Easyjet

[jpflavin1]

I am flying into Paris on April 12th and planning to fly Easyjet from Paris to Biarritz. The flight only appears to be about 25% full. Should I book now or wait? Is there a chance they might cancel the flight because there are so few seats sold? Any other advice would be appreciated.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[Bradypus]

It is very unlikely that the flight would be cancelled because of the low numbers you have spotted. There is still plenty of time for Easyjet to fill more seats and many people book short flights like this at little notice. The airline would also have the problem of having to cancel the returning flight or the airplane's onward journey to a third destination. The knock-on effects for their schedules might be very complicated.

Some comments here by professionals in the air travel field on this issue:
https://www.quora.com/If-a-flight-is-almost-empty-will-the-airline-cancel-it-to-cut-costs

 

[alipilgrim]

I'm not familiar with booking Easyjet flights but does one have to pre-select one's seat? The airlines that I'm familiar with, you can NOT pre-select your seat to save a bit of money, being assigned a seat at check in. Therefore the seat map would only show pre-booked seats, not the total number of seats sold. What I'm trying to say is there may be more passengers on that flight than you realize!

 

[Tincatinker]

Easyjet, aaah, what a lovely name - shame about the airline . You might as well book now Joe, chances are the price will only increase (unless the flight remains seriously undersold and that is unlikely). Its entirely up to you whether you pay extra to pre-book your seat (they're all the same shape and in the same airplane). Oh, and you could pay extra to pre-book your pack into the hold but that will be considerably less than if you turn up at the desk and they decide your pack is excess cabin limits so check and double check your pack size against Easy(?)jets standards.

Oh, and by-the-way, have a Buen Camino

 

[whariwharangi]

I am flying into Paris on April 12th and planning to fly Easyjet from Paris to Biarritz. The flight only appears to be about 25% full. Should I book now or wait? Is there a chance they might cancel the flight because there are so few seats sold? Any other advice would be appreciated.

Ultreya,
Joe

Book now. The price goes up with each seat sold. No they won't cancel the flight.

Advice? Whoever said 'half the fun is getting there' never flew with Easyjet. Last flight I took with them was Madrid to London. They asked passengers waiting to board for assistance in loading the baggage in exchange for having the privilege of boarding first and getting choice of seat (seats are not assigned). Its a discount airline and you get what you pay for ...

 

[Bradypus]

They asked passengers waiting to board for assistance in loading the baggage in exchange for having the privilege of boarding first and getting choice of seat (seats are not assigned). Its a discount airline and you get what you pay for ...

Easyjet seats are assigned these days. You can pay extra to choose on booking or take pot luck and have one allocated at random but once you have checked in - either online or at the airport - your seat number is on your boarding pass.

 

[J Willhaus]

Joe,
We took the Easyjet flight early in the a.m. from CDG to Bairritz. We paid extra to check our bags and the seats were still only 120 euros for the two of us combined. I did book many months in advance. The flight was not completely full. We were able to choose our seats upon purchase. The seats were not spacious, but they were more spacious than the Vueling seats from Santiago to CDG on our return.
Janet

 

[Jose J. Martinez]

I am flying into Paris on April 12th and planning to fly Easyjet from Paris to Biarritz. The flight only appears to be about 25% full. Should I book now or wait? Is there a chance they might cancel the flight because there are so few seats sold? Any other advice would be appreciated.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[Jose J. Martinez]

Buy the tickets if you ca. I could not book from Madrid to Biarritz and had to settle with San Sebastian. You can also take the train from Paris to Bayonne and then on to SJPP.

 

[Klogwog]

It is very unlikely that the flight would be cancelled because of the low numbers you have spotted. There is still plenty of time for Easyjet to fill more seats and many people book short flights like this at little notice. The airline would also have the problem of having to cancel the returning flight or the airplane's onward journey to a third destination. The knock-on effects for their schedules might be very complicated.

Some comments here by professionals in the air travel field on this issue:
https://www.quora.com/If-a-flight-is-almost-empty-will-the-airline-cancel-it-to-cut-costs

Cancelation like that only happens in Australia with Jetstar they are renowned for that sort of caper

 

[jpflavin1]

Buy the tickets if you ca. I could not book from Madrid to Biarritz and had to settle with San Sebastian. You can also take the train from Paris to Bayonne and then on to SJPP.

Thanks Jose. I purchased my ticket that day. Flying just seems easier, even though it means a five hour layover in Paris. I have taken the train and it also works but gets in later than the flight. Price is about the same.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[dougfitz]

Cancelation like that only happens in Australia with Jetstar they are renowned for that sort of caper

Really! According to the Flight Stats webside, over the last 30 days, easyJet cancelled 631 flights, compared to just 124 by Jetstar. That's a bit over five times the number of flights cancelled in a fleet that is about 3.3 times the size of the Jetstar fleet. Seems to me that Jetstar might have a better record on this matter, not a worse one.

 

[Bradypus]

Really! According to the Flight Stats webside, over the last 30 days, easyJet cancelled 631 flights, compared to just 124 by Jetstar. That's a bit over five times the number of flights cancelled in a fleet that is about 3.3 times the size of the Jetstar fleet. Seems to me that Jetstar might have a better record on this matter, not a worse one.

Not questioning your raw stats on this but not sure they address the OP's specific question of whether or not an airline is likely to cancel flights simply because of low number of bookings. Could it be that Easyjet push their aircraft too hard, allow too little down time for preventative maintenance, and so end up with more aircraft having to be pulled from service for repair? Just a thought.

 

[dougfitz]

Not questioning your raw stats on this but not sure they address the OP's specific question of whether or not an airline is likely to cancel flights simply because of low number of bookings. Could it be that Easyjet push their aircraft too hard, allow too little down time for preventative maintenance, and so end up with more aircraft having to be pulled from service for repair? Just a thought.

I was responding to the suggestion that Jetstar was more likely to cancel a scheduled flight than easyJet, which doesn't seem to be justified by the stats.