Interestingly pre O'Leary Ryanair was, I believe, a full service airline.

They haven't always been a Boeing 737 operator either...

 

[Fat Gaz]

Interestingly pre O'Leary Ryanair was, I believe, a full service airline.

With 6 Boeing 737s, 1.6m pax per year and 500 staff, it was! Later that year M O'L ascended to chairman. Ryanair binned off the old BAC11s and customer service with it. Did it work?
Pre-covid they had 460 737s with 210 on order, 149m pax and 16000 staff. Europe's biggest passenger carrier by numbers. Only Lufthansa group come close.

 

[WestCoast]

Worth noting that easyJet has downgraded its cabin bag policy so that tickets don't come with a full size cabin bag anymore. With that change from how they operated pre-covid, I can't see any actual significant differences between how the fee structure functions for easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz, be interested if anyone has spotted anything to contradict that.

I've mentioned it before but pre-covid I usually found BA very competitive against easyJet and while BA has its own faults I think their refreshed offer actually seems to have a couple of plus points over easyJet. Namely the free basic refreshments again and a full sized cabin bag included on tickets.

For holiday flights direct from regional airports, Jet2 is a strong choice for the reasons mentioned in the thread. I mean you half expect the cabin staff to do the macarena for the safety demo but they definitely go the extra mile. I once watched a Jet2 and a Ryanair flight departing from two neighbouring gates at Malaga Airport, the Jet2 flight had four or five staff in their red uniform managing the crowd and boarding people using wheelchairs, families and large groups like it was a military operation. The Ryanair flight next door was utter chaos

 

[Butts]

Worth noting that easyJet has downgraded its cabin bag policy so that tickets don't come with a full size cabin bag anymore. With that change from how they operated pre-covid, I can't see any actual significant differences between how the fee structure functions for easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz, be interested if anyone has spotted anything to contradict that.

I've mentioned it before but pre-covid I usually found BA very competitive against easyJet and while BA has its own faults I think their refreshed offer actually seems to have a couple of plus points over easyJet. Namely the free basic refreshments again and a full sized cabin bag included on tickets.

For holiday flights direct from regional airports, Jet2 is a strong choice for the reasons mentioned in the thread. I mean you half expect the cabin staff to do the macarena for the safety demo but they definitely go the extra mile. I once watched a Jet2 and a Ryanair flight departing from two neighbouring gates at Malaga Airport, the Jet2 flight had four or five staff in their red uniform managing the crowd and boarding people using wheelchairs, families and large groups like it was a military operation. The Ryanair flight next door was utter chaos

Who remembers the old days when neither of them (Easyjet/Ryanair) had allocated seating and it was a free for all ?

 

[TravelDream]

Worth noting that easyJet has downgraded its cabin bag policy so that tickets don't come with a full size cabin bag anymore. With that change from how they operated pre-covid, I can't see any actual significant differences between how the fee structure functions for easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz, be interested if anyone has spotted anything to contradict that.

I've mentioned it before but pre-covid I usually found BA very competitive against easyJet and while BA has its own faults I think their refreshed offer actually seems to have a couple of plus points over easyJet. Namely the free basic refreshments again and a full sized cabin bag included on tickets.

For holiday flights direct from regional airports, Jet2 is a strong choice for the reasons mentioned in the thread. I mean you half expect the cabin staff to do the macarena for the safety demo but they definitely go the extra mile. I once watched a Jet2 and a Ryanair flight departing from two neighbouring gates at Malaga Airport, the Jet2 flight had four or five staff in their red uniform managing the crowd and boarding people using wheelchairs, families and large groups like it was a military operation. The Ryanair flight next door was utter chaos

Hard to disagree with any of this.

I seriously don't get why people say they'll never fly X, but will fly Y when X and Y offer essentially the same service. Ryanair, Wizz and easyjet are essentially three peas in the same pod.
BA can be incredibly competitively priced, you're right. If you are taking luggage with you, they are actually often cheaper than easyjet or Ryanair on the routes I have taken. Even if you aren't, they can be competitively priced.

Jet2 really are a cut above the rest in terms of service. Look at Manchester airport for example. Only two airlines self-handle and Jet2 is one of them (arguably three do as Emirates owns dnata). That 'rude Ryanair staff member' actually works for Swissport and might be handling a TUI, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic or United Airlines flight the next day. They get what they pay for though. Ryanair will only ever pay for the absolute minimum number of staff.

Baggage reclaim | Manchester Airport

Information about baggage reclaim at Manchester Airport and what to do if your luggage is lost or delayed including contact details for each airlines' handling agents.

www.manchesterairport.co.uk

 

[Bald Rick]

Who remembers the old days when neither of them (Easyjet/Ryanair) had allocated seating and it was a free for all ?

Yep - first time I flew EZY you didn’t even get a boarding card - just a plastic tag you had to hand over when you got to the gate.

I seriously don't get why people say they'll never fly X, but will fly Y when X and Y offer essentially the same service. Ryanair, Wizz and easyjet are essentially three peas in the same pod.

Because - in my experience - they are not peas in a pod. Far from it. Others may have a different experience.

 

[Fat Gaz]

Worth noting that easyJet has downgraded its cabin bag policy so that tickets don't come with a full size cabin bag anymore. With that change from how they operated pre-covid, I can't see any actual significant differences between how the fee structure functions for easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz, be interested if anyone has spotted anything to contradict that.

It was done because Ryanair noticed the increase in turn around times. They found that additional time was spent with passengers with large bags struggling to cram them in overhead bins with little success. They trialled passengers carrying bags to the aircraft and then handling staff putting them in the hold on the apron. This significantly reduced the boarding time. Mainly through the remaining bags being of a more modest size, these went in the bin almost immediately, passengers sat down quicker, turn around time restored.

For holiday flights direct from regional airports, Jet2 is a strong choice for the reasons mentioned in the thread. I mean you half expect the cabin staff to do the macarena for the safety demo but they definitely go the extra mile. I once watched a Jet2 and a Ryanair flight departing from two neighbouring gates at Malaga Airport, the Jet2 flight had four or five staff in their red uniform managing the crowd and boarding people using wheelchairs, families and large groups like it was a military operation. The Ryanair flight next door was utter chaos

I believe it is sold as a "You get what you pay for" in that Ryanair say that you have the freedom to choose what you want to pay for. In this case you are paying for extra handling staff to make the operation smooth.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Who remembers the old days when neither of them (Easyjet/Ryanair) had allocated seating and it was a free for all ?

Yes, it was awful.

Interestingly Southwest in the US still do it - can't be many others now!

 

[WestCoast]

Who remembers the old days when neither of them (Easyjet/Ryanair) had allocated seating and it was a free for all ?

Very well! I think my first flight on a budget airline was in 2000 from Liverpool to Amsterdam with Easyjet and people sprinted to the gate when they called it even at 5.30am. You were given a number at check-in and that was whether you were first or second the board. The top prize was the seats with the grey headrests with extra legroom. Before that I'd only flown on holiday charter airlines like Britannia so it all seemed quite strange and exciting at the time.

Ryanair used to be great fun too. I remember blasting out of Blackpool Airport on one of their old 737-200s to Dublin in 2004. I remember going out it was one in the bright yellow Hertz livery and coming back the one in the silver (Jaguar?) livery. I remember thinking I would have liked to ride the new 737-800 and but how wrong I was to have wanted that at the time...

It was done because Ryanair noticed the increase in turn around times. They found that additional time was spent with passengers with large bags struggling to cram them in overhead bins with little success. They trialled passengers carrying bags to the aircraft and then handling staff putting them in the hold on the apron. This significantly reduced the boarding time. Mainly through the remaining bags being of a more modest size, these went in the bin almost immediately, passengers sat down quicker, turn around time restored.

I believe it is sold as a "You get what you pay for" in that Ryanair say that you have the freedom to choose what you want to pay for. In this case you are paying for extra handling staff to make the operation smooth.

Oh I understand the logic of it, it was just that I wasn't expecting easyJet to go for that policy as they operate many commuter/business type routes and position themselves more as an alternative to legacy airlines like BA rather than other low cost airlines. Having said that, I suspect they are carefully considering their market position as we pull out of covid and that may well mean more aggressively competing against Ryanair/Wizz in the leisure sector if business travel sees continued impact.

I think there's room in the market for all these competitors, there's far fewer airlines on the scene than there used to be anyway. Jet2 set up shop successfully right in Ryanair's crown jewel of Stansted and are about to do the same to Bristol, their main USP is that they sell package holidays as their main line of business. I get the impression people buying flights with them are just to fill up their planes after their holiday customers have been accommodated - that's how they can do what they do.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Jet2 are definitely a step up but they are more expensive if you just want a flight and to sort your own transfer and accomodation out.

The staff certainly have never disappointed me.

With the others, as long as you manage your own expectations they are fine. I avoid Ryanair but that's my choice. easyJet I will likely struggle to avoid entirely but I don't try to particularly hard. I like flying national airlines when doing city breaks.

My next flights are likely to be (subject to European holidays being possible from mid November). SAS to Copenhagen and back from Stockholm. Eurowings to Düsseldorf, Lufthansa from Frankfurt. Then easyJet to and from Faro.

All from and to Manchester.

 

[nlogax]

Who remembers the old days when neither of them (Easyjet/Ryanair) had allocated seating and it was a free for all ?

Yes, I remember being an early customer of Easyjet (UK) way back in the mid to late 90s and getting my choice of seat on a very lightly loaded plane. It was great! Then the flying public discovered them and started using them en masse..

 

[Fat Gaz]

Oh I understand the logic of it, it was just that I wasn't expecting easyJet to go for that policy as they operate many commuter/business type routes and position themselves more as an alternative to legacy airlines like BA rather than other low cost airlines. Having said that, I suspect they are carefully considering their market position as we pull out of covid and that may well mean more aggressively competing against Ryanair/Wizz in the leisure sector if business travel sees continued impact.

I agree with you about considering their market position, but not aggressively against Ryanair. They are not set up to compete against them. Sleazy have their own model which works perfectly well for them. Their problem will be where to position between BA and Ryanair.

I think there's room in the market for all these competitors, there's far fewer airlines on the scene than there used to be anyway. Jet2 set up shop successfully right in Ryanair's crown jewel of Stansted and are about to do the same to Bristol, their main USP is that they sell package holidays as their main line of business. I get the impression people buying flights with them are just to fill up their planes after their holiday customers have been accommodated - that's how they can do what they do.

I concur. Jet2 have a completely different model to the others. If you can remember proper package holidays from bygone days where you were looked after from the moment you met them at your departure airport until the moment you return through the same airport, then this is Jet2. So far, everyone I have met who has been on holiday with Jet2 raves about them. I've no doubt I'll one day hear of a sad tale, but nothing on the scale of Ryanair.

 

[Bald Rick]

and coming back the one in the silver (Jaguar?) livery.

I have flown that. Albeit just the cockpit of it, which is now a simulator.

 

[AM9]

I agree with you about considering their market position, but not aggressively against Ryanair. They are not set up to compete against them. Sleazy have their own model which works perfectly well for them. Their problem will be where to position between BA and Ryanair.

I concur. Jet2 have a completely different model to the others. If you can remember proper package holidays from bygone days where you were looked after from the moment you met them at your departure airport until the moment you return through the same airport, then this is Jet2. So far, everyone I have met who has been on holiday with Jet2 raves about them. I've no doubt I'll one day hear of a sad tale, but nothing on the scale of Ryanair.

I regularly used Monarch to fly to Tenerife and in 2017 was booked to Funchal with them for a holiday. 3 weeks before departing, Monarch collapsed but my travel agent found flights on the same days from/to Stansted (instead of Luton). The trips were a pleasant surprise, even honouring the extra legroom seats that I usually booked on Monarch. The only downside was the interminable playing of their jingle, adopted from Jess Glynne's 'Hiold My Hand'!

 

[eoff]

Yes, it was awful.

Interestingly Southwest in the US still do it - can't be many others now!

How do they deal with the situation where they have too many or few people on the plane. Quite hard to work out what has gone wrong if people are not in assigned seats.
Although I suspect this is more about being able to offer higher price seats in EJ's case.

 

[TravelDream]

How do they deal with the situation where they have too many or few people on the plane. Quite hard to work out what has gone wrong if people are not in assigned seats.
Although I suspect this is more about being able to offer higher price seats in EJ's case.

They only issue as many boarding passes as there are seats on the plane. Everyone has a ticket, it's just there's no seat number on there.

I don't miss free seating at all. Mad rush to get to the gate when it was announced which meant queuing unnecessarily for up to an hour plus. If you didn't queue early and the flight was full, you'd end up onboard with cabin crew shotuing to sit in any free seat as you wouldn't be able to sit with your friends/family. Of course a good encouragement to buy 'speedy boarding'. Airports hated it as well as it meant people spent less time in the bar/ shops.

Edit: Wrote the wrong thing. Doh!