Contrary to popular opinion, I actually do fly budget airlines. Granted, I prefer not to – I find that once you factor in baggage fees, seating allocation charges and cab fares to and from the distant terminals – I find that I’m not that much better off.
However, when I needed to fly from London to Reykjavik – EasyJet offered the best timings, and was considerably cheaper than a similar flight on British Airways – even once I had added in all the extra costs!
And so, on a rainy London day I found myself headed to Gatwick to board EZY8507 to Keflavik. As I was lugging my huge suitcase and two carry ons on my Grand European Tour, I decided to pay the extra cost to get an Extra Legroom seat. This came with the added benefit of Speedy Boarding!
However, here’s where it became interesting. My checked baggage was dispatched using the self service desks – no issues. I got to my gate with plenty of time to spare and waited to board the plane first. I got to my seat (prebooked, courtesy of the Extra Legroom fare) – a nice window seat! I put my carry on suitcase up top, put my camera bag under the seat in front of me… and realised that the combined size of the camera bag plus my Timberland boots did not fit under the seat! This made for a very comfortable 3 hour flight! Luckily as I was by the window, there was a little extra space for me to keep my feet… but my knees were rather stiff at the end of the flight!
And despite being up front – the sheer amount of people who lined up to exit the plane upon our landing was such that I ended up being the last one off!
So, cramped knees, no footspace, having to wait until the end to get off… but the view? That was pretty nice!
The Insomniac Jetsetter 
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