Emily and her family were due to leave Edinburgh to return to Lyon on May 28 at 9pm on flight EJU6971. An EasyJet flight operated by its Austrian subsidiary, set up to circumvent Brexit obligations. At the airport, boarding passes in hand, the family discovers via SMS that their flight has been cancelled. Then they come to check in to ask for help and information. Two employees of a service provider of a British company admit their helplessness and inform unfortunate travelers that they cannot help them find a hotel. “It’s a marathon in Edinburgh. There is no free room for about 50 km.” The company’s new SMS then appears on their screens. The family is invited to look for a hotel. reasonable price “. The only room they end up finding is €800 a night. As for their return to France, it is not expected for four days, according to the easyJet website. But Emily and her companion work on Mondays. So they go looking for a new ticket, which they then buy from the Transavia airline, but which, alas, only takes them as far as Paris. Therefore, it will also be necessary to purchase train tickets for the journey from Paris to Lyon. Cancellation fee: 2000 EUR.
This testimony is unfortunately not unique. How could the English company, which operates up to 1700 flights a day, come to this? EasyJet is now caught in a conflict between two phenomena, one might be tempted to say. First of all, the condition of the airports where it operates, mainly Gatwick and Amsterdam, which have asked to reduce the movement of their planes by about 10%. Indeed, these airports are currently unable to hire enough staff to handle the resumption of traffic. There are not enough officers to carry out security checks and baggage handling under normal circumstances.
These disruptions affect the entire production chain; a plane that leaves Gatwick in south London, and whose main user is easyJet, will then go to Geneva or Paris to go to Nice, then on to Berlin and possibly back to Gatwick. at the end of the day. Therefore, flight cancellation leads to cascading effects that are very difficult for the airline. Finally, easyJet faces another internal problem: a lack of qualified staff. Therefore, the months-long alarm of SNPL, the French union of easyJet flight crews, was fully justified.
In a stained glass letter addressed to the management of the company, he condemned “ unprecedented chaos “, present and future. The company also declined to tell us the number of flights canceled each day since May due to lack of crews needed to maintain its connectivity. “ The current difficult operating environment continues to have an impact, resulting in a small number of flight cancellations. “, he half-heartedly admits. So the company found a parade to drive its planes; reduce the number of passengers on board. Indeed, regulations require one flight crew per 50 passengers. The EasyJet Airbus A319, which offers 156 seats, usually requires 4 flight attendants and a steward. Accommodating only 150 passengers, this ratio drops to 3 cabin crew. But will this little bandage be enough to stop the bleeding?
A company that is not equipped to provide quality after sales services
After laying off several thousand employees, the company is now unable to rehire. The hundred extra jobs announced last week won’t change the hell some passengers feel when their flights are canceled at the last minute. Because, unlike Lufthansa or Air France, this company, like any self-respecting low-cost carrier, is not equipped to provide quality after-sales service. Passengers who are victims of last-minute cancellations have to find alternative solutions and book hotel rooms if necessary. To book another flight, they only have a website that only offers easyJet flights, sometimes scheduled three or four days later. Unlike the big companies, this low-cost doesn’t belong to a group like Skyteam or Star Alliance, which offers a code-sharing system and therefore mutual assistance. Thus, in the event that KLM Amsterdam-Paris is canceled due to a technical problem, its passengers are immediately offered a solution at Air France.
Passengers affected by last-minute cancellations must manage.
In addition, easyJet uses local service staff at its stops, who therefore do not have the tools to take care of booking a hotel room here, a different flight there, or rerouting with another airline. However, a company spokesperson tells us “We are communicating directly with customers whose flights have been canceled to inform them of transfer or refund options, as well as hotel booking information, if applicable, and other rights, including direct rebooking with other airlines when easyJet flights are not operated. available. Customers can rebook a free easyJet flight directly through our self-service tool. » The reality is more prosaic. Among the many testimonials we have received by email from these disappointed customers, none mentions the company calling.
Strike calls in July
In the meantime, and if your holiday destination is in Spain, beware of easyJet cancellations. The Spanish labor union announced a strike on July 1, 2 and 3, as well as July 15, 16, 17 and 29, 30, 31 in Barcelona, Malaga and Palma. de Mallorca airports. At this stage, only the weekend of July 23 and 24 is saved.
How to deal with a flight cancellation?
Know that firstno compensation is conditional only ifcancellation is announced more than two weeks ago before the scheduled departure time ie. if the cancellation is announced 14 to 7 days before departure, but the company offers to change the route, which allows you to leave no earlier than 2 hours before the scheduled departure time and reach the final destination 4 hours after the expected arrival time. » according to the review What to choose? There will no longer be a refund if the cancellation is announced 7 days before departure, but the company offers a re-routing that allows you to depart no earlier than 1 hour before the scheduled departure time and arrive at the final destination 2 hours after the scheduled time. the arrival
In all other cases except exceptional circumstances (eg a strike but not a staff shortage) the company is obliged to compensate you and find alternative solutions. Details of full passenger rights can be found on the civil aviation website.
Finally, in case of dispute with the company, you must first write to him, stating that if he does not answer satisfactorily, or if he does not answer, you will contact the DGAC. To do this, you must write an email to service.client@easyjet.com. You might try contacting the company on +33 (0) 9 77407770 – open Monday to Sunday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm (French time) and finally send a registered letter to easyJet;
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport
Building N12 00 – Terminal 2
93290 Tremblay-en-France
As a last resort, if the company has not responded to you within two months, or if its response remains unsatisfactory, then you will have to contact the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which has extensive sanctioning powers, by filling out the appropriate form.
Source: Le Figaro
