Hello from Santorini! Yesterday I flew from Milan to Santorini on EasyJet. This was my first time flying with one of Europe's biggest ultra low cost carriers. I'm lucky enough to usually fly in premium cabins, so I can't say I was looking forward to the flight. However, my expectations were exceeded by a long…
Continue reading: I Flew EasyJet, And I Loved It
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
I've had better service with easyJet than with legacy airlines, both in the skies and on the ground. A UK based call center too. Puts BA to shame.
EasyJet get better and better every time I fly with them. A clean and functional app, clean planes, sharp uniforms, pleasant staff and great route network. They've never weighed my hand-luggage.
I still think Norwegian are the best low cost carrier in Europe. Short-haul I would say I probably prefer them to BA.
Easy jet has better service than us3 that’s for sure....checked luggage is decently priced and they sometimes have cheap fares even close in...oh how I wish they would come to the us !!! Would put many airlines to shame here
Agree, have had very positive experiences. Wizz Air is the Hungarian "version" of EasyJet, with very interesting nonstop flights in Eastern Europe. Same ability to upgrade to better seats.
I'm more concerned about what happens when a flight is delayed or canceled ... how easy is it for ULCC to provide an alternate flight?
The no weight limit on your hand bag can be a very useful benefit. I had pre-paid for a checked bag with a 40kg limit and was a bit worried would be over. When I packed the night before, I put every heavy item I had in the hand bag. Enjoyed my flight from Paris to Nice in regular economy seats.
Friendly Italian staff on a LCC? You better buy a lottery ticket!
I just did BA long haul in CW and the crew was so bothered to even be working. Ugh...
At work we have just switched from BA to Easyjet for short haul travel in Europe and I couldn’t be happier for all the reasons you point out. The far more reasonable extra leg room seat which also gets you boarded first so plenty of overhead space, he crews just seem like they want to be there rather than BA’s who just don’t care.
One of the most noticeable things I find about the crew is how much more seriously they take the safety aspect, just try and get away with having your bag out on taxing or a bag ina BA exit row, they are all over it which I find really reassuring. Not so with some legacy carriers!
The fact the seats don’t recline is another positive, there is no need to recline on a couple of hour flight but when someone does it takes so much space from the person behind, and they seem to be at a much more comfortable angle then a standard seat when fully upright.
I don’t think your experience is an isolated data point as it mirrors every experience I’ve had. I’m using them so much now that for just under £200 I bought an easyJet plus card which gives you free seat selection and speedy boarding for a year.
Ryanair are okay too, but I don’t think they are in the same league as Easyjet, Ryanair feels like a low cost airline, Easyjet feels like a full service airline you pay less to use!
Very interesting Lucky. When in Europe I usually fly BA business class, and it is pretty bad.
Recently in Milan I was hassled for the size of my carryon (a standard one for the US---never happened before). I thought what, I am exec plat on business class and you are going to hassle me for a carry on?
If the boarding on Easyjet is actually orderly, then the seat you bought can sure give BA business a run for its money.
I would like to know if you have to go from Milan to Madrid which airline you will take
Because i'm sure you will never take easyjet because their is iberia and alitalia so miles earnings
You choose a route where easyjet is alone, For sure everyone will take her because its non stop
Don't forget that you can redeem your Emirates Skywards miles on easyJet without any fuel surcharges. Probably the only worthwhile use for them nowadays anyway.
Goes to show stereotyping is alive and well in our society if we still get surprised like this.
Our views formed from prejudice and not relevant experiences.
In MXP they sometimes check the size of your carry on (and that you've only 1 if you haven't purchased priority) just before the security checkpoint.
They have their own terminal there, so only U2 passengers pass that checkpoint.
Btw go for Ryanair, and select seat 1A (not expensive at all).
Then you're sitting straight in the front door, with more than a meter of legroom!
Just a thought - this blog is your business so if most of us compare our business communications to our customers (we are your customers, as our clicks generate income), we wouldn't randomly refer to our spouses/dates etc. Why is this incessant reference to Ford relevant here, or anyplace for that mater, unless it is part of the business pitch? Just sayin'
Also, EasyJet is awesome.
Easyjet is generally regarded as one of the better low cost carriers in Europe. Also, many prefer flying the A320 as it is quieter than the 737NG. I flew Ryanair and was slightly bothered by the noise, but didn't notice the difference until I next boarded an A320 a couple weeks later. Never flown the 737MAX though, and I suppose it is much quieter than the old 737.
@Lucky, It also might be worth mentioning the easyjet plus program if you plan on flying them more than twice a year, it's definitely worth joining. Free seat selection anywhere on the plane, free checked bags, speedy boarding, free same day standby etc. I've ended up sacrificing so many BA avios in favor of easyjet. I won't quite go so far as to say the same for Ryanair.
EasyJet is perfectly bearable. But whatever you do, don't keep your hopes up for Ryanair!!
Easyjet are fantastic, we use them a lot from Bristol Airport as they have a considerable base there. they're so simple to use it's ridiculous and what I like is that they always have a decent on board menu with the food actually on board, the other day we flew BA from LHR-GOT and we were in rows 24 & 25 (my wife and kids travelling so we spread over two rows!) i noticed all the way down the aisle that the crew were only selling tea and coffee, when they got to me they were shocked that i asked for a hot bacon roll and they told me they only loaded 4 and none of the other sandwiches........ Easyjet also have a reasonable priced on board bar and the middle seats which are often left 'free' when booking speedy boarding are excellent value.
One other feature with 'speedy boarding' is a dedicated check in desk should you have hold luggage to check in.
easyJet are great in almost all aspects except one. They're not that cheap any more. As someone living in London who travels for leisure in Europe at least monthly, I've only flown them 3 times in the last 2 years with them with the rest being around a 50/50 split between Ryanair and BA.
Ryanair have true low cost prices even in the days before a flight and I use avios for BA for short haul a lot. Even comparing easyJet cash prices to BA there's often not that much difference, especially when considering that many BA flights will be from LHR or LCY. LGW isn't a bad airport to fly from, same with STN but I'd definitely pay more money to avoid flying from London Luton
For example, looking at London (any) to Berlin (any) for the last weekend of August, easyJet is £182 return cheapest and BA is £199. Ryanair is £66.
@Boco. Agree re Wizzair. Flew with them several times, always a great experience. Lot more legroom than in BA's intra-European "business" class. Same experience with Pegasus (Turkish low cost carrier).
@ Deepak -- Sorry, what? The relevance was that we were traveling together and we had an empty seat between us. Would you rather me not mention there was an empty seat between us, or would you rather I just refer to Ford as "my undisclosed travel companion?" Me writing on this blog is not a traditional "business communication." I share my travels and my life on here, and most people like that. If it's something that really bothers you, then I totally understand and respect you choosing not to read.
Also, I'd just like to point out that it's funny that you comment on a very detailed part of my post, when you've commented repeatedly about how boring my trip reports are, and how they're all the same thing. Yet you keep reading. Hmmm?
I too flew them last month and my expectations were overly exceeded. I realised that i would miss my outbound flight (MUC-MXP) and called the customer care. I couldn't believe how kind the lady on the other end was trying to get me a reasonable alternative flight. When i couldn't find one i cancelled that flight and she promised that they would refund me the taxes before i even asked. The cash was refunded a few days after the return leg!
On the return from MXP i was very impressed by Easyjet. The leg room on the A320 was better than what i had on the outbound LH flight. Everything you wrote above was just as it was on my flight. Extremely friendly staff! I couldn't believe it.
They are indeed very strict on the 1pc of hand luggage. I had to stuff my laptop bag into my carry on at security.
I'm flying them again a few times in the coming weeks for a fraction of what LH commands.
Yes! I’m so proud of you Lucky!
Right, next up, it’s Ryanair, Wizzair, Pegasus Airlines, Eurowings and Volotea. A European budget carrier showdown would be great!
First of all, the carry-on situation seems like a nuisance when you're not in an extra-legroom seat and need to bring a backpack and a camera bag/laptop bag/small carry-on. If I was flying easyJet I'd pay for an extra-legroom seat as well, but based on what I've heard it doesn't seem like the airline communicates this policy well, and people often have to gate-check their backpacks.
Anyways, the other airline flying between Milan and Santorini is Neos. The same airline started flying a 787 between Milan and Nanjing last week, with Norwegian-style business class seats. Thought you might've wanted to add that to your to-do list!
Correction: In regards to my above comment, Neos has been flying a 787 between Milan and Nanjing since April.
It's so appropriate that you had this experience on a flight to Greece. It's like a Greek myth in which the gods descend from their heavens (first class with a shower) to slum it with the mere mortals on the ground (European LCC), only to find that they love it as much as spending their time arguing with Zeuss and Hera.
Problem is, these stories usually end badly for the mortals on the ground...
I have just moved back to the UK and live 30 mins from Stanstead and London City. Whilst i love using London City as it is a business airport , and so less crowded and overall a better experience, of the last 30 flights i have taken in the last 3 months i cannot notice any major differences between Air France, BA, KLM Ryanair and Easyjet. Ironically Ryanair have been the most punctual and Easyjet has the better overall experience and the rest have been fine all be it the cost is higher. The only discernible difference is that for Heathrow and Schipol I can use the lounges, but its allot to pay just for that, especially as their are alternatives (all be it that theses may not be as good) . The only one i would never recommend is German Wings , ive taken 6 flights with them and all 6 have been delayed between 1 and 2.5 hours which is especially galling when you see the Ryaniar flight on the same route runs on time.
Lucky, I don't want to ride on definitions, but there are significant differences between low cost carriers and ULTRA low cost carriers. I would definitely not categorize EasyJet as an ultra lcc, since they have a relatively generous Luggage policy, they fly to more central airports and they are way more customer friendly. Besides of Easy, Norwegian (with Wifi on board) also belongs to this category and also some other regional airlines in Europe and Asia. On the other hand however you have the Wizz, Ryanair and co (the list is long, also in Latin America and Asia) who fly to airports hours away from any major city, charge you when you don't have your boarding pass printed or your carry on is 2cm larger than allowed.
I think it worth noting this and comparing apples with apples 🙂
@lucky
Enjoy Santorini. It’s a beautiful island. My wife and I got married there 🙂
Is that why you two are there...?
What I do not like about Easy that their prices are mostly the same as flag carriers discounted prices so I do not see the reason why would I choose Easy rather than AFKL, BA, LH whatever flag carrier. Customer service is much better for flags than for Easy. And also why would I pay MORE money for exit row seat while you can score free exit row seats sometimes on other LCCs/flags.
I have flown basically all LCCs in europe and I would rate Norwegian as the best one, then Wizzair, then Vueling to name the top3.
@ anon
"I’m more concerned about what happens when a flight is delayed or canceled "
Which is when the EU's generous compensation package comes into play.
I also quite like easyJet (though never, ever from Luton). Like Norwegian, it actually delivers the service it promises - though, as others have said, often there is little difference between the bulk of their prices and those of the legacy carriers.
Ryanair, Wizz and the rest are a sinkhole of depravity, and I would never use them unless there was literally no other way. And then I'd expect to get shafted or royally messed-around. Much of Ryanair's business is shipping poor workers from the eastern European EU countries to and from their jobs in richer parts of the EU. Hence they fly to all sorts of, say, Polish towns that most people will never have heard of and which would not be destinations for most leisure travellers.
I admit I loved flying EasyJet back in December from Schoenfeld back to Milan. Very great plane and also very expeditious boarding. Only problem was how cramped Schoenfeld airport was in Berlin.
"But possibly the best benefit of these seats is that most people don’t want to pay extra for them. There were three empty seats on my flight, and all three of them were in the exit row, including the seat between Ford and me. SCORE!"
I like and use Easyjet. However you just don't know that most people "don't want to pay extra" for extra legroom seats; that's not my experience and to be blunt I've been on a lot more EZ flights than you by the sound of it. It's not wise to make such a generalisation on the basis of one flight. I do agree that the extra-legroom seats are decent value. I've never had a problem with EZ but you wouldn't catch me dead on Ryanair.
@Alvin
"First of all, the carry-on situation seems like a nuisance when you’re not in an extra-legroom seat and need to bring a backpack and a camera bag/laptop bag/small carry-on. If I was flying easyJet I’d pay for an extra-legroom seat as well, but based on what I’ve heard it doesn’t seem like the airline communicates this policy well, and people often have to gate-check their backpacks."
It shouldn't be an issue if one knows what the policy is - which one should always check in advance. If you are absolutely desperate to keep particular equipment with you you can - if you check your other bag. It's a choice and it's one which people who use EZ all the time seem to be able to live with. (Wasn't it Daniel who was moaning about this policy before?)
I've never flown Easyjet before, and I don't think it is a good airline, sorry. It probably would be but it is getting more expensive than it used to be. That being said IMHO, Norwegian is the best holiday liner in Europe.
Sounds very similar to my experience on Jeju Air in Korea. I had a whole exit row to myself because no one on the otherwise sold out flight wanted to pay the ~25 usd fee to sit there. Also paid ~10usd for a chicken and beer hot meal which was very good. Flight between ICN and CTS was smooth and on time. Sometimes the ULCCs are better than the full service for sure.
I would agree with most of the good things about easyJet that were pointed out above. There is one thing however that always makes me think twice when considering to book them: their notorious delays, especially with congested airports.
They seem to pack their schedules very tightly, which is a dangerous combination when you fly to slot-restricted airports like Gatwick, Geneva or even Luton. The slightest issue in the day's rotation will quickly snowball into a very large delay (thank God for the EU delay compensations though).
For some reason, this is not an issue that I found to be quite as recurrent with Norwegian and Ryanair (Ryanair using Stansted probably helps)...
Many of those who like to sneer at EasyJet and Ryanair ( and Norwegian) have never flown with them. While I vaguely resent even a cent of my money going to that repulsive grunt who runs Ryanair, it doesn’t stop me making the rational decision that they are sometimes the best option.
Indeed Ryanscare is pure ULCC but in the last couple of years, they've been serving more and more central airports in order to appeal to business travellers and that with lots of success.
Easyjet's approach is what newer LCC's like Eurowings or say Transavia (though it's been around for 50yrs as a charter) are trying to achieve; having a very low cost base yet operating from central/main airports.
Hope you are planning to review Santorini itself, hotel you stay at, things to do, not to miss and such
Well, I fly Ryanair 10+ times a year for prices that are less than what "full service" airlines charge just for the fees. Their on time stats are fantastic and I never had a cancelled flight. Any of their seats (even the standard ones) are fine for the roughly 2h flights they operate, for almost anybody but 2m+ tall men. Of course you do not get addressed by name but who needs that really? You need to know the do's and don'ts. In my opinion, priority boarding + 2 hand luggage is a good choice while onboard food is to be avoided. When I read people dissing Ryanair, it's usually those who never fly them.
Nice, Lucky!
You need to try Wizz Air soon. I enjoy flying them more than flying BA as an Emerald. As you said, friendly and outgoing staff, and the price is fantastic. Flying non-stop beats all, for sure.
Weve flown with EasyJet around once a month for the last 2 years visiting various cities for weekend breaks. The experience you had was standard.
We usually book well in advance and are very flexible about where we visit, usually just going for the cheapest flights. I’ve paid (including seats) between £120-£340 for a family of four. We only ever travel with small backpacks for weekends so have never had experience of hold luggage but we always select seats beforehand at very reasonable prices. Staff have almost always been polite and professional including the pilots giving regular updates on progress or delays. Food and drink onboard are reasonably priced.
Also love the fact you can make many minor changes for free whereas many other airlines charge. Planes have always been clean.
We’ve never had a cancellation but have had to get an earlier flight back once and just last month couldn’t fly at all due to a family illness. On both occasions EasyJet staff were quick to process changes and tax refunds.
It’s also the best airline app we use. Wish they were all as easy!
Did you buy a "Flexi" ticket?
Many crews, let alone passengers, are unaware that those include GBP7 of F&B credit.
Presumably this was done to counter business travellers saying to their travel departments: "I am not flying Easyjet because then I have to pay for my coffee"
That brings a half of Piper Heidsieck down to GBP9!
I have flown Easyjet about 30 times in the last year.
I always buy aisle on Emergency Exit row.
Middle seat Emergency exit row seems to be:
20%: paid for extra legroom even though middle
30%: empty
50%: one of the last four people to check in, who do not understand what luck they have, do not put their bag up until they are told to do so, etc
For short haul, I find LCCs when one has paid for best seats are better than legacy carriers.
One huge downside. The only N/S out of MXP is at 7am. Meaning wake up no later than 4am to get ready, check out, travel to airport, check in your luggage and go thru security. Then wait without a lounge.
Since 95% of those going to Santorini are doing it for vacation that's a very bad start indeed.
While not a problem for Lucky, who is always on the same time zone wherever he is, those of us who do have body clocks still functioning will lose the first day from fatigue. But still better than EasyJet from LGW, which departs at 6:45 am, and it's an over 4 hour flight. Ugh.... 🙁
I flew EasyJet twice last month. The first time they had no problem with my carry on, but on the second flight they charged $60 to gate check it. I’ll probably avoid them in the future unless the routing is significantly better, and I’ll be sure to check my bag in advance.
I hope you review things to do in Santorini, restaurants, the hotel, attractions, etc!! Would love to see more of that content here rather than just the plane ride.
For those asking why there isn't an equivalent in the US, wouldn't it be Southwest?
Hey Lucky,
I flew JMK-MXP on Easyjet last year, also my first time, and I found all of your points on the flight pretty much the same as to what my husband and I experienced. Clean plane, great crew, great buy on board options, baggage allowance very generous as we had an unrestricted airfare, flight left onetime despite the chaos of the Mykonos terminal and winds hampering operations. I pretty much only fly United in premium cabins which are more comfortable, but as it turned out too my virgin experience with Easyjet was above expectations.
Adam
I enjoy Easyjet, but not Ryanair. On EZ I often book a row of three seats (you need to call them to do this) and speedy boarding. A row of three is private, spacious and a fraction the cost of BA and LH business class.
EasyJet are excellent. My preferred short haul airline from London. Far better than BA.
Have been using them LGW to AMS a lot, for example. You can often buy return tickets on that sector for circa £100 even 3-4 days in advance when BA are showing circa £350 for a flight from LHR.
The pre booked tickets are super popular on those flights and there are lots of people traveling for business. Even fixed itinerary tickets can be changed quite cheaply with far less fuss than a legacy carrier creates.
I was flying LHR to FRA a lot last year and seriously missed EasyJet. Lufthansa are better than BA and offer cheaper deals from London but fares still typically in the £500 range when booking for business at relatively short notice.
In my experience, LGW also functions better most of the time than LHR, even though it lacks the shiny new T2 and T5 that Heathrow has. EasyJet staff also lack the in built arrogance that BA seems to engender in its staff. They even help load the luggage lacks: BA have a policy that staff must not do that, for example.
I agree with Lucky's review.
The main drawback is that on many routes, including routes used mainly for work related travel, they often operate only one flight per day or even only 2 or 3 per week. At least my employer is not so happy if I spend two extra days after a one day meeting just because the next flight is only after three days ...
I always go by EasyJet direct to Mykonos and Las Palmas from LGW every year. These flights are around 4Hrs; quite a long time cooped-up in a single aisle airbus. But very bearable. Crews are normally fun and friendly. (In Las Palmas, the Priority Pass lounge has a great a outdoor plane spotting area).
Good report Lucky ,
I fly Easy Jet and Ryan Air about 3 times a year on each airline . I find Easy Jet a bit more friendly and they have amazing hot chocolate drinks !! Their prices have definitely risen recently , but still good value compared to British Airways . I have not flown BA for 10 years and will not do so although I am British .
Anon- to answer your question , Over ten years have only had one major delay on a LCC . My Ryan Air flight broke down in Bratislava before take off . We had to wait 6 hours for another aircraft to come from Luton London. Ryan air provided vouchers for snacks and drinks value Euro 20 each. All arranged reasonably .
I've never flown Ryanair, EasyJet ,Wizz or any of these other low cost carriers. I haven't even flown them in the US (Spirit, Allegiant, etc.). But all the stuff I read about them (here and TPG) has me seriously considering them next time I'm in the market for a route they serve.
I'm quickly losing what little appetite I had to hit 1 million miles with United.
keen to get your review on Santorini, i can only assume you're staying in Oia 😉 i found it overcrowded and dirty. Travel to the Greek islands twice a year but i avoid Santorini as it is just way oversold.
Also Easyjet i would not call a ULCC, it is generally regarded as the 'better' LCC here in the UK, and agree with previous comments that it really is no longer that cheap!
I don't consider easyJet low cost anymore and I prefer flying them to BA which is bothe a reflection of how good the former has become and how bad the latter now is.
easyJet has Great flight times, land at main airports, friendly crew, good quality food to buy and reasonable pricing - they have the right mix.
I echo the sentiment of most commenters: this was not an isolated occurrence 🙂
In fact, with so many direct routes, Easyjet, Ryanair and Wizzair have now become the true network carriers in Europe, not constrained by a single mega-hub, but instead serving hundreds of destinations, including cities that hadn't had any air service before. Also, there's no difference between LCCs and legacies in on-board service or comfort anymore.
I've just flown Norwegian and Ryanair on a business trip this week. Norwegian is a delight, with free wi-fi, good seats, new planes and very efficient boarding (almost always using both front and aft doors). Ryanair is nothing like it used to be 5 years ago - their mobile app is superb, buy-on-board meals are decent and I was even able to make an impossible 'connection' at Stansted thanks to getting a front seat, security fast track and priority boarding. Sure, most of the pax were leisure travelers, but all of the flights were perfectly civilized and without a single issue. Just WHY would you pay hundreds of euros more for one-stop trip on legacy?
easyJet set their customers' expectations at the correct level and consistently meet them, if not exceed them.
They know what they do, and they ensure they do it well.
(@Lucky: Deepak = troll, obviously...)
I flew EasyJet from Lisbon to Madrid and again from Barcelona to Nice also pleasantly surprised. We got some incredible prices. I think Barcelona to Nice was in the $20-30 range! It was a big savings off of train time. We were very careful on carry on rules and had no problem. I don't recall the weight limit but we were able to bring on our fully packed carry ons, no weight check. Flights were on time. Only negative was the massive spamming leading up to the flight for services in our destination city. It seemed they primary make their money on advertising and don't make money on the transportation!
Aegean is great though 😉
To be honest, i do like the new easyet seats, but they are losing their main advantage over ryanair, the mainports. With ryanair now flying to el prat over gerona and the likes, you might as wel fly ryanair. They are usealy much cheaper and dont bug you over 2 carryons. Cheaper snacks too.
Norwegian wins allround, wizzair for the routes. They fly places like baku, astana and iceland.
In the last 12 months I've flown Easyjet, Ryanair, Volotea, Pegasus, Jet2, Vueling & BA shorthaul. I think Easyjet are consistently the best. I keep resolving not to fly Ryanair as their policy of keeping passengers in queues/lines is awful, but they have such a good network, good prices etc that I keep relapsing ...
I am at present living in Milano. Flew from MXP Terminal 2 to Madrid on May 30th, all land service were very good. Flight arrived with 55 minutes delay to destination. Return flight to MXP was June 2nd. All land services were very good. Flight arrived with 45 minutes delay to destination. For a total flying time of about 1h 50' this is an unacceptable delay.
Ryanair - never ever again. Just trash, sorry. Flew them on 4 occasions. On last two I hoped it'll get better. I did not! It's only so many times I will give them chance and my money. The whole Ryanair experience is just nightmare, including the 99.99% of pax flying with them (hello US brother Spirit).
On the other hand EasyJet or Eurowings are awesome. With Eurowings, being backed up by LH, Austrian and Swiss , there are also no problems to be put on another flight in case of huge delay or else.On both - great seat, great service. Oh and on EasyJet my carry on would not fit into overhead bins anymore, without any problems was told to just store it below seat. On BA I had to hand my bag to the cabin crew for storing somewhere up front with baby strollers...
@Deepak, issues with Art 377 much? What a miseducated, trollish, bhakt-like comment.
Haw! Haw! Welcome to the club Lucky!
I'm glad that you like EasyJet as they're really the cream of the crop as far as European budget airlines are concerned.
I live in Berlin as a British expat, and I happily use them to fly to the UK quite often. At one point, I was doing my MA at a UK university, and flying to England every 6 weeks. It didn't break the bank, was very convenient, and worked out jolly well!
Isn't BA a LCC intra-Europe these days? I had a coworker that had to pay for coffee on board a recent BA flight. For what I assumed was a full service carrier I wash shocked to hear this was the case.
As for EasyJet, I never had a bad experience flying with them. Crews are always friendly (the friendliness of the passenger varies), the planes are good and service is great (given that you buy something). Only bad experience I had was with a cancellation and a delay the following morning. Customer service didn't want to pay compensation even though they had to. In the end we got the full amount, but it took a little pressure.
@anon - they cancelled a friend’s Bristol to Zurich flight on Friday at 12 hours’ notice because ‘a new plane delivery was delayed’. He was offered a stupid o’clock alternative from Gatwick (200 mile round trip) or refund. He took the money. If a regional airport flight is cancelled it can frequently be several days before they can get you away, especially if your flight is not a daily rotation.