An open letter to Easyjet
by Ben Curtis
Dear Easyjet,
I am generally very happy with the service you provide between Madrid and London Gatwick. You even seem to have the ridiculous queuing system under control these days, with far fewer examples of the undignified and totally uncontrolled rush to get on the plane that were so characteristic of many of your flights last year. I suppose that since you introduced the ‘Speedy Boarding’ concept (money for nothing, great business idea), with people paying extra to get on first, you have to be careful about ruffling feathers.
Last night I sat with my wife on the 4.55pm Gatwick-Madrid plane, amused that we had missed our take-off slot as the stewards couln’t work out why there were four too many people on the plane. Turns out your check in staff were to blame, they let four more people through at the last minute but didn’t tell the gate dispatcher… could happen to anyone! Still, we were relaxed enough, pleased to see the captain giving passengers a quick tour of the cockpit until it was time to turn the engines on and head off once air traffic control gave us the all clear.
So far so good, just one request. If possible, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use catering firms who put caterpillars in their sandwiches. It quite put me off my red wine and mini-cheddars. In fact, having got two mouthfuls into my ’soft cheese wrap’ before I discovered the bright green little fellow in the middle of the packaging (he had had a couple of bites of my wrap too by the way), I nearly had to reach for that little-used waxy paper bag found in the pocket behind your occasionally readable in-flight magazine. Thanks for the £ 3.50 refund and the offer, declined, of the replacement sandwich, but if it would be possible to do without the caterpillar next time, I’d be grateful.
Best wishes,
Ben Curtis, frequent easyJet traveller
Posted: March 14th, 2007 under General.
Comments: 10
Comments
Comment from Mike F
Time: March 14, 2007, 11:36 am
Lo que no mata engorda. 
It’s a good job it was bright green.
Comment from OzSimon
Time: March 14, 2007, 11:46 am
Fantastic Ben! I’m a stickler for good service so this just made me laugh. I’m sure they’re thinking that they refunded the £ 3.50 so what are you complaining about!
Comment from Steve
Time: March 14, 2007, 12:27 pm
What’s worse than finding a caterpillar in your in-flight sandwich?
HALF a caterpillar!!! At least you had some protein….usually, when I fly, the only 2 sandwiches they load onto the plane for the 150 passengers have gone before the trolley gets to you……Mini-Cheddars seem to be the staple in-flight food experience these days. Wish I’d invented Mini-Cheddars, I’d be wealthy by now.
Comment from Damian
Time: March 14, 2007, 12:34 pm
At least you didn’t fly with Ryanair. They’d probably try and charge you extra for the caterpillar - they have to cover their costs somehow!
Ryanair just changed my flight time from 2pm to 10am, which means I can’t get to the airport in time. I’m having to fork out extra for a hotel in Valladolid. What makes matters worse is that they’ve clearly only done it to get a cheaper landing in Stansted for the offer they’re currently running. So, to cut their own costs, they’re making *me* fork out for more.
Damian
Comment from Graeme
Time: March 14, 2007, 2:31 pm
Caterpillar or maggot? It’s an important difference as the latter are less fussy about what they feed on. If it was really a caterpillar then it suggests that your wrap contained something close to real food. Anyway, I assume the basis of your complaint is that it wasn’t cooked?
Comment from Martin
Time: March 14, 2007, 2:44 pm
As I worked for a few airlines in the early days, I know they always overbook every single plane. So don’t belief there excuses it’s al standaard procedure. They have to be sure that every seat is taken. Else they lose money on every flight and the cup of coffee the give you for your convenience is tax deductible. About your caterpillar they are full of protien
so they should charge you extra.
Comment from Brandon
Time: March 14, 2007, 2:49 pm
It’s the old joke, isn’t it? “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup!” “Well, quiet down about it or everyone will want one!”
Comment from Edith
Time: March 14, 2007, 5:58 pm
A caterpillar, hilarious! 
:D
By the way, in some cultures, eating insects is normal. Have you ever tried chapulín (grasshopper) in Mexico? They taste a bit like dried shrimp.
Comment from Marina
Time: March 14, 2007, 7:29 pm
Actually I read the ingredients list and even without the caterpillar I thought one should not eat the amount of shit (ooops) that it had. Can any one tell me why is Gum-something an ingredient of a wrap???
Comment from Ben
Time: March 14, 2007, 11:35 pm
Thanks for all the comments, I should have seen the protein jokes coming!
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