EasyJet Removes Seats to Reduce Cabin Crew Numbers on Flights

A row of seats is being removed from some easyJet aircraft this summer, so flights can be operated with less cabin crew.

The budget airline said it will be able to fly with three cabin crew instead of four by taking out the back row of seating on its A319 fleet.

That would limit the number of passengers on board to a maximum of 150.

Flights would still meet Civil Aviation Authority regulations on the required number of cabin crew, which is based on the number of physical seats, rather than passengers on board.

EasyJet told the PA news agency that this was an effective way of operating the fleet while “building additional resilience and flexibility” into the airline’s operations.

“This summer we will be operating our UK A319 fleet with a maximum of 150 passengers onboard and three crew in line with CAA regulations,” the carrier said.

“This is an effective way of operating our fleet while building additional resilience and flexibility into our operation this summer, where we expect to be back to near 2019 levels of flying.”

EasyJet said the last six seats are typically booked in the final days before departure, so selling a maximum of 150 tickets would not affect customers planning summer travel.

The change comes after many airlines were forced to cancel thousands of flights since Easter and airports have suffered from long queues due to staff shortages.

TUI has told passengers to bring their own food and drink on board non-long haul flights due to a lack of staff at its catering suppler.

Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said told the BBC “dire labour shortage” in the sector was one of many factors affecting the travel industry following two years of disruption.

She said it was a “travesty” that that EasyJet was now in a situation where it was stripping out seats to meet crew ratios.

“This only exacerbates the issue of meeting consumer demand to travel,” she said.

Source: Travelweekly