On my return flight with Easyjet last week, I glanced through the in flight magazine and was dismayed by the easyJetHoliday three page spread advert. One page described the tale of woe of a couple who’d put together their own holiday, spending all evening looking for hotels which caused the computer to crash twice, then discovered that the flight price they’d seen earlier had increased and to cover this increase had to book accommodation in a cheaper, less desirable locale. However the second couple who booked it all on easyJet saved time and money.

by Willip Von Ree

I doubt the second couple saved money booking with easyJet. They may have been the ones comprising on location as easyJet has an exclusive hotel partner, so I don’t think they can offer such a wide choice of hotels. As for price, a metasearch such as HotelsCombined searches more than 30 suppliers so is far more likely to find the lowest price. As for the time factor, yes it would be quicker just to book everything with easyJet. However using a price comparison site doesn’t take long.

But it states in the easyJet ad that they guarantee the lowest price. Cast your eyes to line 4 where it states that the guarantee doesn’t cover flights and hotels booked separately. So why are easyJet bothering to mention the guarantee in the context of an advert where the first couple book the elements separately, so they wouldn’t even be covered by the guarantee?

Are easyJet relying on customer inertia i.e. customers can’t be bothered to look at other sites and believe that a low cost airline must also offer low price accommodation? Are customers reassured by the lowest price guarantee?

Now easyJet are great for low cost flights when you fly off peak, it only cost me £53 for a return flight from Glasgow to Berlin, with online check in and no hold baggage. The flight was 15 minutes early both ways. But my advice don’t book accommodation or car hire on their site until you shop around. You can see an example of savings made by shopping around in this post.