Condor for Shame – easyJet to the Rescue

For some time now I have been trying to limit my flying to non-stop flights, both to save time and to minimise CO2 emissions, so I was pretty gutted when I learned learn that German carrier Condor had axed my direct flight from Egilsstaðir to Frankfurt a few weeks out. In fact, I had only booked this ferry cruise trip to Iceland because of this new route, which I found on One Mile at a Time.

Egilsstaðir is a small airport in the west of Iceland and my Smyrril Line ferry would have connected nicely from Seyðisfjörður port. The Condor flight was set up as a red-eye and I had it all planed out – including a pre-booked Thai curry meal on board and a 1^st class Deutsche Bahn onward train ticket, so I could freshen up in the DB lounge in Frankfurt. The itinerary would have also spared me an expensive hotel stay in Iceland.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. As EGL-FRA is a pretty “thin” route, my guess is this was connected to a cruise call which fell through. Condor was quick to refund my ticket, and the Thai curry, but I was still confronted with the challenge of finding a way home from Western Iceland just six weeks before my sailing.

British LCC easyJet came to the rescue offering two flights on seperate tickets (

KEF-LGW and LGW-BER), marketed as “easyJet worldwide” for 235.00 € total. As both non-stop flights and connections in legacy carriers where much more expensive, I took the offer.  

I also booked a flight on a Dash 8 turboprop operated by Flugfélag Íslands, an Icelandair subsidiary to Reykjavík domestic airport (RKV) and a hotel room.

In the end a convenient four-hour trip turned into an extended, two-day journey including an overnight in Reykjavik. ARGH!

Self-connecting is not a Relaxation Technique

As I knew that low-cost airlines don’t normally support connections, I dug deeper into the details and learned that the ticket prize included a 25.00 € fee for a transfer coverage by a company called DOHOP.

Easyjet was also reasonably transparent about the fact that you would not travel on interlining flights, but would have to “self-transfer”, i. e. clear customs and immigration, claim and re-check in any hold baggage and pass security again.

EasyJet worldwide seems to be a successful concept with currently 21 partners including Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Air Transat, WestJet and Deutsche Bahn.

Worldwide connections will automatically show up in easyJet’s booking tool. You will find clear information about your transfer in the very first step of the booking. Some connections are smooth while others have unfavourable layovers. Likewise, some itineraries are good value while others are bizarrely overprized. A test booking from Berlin to Boston returned a worldwide connection for almost 3,000.00 € return on easyJet and Norse via London, while a ticket on Icelandair with a short stopover in Keflavík for the same dates was a little under 500,00 €.

DOHOP Connection Insurance Explained (as far as understood it)

The nature of the 25.00 € DOHOP insurance remained mysterious to me though. Parallel to the easyjet tickets I received an email from DOHOP with an insurance policy number. It also mentioned that the insurance behind DOHOP is provided by Vátryggingafélag Íslands, an insurer based in Reykjavík. The mail stated that in case I missed my connection in Gatwick, I could chose to receive a refund for the remaining tickets, be reimbursed for rebooking the second ticket or “change the affected connection”. The difference between the latter remained cloudy to me.

I would also be entitled to have food and drink costs reimbursed up to 15.00 € and if necessary also up to 100,00 € in hotel costs for a maximum of two nights. These sums seem pretty low as in an airport hotel booked at short notice 100,00 Euros probably will just about cover your breakfast.  

The policy also states that the total paid out is capped at 1,500.00 €, which seemes reasonable for a one-way trip within Europe.

Even thought easyJet worldwide is around since 2017, I found precious little reviews about it. The entries on Trustpilot are rather positive, a review on Tripadvisor states that the insurance was not helpful and that they were referred back and forth between easyJet and DOHOP while a travel blogger that he was rebooked without hassles.

My take is, that DOHOP basically sells peace of mind, as many insurances do. How far their help will reach in case you need it, is not completely clear though. Having a second service provider to turn to could prove useful, in case your connection does not work out. At least you can listen to two different kinds of waiting music on the phone.

The key to a sucessfull worldwide connection probably remains to plan with contingeny and leave yourselfs plenty of time inbetween flights.

The Trip from Reykjavík (KEF) to Berlin (BER) via London (LGW)

My trip went well, so I did not have test DOHOP’s service and enjyoyed a smooth journey from Iceland to Germany. There was a delay of some 30 minutes to the inbound plane which did not matter much, as I had almost three houres to change planes in Gatwick.

The crew on the morning flight from Reykjavík to London-Gatwick was especially hospitable and even found me a pot of breakfast porridge (apparently not in heavy demand).

The flight to the London-Gatwick is a longer route in easyJet’s network, yet I found the seat comfortable enogh. EZ also offers a bit of entertainment on you mobile device including a moving map, which helped pass the time.

The only glitch was that my speedy boarding, which includes a full-size carry-on, did not show up on the digital boarding passes, so I had to get them printed out. I found an easyJet representative at both airports who quickly helped me. The one in Iceland smiled at me, the one in London did not.

Clearing immigration and re-entering through security in Gatwick took about 20 minutes, as the airport was not busy when I passed through in the early afternoon. I would imagine that during a busy time of the day this may easily add an hour to your connection, so this clearly is a downside of self-transferring.

Plus a No1 Treat

To further improve my trip, I booked myself in a pay lounge in Gatwick. The No1 Lounges in the North Terminal are a nice place to spend a couple of hours. There is a serviced bar and a selection of hot and cold meals. To my delight the staff also put out a classic Afternoon Tea with scones and clotted cream.

No1 is clearly level up from the The Gateway next door and I would recommend spending the extra £6. You can also add fast track security for £5.

The final leg to Berlin proved uneventful and I made it back to Berlin and home on relaxed and on time.

Summary

I was lucky to find an affordable flight to fit my travel plans with a remote departure airport and travel times dictated by the ferry schedule at such short notice. Having some kind of coverage in case things went wrong encouraged me to book this combination of two separate tickets. Luckily, I did not have to put DOOHP to the test on this trip and I also cannot say anything bad about easyJet’s service.  I will still prefer non-stop flights or connecting sectors, but will certainly consider easyJet worldwide for shorter, “low risk” connections.