Jet2, the airline and package holiday provider, has reported a surge in holiday bookings following US-Iran peace talks last month. The company announced a pre-tax profit of £551 million for the year to the end of March, a 7% decline from £593 million a year earlier, but highlighted strong demand in recent weeks.
Strong Summer Booking Momentum
Bookings for summer travel are up 7% compared with a year ago, while the average proportion of seats filled on its flights for the four months to the end of July are 1.2 percentage points higher year-on-year. Jet2 attributed this to reduced geopolitical uncertainty after US President Donald Trump signed a peace deal with Iran.
In its full-year financial results, Jet2 stated: “Reduced geopolitical uncertainty has led to strong booking momentum in recent weeks.”
Destinations Rebound
Chief executive Steve Heapy told reporters that all destinations have seen a boost in demand, with the largest rebounds in percentage terms in areas most impacted by the war, such as Turkey, Cyprus, some eastern Greek islands, Bulgaria, and parts of north Africa. He said: “I think confidence has improved. People perhaps don’t like to commit to travelling when there is a conflict, even though from one of our Turkish resorts to Tehran it was 2,000 kilometres, that’s like from Edinburgh to the Canary Islands, that’s a hell of a long way. But people don’t like to commit, particularly perhaps families with younger children. But we are seeing a bounce-back across all our destinations, and I think people are now realising ‘I feel a little more confident, we’re going to go on holiday and get away’.”
Heapy added: “We speak to our customers a lot and try and understand their booking intentions. A massive amount of people still want to go away.”
Record Passenger Numbers and Expansion
Jet2 reported record annual passenger numbers of 20.8 million, a 5% increase from a year earlier. Its performance at Gatwick Airport, where it launched flights and holidays in March, is “ahead of initial expectations,” and further expansion is planned for summer 2027.
Industry Reaction
Julie Palmer, partner at consultancy firm Begbies Traynor, said: “Investors will be pleased to see strong profitability has been delivered alongside evidence of investment.” She added: “Jet2 will be hoping a peace deal holds and stabilises the market as it eyes further growth. Signs that this is bringing back confidence in spending for holidaymakers during the crucial summer season will be welcomed by the operator too, and it will be hoping it can continue to tempt customers into spending on holidays.”
