I’m on my way to London for a working group meeting with ICAO. The meeting will be held at Gatwick airport. Rather conveniently, both Gatwick and Basel are easyJet bases, which means that I have an abundance of options for how to get there. I’m on the morning service to Gatwick, which is operated by easyJet Switzerland, identifiable by its EZS flight number. EasyJet Switzerland operates under the AOC of what used to be TEA Switzerland, which is also where it get its Topswiss callsign from.

Getting to the Airport

My flight to Gatwick departs at 07h00. In addition to security, I’ll also need to exit Schengen. And that is how I end up taking the 05h05 bus from the main station to the airport. The journey takes 16 minutes and gets me to the airport at departures level by 05h21.

Check-In

As the largest operator at Basel, easyJet has its own dedicated check-in area in hall 3, which is located where the original check-in counters were before the terminal was expanded. From hall 3 there is a direct access to a dedicated security checkpoint for easyJet passengers one floor up. At Basel there are three security checkpoints. One on the Swiss side, one for easyJet and one on the French side. As a rule, the queue on the French side is not so bad, mainly because most flights are handled on the Swiss side.

I’m already checked in for the flight. In fact, I received an invitation to check in for the flight one month before the day of departure. I’m curious what the logic behind that is? Are passengers less likely to no-show if they check in so far in advance? In any case, I’ve booked a moderately generous fare that has me sitting in the front of the plane, speedy boarding, and an allowance of one small carry-on for under the seat plus a larger carry-on for in the overhead lockers. Not included in the fare is fast track security. Swissport Basel has a meet and greet service that includes priority handling for check-in, fast track security, and lounge access. However, at CHF80 per passenger, that seems rather excessive – especially seeing as the first slot is for 06h05 in the morning, and boarding for the flight closes at 06h30.

Airside

The airport is very quiet this morning. It’s rather pleasant. I pass through security and then head straight to immigration, where two of the automatic scanners are actually open for a change and available to Swiss passport holders.

Boarding

Boarding is the most tedious part of travelling with easyJet. At 06h00 passengers are invited to start queuing. There is a dedicated line for speedy boarding passengers, and another for all other passengers. And then the you wait. Twenty minutes later, boarding officially starts, the door opens and passengers are allowed on board.

The Cabin & Seat

The cabin looks neat and tidy, with the seat belts properly arranged. Perhaps that is the advantage of this being the aircraft’s first flight today. The first overhead bin is reserved for passengers on row 1. I’m seated on row 2, on 2F to be precise. The seat pitch on row 2 is great. Luckily, 2E remains empty, which gives me some additional space. The flight is rather empty, and I hear the cabin crew confirming 49 passengers to the coordinator.

The Service & Crew

The crew are all French speaking, including the cockpit crew. They’re professionally friendly – and I really mean that in a good way, in the sense that they seem genuine. The pilot gives us a flight time of seventy minutes, and then we get the safety briefing, which is done manually.

Catering

Once we’re airborne, a further announcement is made, inviting passengers to look at the buy on board menu – which turns out to be an epic fail on two counts: first, because there really isn’t a single healthy option. It’s all greasy croque monsieur or a packaged muffin that even looks gross in the photo that should, supposedly, entice you to buy one. And second – and this is really unforgivable – the crew will be unable to serve hot drinks on this flight. I’m fuming – it’s early, I’m hungry, and I’m seriously under-caffeinated!

Arrival in Gatwick

At least the flight passes quickly. The weather is more or less the same as what I left behind in Basel earlier this morning – when I was still full of exuberant optimism at the prospect of coffee – and before those dreams were oh so brutally crushed. In any case, we taxi off the runway and quickly reach our stand at the satellite of the North Terminal. I exit through customs and my eyes well up with tears of gratitude and relief as I spot an open Costa’s right in front of me!

Conclusion

This was an okay flight with easyJet, despite the coffee debacle. I think it certainly helped that security and immigration in Basel were quiet, and that the flight was so empty. This really was an easy, hassle free journey. The coffee issue was unfortunate. By the time I stepped off the plane, I was basically ready to sell my organs for a cup of coffee! But these things happen, and I will graciously not hold it against easyJet. Originally, my plan had been to post on the return flight too. But, honestly, I’m not sure I would even know what to write about. With no service on board and little to no interaction with the crew either, the passenger experience is pretty much a non-event on easyJet. Which is okay, but I think I just won’t bother.