UnEasyJet

Over the past couple of years we've said only good things about the EasyJet flights we've taken from both Split and Zagreb. Through social media and real social interaction we've talked about the efficient and economic service we'd experienced. Maybe you are one of the skeptics we've tried to convince. If you are anyone we've encouraged to take advantage of cheap flights we would like to update our advice: when they hit you with a 'hidden' charge they'll hit you hard. Be warned!

EasyJet cannot be blamed for the storm swirling around Zagreb airport yesterday morning and should be commended for the faultless second landing executed by their pilot after the first attempt had to be aborted at what appeared to be the very last moment. However the wake up call they gave us – three figures before breakfast – was of their doing. The check-in assistant tried to convince us the fault was ours; we'd added an extra bag to our booking but failed to add any extra weight allowance for it. The extra bag cost £14.99 to book. Every extra kilo over your allowance is charged at £11. If our other two bags had been 20kg each then I assume the empty extra bag would have been charged at least another £35 just for its own weight. £50 for an empty bag must make it cheaper to purchase a blow-up doll to travel with and borrow their baggage allowance!

While I won't quibble that all of this is probably explained in small print somewhere on the EasyJet website I reject the notion that this error was entirely our fault. At the tail end of two month's travelling on three continents we have booked numerous planes, trains and hotel rooms online and never experienced any other mistakes or misunderstandings. If their website really was clear we wouldn't have been caught out. We are not new to the online booking game. Until yesterday we could genuinely say we'd enjoyed our EasyJet experiences but, as they say, he who laughs last laughs loudest. The house always wins.