Was it Rimms who asked about the ridiculous time taken to check in with Easyjet at Dalaman airport? Anyway, this may be why...
We aimed to get to Dalaman to check in earlier than normal, and when we arrived the desk numbers (3) were showing. 57-59 which are about as far away as you can get but at least three. A good number of people were there before us, although a single queue (rather than 3 separate ones) had formed, leaving us no more than six or seven metres back. Check in opened, but only one desk at 59 - the queue had formed more in line with 57, and immediately on opening a human mass lurched to the right almost as one. We had a number of cases so couldn't join the newly formed queue.
In a rather untypical stroke of luck for us at check in's, 57 opened with nobody left in line with it and we had gathered our cases and simply walked forward instead of right and we were first in the queue [
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From here I shall give you the whole painfully slow process in painfully clear detail
We gave our booking confirmation and were told they didn't want our booking confirmation, they wanted our passports. Then an incredible number of key presses on the keyboard that seemed to go on forever. I put two suitcases on the belt and they were tagged and sent on their way. Eventually we were given our boarding cards and I had a confused look which generated an equally confused look from the check in guy. I cleared his confusion by lifting our other two cases on the belt. He never asked how many cases we were checking in (actually, he didn't ask us if we packed them ourselves, were carrying fireworks or any of that formality stuff whatsoever.
Much tapping of keys. Second lot of 2 cases tagged. Eventually. Then he informed us that we were
TWO KG over our allowance. I asked him if he was serious. Yes, he was serious. "Your allowance is 80 Kilo, you have checked in 82 kilo". I asked if he wanted me to pay. "Yes, £9 per kilo, £18". I informed him that (as he knew) there were 4 of us so he was making us pay for being 500g over each. "Yes, 2 kilo over".
I asked if I could take 2 Kg out, he said I could. Problem was that the only suitcase left was the one with the girl's clothes in, and to remove 2kg worth from that would be a large amount to carry. Had it been easy to get to a toaster or any single 2kg lump I would have. I turned to explain to Steph what the hell was going on and he really wasn't bothered that in doing so I was holding up the whole queue!
In the end I had a discussion with all the poor customers behind me and explained what was going on and again he sat uninterested. Our fellow travellers were very much with us, one even offering to carry to 2kg for us. I informed the guy that after this 10 minute stand off I couldn't be bothered and would pay the £18.
There is a form that is filled in when you pay, and this took a while. Now you would think that there was a well oiled mechanism for paying. No such luck - another bozo must accompany you to the Easyjet office to pay (he holds your boarding cards, if you don't pay you don't fly). How do you think the check in clerk contacts the accompany you to the office guy? A mobile phone perhaps? Two way radio? Not a bit of it. Stand on the luggage belt, looking around the terminal for a distant figure...ultimately waving arms high to a third party airport worker, pointing at accompanying man, who eventually came.
You pay your
£4.50 each (in our case) in an office really close to the Easyjet check in desk. It's no more than 3 metres away! Sadly, 3 metres BEHIND the check in desk, meaning 150m walk back along all the right side desks, with a double back to right behind where you started. In the office, another employee starts up (and apologises for) another painfully slow computer. Twenty quid presented leads to a major discussion on how to find £2 change. Eventually all done, receipt is completed and I am thanked, and wished a good flight.
I am sure this quest for £18 took 15 minutes at the check in desk, forgetting the payment side. Ultimately I couldn't care less about £18, I've got away with much more excess baggage on DLM-UK flights with other airlines. Whether the time was invested wisely by Easyjet, with a huge restless queue behind me is not for me to decide.
Just for the record, here is my receipt for the 500g per passenger excess baggage charge so inflexibly enforced:
I always believe that life is a 'swings and roundabouts' affair, and so it proved. £18 down, I ultimately arrived at the Europcar desk at Manchester airport. My request for a rather dowdy Ford Mondeo for our 5 hour drive to Scotland had been upgraded to an AMG Mercedes beast of a car
