Un-Easy Jet: Mixed Emotions and Claim Form Conundrums on the Discount Airline

This summer we used EasyJet for the first time, flying round-trip between London (Gatwick) and Glasgow, Scotland.  Total price was about $160 US--a great price for sure, and in theory it should have saved us several hours versus taking the train (around 5 hours each way).  However, our flight from London to Glasgow started as most EJ flights do, with it being delayed.  If you think I'm exaggerating, take a look at flight tracker for all their flights in and out of London--almost all of them get delayed at least 30 minutes.  So initially our flight was delayed an hour... an hour later, all passengers were lined up at the gate, where we stood for an additional 30+ minutes.

Finally, we received word that our flight CANCELLED.  This was communicated by a single EJ employee, who then said we needed to wait and she would take us back past customs/security--this took about an hour, and we were continuously asked to stand around and wait.  Finally we returned to EJ's customer service area, which was filled with customers who had gotten delayed on other EJ flights--so we waited another 30+ minutes in line, to try and fill out the paper work for getting either a hotel or another flight to our destination.  We were told here, multiple times by EJ employees, that because our flight was cancelled, EJ would pay for another EJ flight to our destination, and since there weren't any until the following day, they would also cover a hotel for the night.  Given that we only had a couple days to spend in Scotland, and had pre-booked our hotel there along with other activities, spending a night in London wasn't really an option.  So we confirmed with two EJ employees, that EJ would pay the difference for a flight on another airline to our destination, and we would just have to fill out the paperwork on our own.

Well the soonest flight to Glasgow was on British Airways (with whom we should've booked in the first place), and this last-minute fare cost us almost 800pounds (close to $1,000 US)--with the assurance of these kind EJ employees, we booked this flight and quickly got an airport transfer taxi (which cost an additional $100).

Three days later, our return flight with EJ to London Gatwick was, of course, delayed again, but thankfully not cancelled.  The plane was cramped and old, but the flight was fast and uneventful, and the rest of the staff was polite and helpful. 

So, after a few days I had the time to submit our claim form online to EJ, which was very easy to fill out and send in.  A couple of days later, I got a surprising email from EJ saying that because the cancelled flight wasn't due to an issue with EJ itself, but rather the weather and the airport, they would NOT be giving us any sort of refund.  Below is the email we received...

We're sorry that your flight to was cancelled. Our assessment and legal team has carefully reviewed your claim and the circumstances around your flight and have confirmed that your compensation claim is not eligible for compensation payment under EU Regulation EU261/2004. Please note that this may not match with the information you were given on the day of travel, as our staff in airports, and on-board, may not have had all the information concerning your cancelled flight.
Dear Evan,
We are sorry for the disruption to your flight. Our assessment and legal team have carefully reviewed your claim, including the circumstances around your flight and have confirmed that your compensation claim is not eligible for compensation payment under EU Regulation EC261/2004. Please note that this may not match with the information you were given on the day of travel, as our staff in airports, and on-board, may not have had all the information concerning your cancelled flight.
Our assessment of your claim
To further explain what happened on the day; air traffic control restrictions at London Gatwick substantially regulated arrivals due to thunderstorms, which resulted in long delays to flights as aircraft waited for air space ‘slots’ to operate. As a result of the delays caused by air traffic control restrictions, the crew operating your flight reached their legal maximum working hours and could not continue to operate. We do take reasonable measures to avoid delays and cancellations to our flights by having replacement crews and spare aircraft available in our network. In the circumstances, these options were not possible as the delay to this flight was as a direct result of air traffic control restrictions
EU261 Regulation
When we have to disrupt a flight due to circumstances outside of our control, the flight is classified under EU regulation 261/2004 as being affected by “extraordinary circumstances”. An example of disruption outside of our control would be that primarily caused by air traffic control restrictions, industrial action, severe weather conditions or a runway closure.
EU261 compensation is only payable when a flight is delayed by 3 or more hours after the scheduled arrival time, or the flight is cancelled, and the reason for the delay or cancellation was within our control. This type of disruption is classified as “non-extraordinary circumstances” in the EU Regulation. Examples of this include most aircraft technical faults or when we haven’t taken reasonable measures to prevent or minimize disruption.
Expenses
Even if your compensation claim has been declined, you may be eligible for reimbursement of reasonable expenses incurred as result of the disruption. If you have not already done so, you may submit an expenses claim on our website.
Please read this carefully before submitting a claim as this explains how we assess expenses. The only way to make a claim is via our expenses webform, we are unable to process claims submitted by email or over the phone.
We hope this letter clearly explains why your flight was disrupted. Our assessment team have thoroughly investigated all the available information and this is the decision we have arrived at.
Our Customer Services team will not be able to access any more information than we’ve provided here. 

Well needless to say I was pretty annoyed after receiving this letter--when EJ sent me survey asking for feedback, I let them know how little I appreciated the experience of flying with them.  The next thing I did , with little hope, was to fill out the Expense Claim form, which is pretty much the same as the Compensation Claim form, except you have to upload your receipts for expenses you incurred.  This can be a little tricky if you don't have PDFs or a physical receipt to photograph.  I only had e-receipts via e-mail for the airport transfer and the flight with British Airways from London to Glasgow, so I had to download those e-mails as individual files.  In Gmail this is pretty easy, you simply open the e-mail in a new window (use the little arrow icon here)...
...then press Control + S to save the full webpage.  This creates a folder (named with the subject line of the e-mail) that contains a bunch of little files, which you can just delete, but the one you can use will be an HTML file/document, again named with the subject line of the email, and it will be separate from the folder but in the same location where you downloaded it.  The EJ form also requests the Swift number for your bank, which can be found easily online with Google etc.

To my surprise, a few days later I got an e-mail from EasyJet saying that they would be refunding our expenses (a little over $1000 before taxes etc.)!  I had pretty much given up hope on receiving any compensation, and was ready to start a barrage of scathing online reviews 😈 so this came just in the nick of time.

So, would I fly with EasyJet again?  Probably not, unless there are no other options at a reasonable price point.  British Airways has pretty inexpensive economy flights around the UK if you buy well in advance, and while our replacement flight from London (Heathrow) to Glasgow was ALSO delayed, they are a great, reliable airline that gets higher priority at airports than EasyJet.  TIP: Make sure to use the British Airways website to search and book your flights, NOT Kayak etc., as a lot of those sites won't show ALL the available flights.

How about you?  Ever flown EasyJet?  Let us know your experience, good or bad!