A few days after terrorist bombs killed dozens of innocent passengers on London's mass transit system, we found ourselves bound for Luton Airport from Paris Charles De Gaulle.
Luton, well to the north of London, is the easyJet hub. It was also the place where three suspected suicide bombers were photographed heading for a southbound train the morning of the blasts.
We expected long security lines at CDG, yet we were unprepared for what we found. It took us several minutes just to find the back of a haphazard line that made dozens of turns inside a terminal growing crowded with frustrated travelers.
Our check-in with easyJet was completed 75 minutes prior to the scheduled departure, but we waited in line for about 90 minutes.
There was no public address announcement about flight status, and no indication the flight would wait for us. We asked the easyJet agent for some insight, and she replied she thought the crew would wait a few extra minutes.
Her cautious response did not do justice to her colleagues at the other end of the security station.
The airline delayed the flight until everyone cleared security, a total time of about two hours. The flight crew apologized repeatedly for the delay, even though clearly the airline was not at fault.
We could see many people behind us in line with the bright orange easyJet tickets in hand, so we were fairly certain that if we missed the flight, many others would as well.
Our anxiety level was raised not only due to the agent's reply, but because of easyJet's reputation in this area of punctuality.
In an effort to keep its on-time percentage high, easyJet requires all passengers to check in at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled departure. It's not a suggestion. Those who arrive 29 minutes early find the ticket counter closed. They have missed the flight. No exceptions.
But those who checked in on time made this flight, and rightfully so. Although they could have given us more information as we waited in the line, I give easyJet high marks for its handling of this situation.
Click "next" to read about how the easyJet experience might differ from that to which you are accustomed.
