I have put myself down as a regular easyJet user although I am not sure how regular is regular. I usually take about three or four return/round trips a year with this airline, all for leisure purposes.

On this occasion my wife and I travelled on the new daily service between Bristol and Inverness. Our flight left on a Sunday at lunchtime which gave us the opportunity to take advantage of the business lounge at Bristol, through our membership of the airport frequent flyer programme. We spent a pleasant hour or so in the lounge overlooking part of the main apron before our flight was called.

Our Boeing 737-700 took off twenty minutes after the scheduled departure time. We used the easterly runway which took us over the centre of the city of Bristol as we turned left to head off to the Brecon area in South Wales. It was a very hot and clear day which gave us superb views of the ground all the way north, including Liverpool Airport, the Lake District and overhead Glasgow at 28,000’ from where the main football grounds seemed to stand out along with the Clyde.

Approach to the easterly runway at Inverness took us just to the south of the centre of the city. We landed a few minutes ahead of schedule after a flight time of 64 minutes. The aircraft was reasonably loaded with 114 plus one according to an overheard remark from a flight attendant. We enjoyed the usual easyJet informal efficiency and the aircraft was clean and comfortable. The flight deck gave an introductory welcome and a brief en route report.

Return was scheduled for the following Friday at 1430 hours. However, we soon learned of a delay, but, given the circumstances that I later discovered, I believe the airline acted very efficiently. Our scheduled Bristol-based Boeing 737-700 had gone to Pisa for its first rotation of the day, but had suffered a very long technical delay there.

EasyJet found a spare aircraft and crew at Stansted and rushed it to Bristol to perform the Bristol-Inverness leg. It arrived at the Scottish airport just over an hour late. It was fairly quickly turned around and we headed back to the West Country. For a change the aircraft was one of easyJet's Airbus A 319s and all, but about 20 of its 156 seats were occupied.

The return flight was above thick cloud for the most part and we only emerged as we passed over Newport in South Wales prior to crossing the Severn Estuary for landing on the easterly runway at Bristol. After a 70-minute flight, we arrived just over an hour late which, in view of the circumstances, I thought was an excellent performance.

The A 319 is a splendid aircraft and the snacks we purchased were reasonably priced. However, apart from a welcome and a brief explanation of the delay before we took off, we heard nothing further from the flight deck.

This was incredible value at £35.98 each, including all taxes and charges, for the return flights.