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 Jet2737-800 in one of the two standard liveries | |||||||
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| Founded | January 1978; 47 years ago (1978-01) (asExpress Air Services) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations |
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| AOC # | 598 | ||||||
| Operating bases | |||||||
| Subsidiaries | Jet2holidays | ||||||
| Fleet size | 120[citation needed] | ||||||
| Destinations | 80[2] | ||||||
| Parent company | Jet2 plc | ||||||
| Headquarters | Leeds, England, UK[3] | ||||||
| Key people |
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| Founder | Philip Meeson | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
Jet2.com Limited is a Britishlow-cost airline based atLeeds Bradford Airport, England.[4] It offersscheduled andcharter flights from theUnited Kingdom. As of 2022, it is thethird-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behindeasyJet andBritish Airways.[5] Jet2 is also officially the largest tour operator in the UK after overtakingTUI in 2023.[6]
Further bases are atBelfast International,Birmingham,Bournemouth,Bristol,East Midlands,Edinburgh,Glasgow,Liverpool,London–Luton,London–Stansted,Manchester andNewcastle airports. The company holds a United KingdomCivil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. Jet2 also offers acharter service through its Jet2charters brand.
Jet2.com Limited is a subsidiary ofJet2 plc, an aviation services group. The airline began operating commercial aircraft in 1983 under the nameChannel Express, when it was purchased by the Dart Group's current Executive Chairman, Philip Meeson. Initially a freight operator, from 2001, the airline also began operating passenger charter services usingBoeing aircraft to international destinations on mainly short and medium-haul routes.[citation needed]
In 2002, Channel Express established the Jet2.com brand fromLeeds Bradford Airport. The re-branded Jet2.com began operating as a leisure airline with its first flight from Leeds Bradford toAmsterdam on 12 February 2003, which operated a twice-daily rotation with twoBoeing 737–300 aircraft. During 2003, further scheduled flights were launched to seven European sun and city break destinations.
In 2004, a second base was opened atManchester Airport with the airline operating from Terminal 1. The airline also acquired further Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft and opened a base atBelfast International Airport. In 2005, Jet2.com opened a third base atNewcastle upon Tyne. Later that year, the company acquired twoBoeing 757–200 aircraft, enabling it to fly medium-long haul destinations as well as carrying more passengers on popular existing routes. These aircraft helped the company to open two more bases atBlackpool andEdinburgh. In 2006, the company relocated fromBournemouth to Leeds and was renamed Jet2.com Limited.[7]
In November 2008, Jet2.com changed its slogan from "The North's Low Cost Airline" to "Friendly Low Fares".[citation needed] This preceded the announcement of opening a hub atEast Midlands Airport, the first of the airline's hubs outside the North of England and Scotland. The base at East Midlands Airport opened in May 2010.[8]
During November and December 2008, the airline operated four direct flights from Leeds Bradford toNewark Liberty International Airport using Boeing 757–200s, with a series of flights also planned from both Leeds Bradford and Newcastle during December 2010. Once again, Jet2.com re-introduced seasonal Christmas flights toNew York during the 2012 winter season; however, this time, flights would operate from Glasgow, East Midlands and Newcastle, in addition to Leeds. The seasonal flights to New York continued annually until 2019 and ran from five of its UK bases.[9] As an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline cancelled the flights. They are unlikely return as the airline retired theirBoeing 757s, and theAirbus A321neos replacing the Boeing 757s do not have enough range to cover those trips.
In 2010, the airline announced an eighth base atGlasgow Airport would be opened in April 2011, with an initial nine routes.[10] The base was opened on 31 March, slightly earlier than scheduled. In January 2011, the airline introduced second-handBoeing 737–800 aircraft into its fleet. This provided aircraft larger than its existing 737-300s yet smaller than its 757-200 aircraft.
Jet2.com carried more than 600,000 passengers in its first year of operation and more than nine million passengers during 2017, its highest recorded total.[11]
On 17 September 2016, the airline received its first brand new Boeing 737–800 of the order for thirty made in 2015.[12] In November 2016, Jet2.com opened its new maintenance hangar at Manchester Airport. In December 2016, Jet2.com announced that it had ordered a further four Boeing 737–800 aircraft, bringing the total on order to 34.[citation needed] The airline further expanded by opening its eighth and ninth UK bases in March 2017 atBirmingham andLondon Stansted airports, the latter being its first in the southeast of England.[13] These have since expanded significantly to become the airline's largest UK bases after Manchester.[14]
In 2019, Jet2.com received delivery of its 34th new Boeing 737–800 aircraft, taking its permanent and leased fleet size to more than 100 aircraft.[15]
Owing to theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, Jet2.com announced they were suspending flight operations until at least 15 July 2020. The airline continued to operate repatriation flights for British citizens overseas. On 17 August 2020, Jet2 announced viaBALPA that they would be laying off 102 pilots from various UK bases due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[16] In November 2020, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays announced that they would open their tenth United Kingdom base atBristol Airport on 1 July 2021, operating to 33 destinations.
In August 2021, Jet2.com announced an order for 36 Airbus A321neo aircraft, plus 24 options, totalling an order for 60 planes.[17] Although Jet2 has operated a small number of Airbus jets on lease to cope with summer demand, this is Airbus' first direct order from Jet2, and a clear shift away from the company's traditionally all-Boeing fleet.[citation needed]
Jet2.com celebrated its 20th birthday on 12 February 2023. On the same day, it was revealed that Jet2holidays had become the UK's largest tour operator with an ATOL license to carry 5.8 million passengers, surpassing TUI's 5.3 million.[6] On 16 May 2023, Jet2 announced they were opening their eleventh UK base atLiverpool John Lennon Airport. In June 2023, Jet2 announced an expansion to their 2024 summer season, with some destinations being made available from earlier months, and extra capacity for other destinations.[18] This includes additional services to Spain, Turkey, Italy and Greece destinations across all of their bases. In July 2023, Jet2 announced that its Chairman Philip Meeson was stepping down.[19] Robin Terrell took over as chairman in September 2023. Robin joined Jet2 as a non-executive director in April 2020. Meeson has now moved to the position of founder and advisor to the board.[20]
In March 2024, Jet2.com announced they would open their twelfth United Kingdom base atBournemouth Airport on 1 April 2025, operating to 16 destinations.[21] Also in March 2024, Jet2 launched its first flight fromLiverpool John Lennon Airport to Tenerife, marking the start of its new services to 20 different holiday destinations with plans for further expansion in summer 2025.[22] In July 2024, Jet2.com announced that they were bringing forward the launch of their operations fromBournemouth Airport to February 2025, due to high demand with their first flight operating to Tenerife.[23][24] In November 2024, Jet2.com announced they would be opening up a thirteenth UK base atLondon Luton Airport, basing two Airbus A321neo aircraft flying to 17 destinations from 1 April 2025.[25]
In the summer of 2025, Jet2's long-running marketing campaign, "Hold My Hand", became a popular meme onTikTok, often showing a compilation of comedic and/or strange visuals. The marketing campaign, voiced by British actressZoë Lister and famous for using theJess Glynne song "Hold My Hand", has been in use since 2015, and gained international popularity on social media apps a decade later.[26][27]
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Jet2.com's registered office, Low Fare Finder House, is located on the grounds ofLeeds Bradford International Airport. Construction of the facility broke ground in 2006, in order to accommodate pilots, cabin crew, and back of house operations. In April 2013, Jet2.com moved its Customer Contact, Finance, IT, Human Resources, Commercial and Marketing departments to a new office, "Holiday House", located within the city centre ofLeeds.[28] In September 2014, the airline opened a new £9.5 million training academy at Euroway Industrial Estate inBradford.[29] In addition to the training centre located in Bradford, Jet2.com announced in February 2023 that they had opened a new £8.5 million training centre in Cheadle. Both training centres will operate in parallel.
In 2007, sister companyJet2holidays was launched offeringpackage holidays. In 2011, Jet2 launched their new brand, Indulgent Escapes, providing more luxurious getaways. On 29 April 2015, sister company Jet2CityBreaks was launched. In June 2017, Jet2.com launched Jet2Villas through its Jet2holidays brand.
Jet2.com is wholly owned byJet2 plc (formerly Dart Group PLC), a holding company based in Leeds, England.
| Year | Total passengers | Total flights | Load factor | Passenger change (YoY) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 604,563 | 5,543 | 78.9% | – |
| 2004 | 1,211,139 | 11,266 | 79.1% |  100.3% |
| 2005 | 2,376,900 | 24,151 | 74.5% | 96.3% |
| 2006 | 2,831,922 | 26,808 | 77.2% | 19.1% |
| 2007 | 3,860,266 | 34,358 | 73.6% | 36.3% |
| 2008 | 3,454,578 | 27,851 | 79.4% |  10.5% |
| 2009 | 3,089,340 | 24,282 | 81.6% | 10.6% |
| 2010 | 3,338,921 | 24,708 | 86.3% | 8.1% |
| 2011 | 4,235,752 | 29,806 | 87.3% | 26.9% |
| 2012 | 4,776,257 | 32,520 | 89.0% | 12.8% |
| 2013 | 5,515,021 | 36,064 | 89.8% | 15.5% |
| 2014 | 6,007,549 | 39,362 | 89.0% | 8.9% |
| 2015 | 5,853,447 | 36,657 | 91.3% | 2.6% |
| 2016 | 6,721,129 | 41,796 | 90.8% | 14.8% |
| 2017 | 9,695,445 | 58,541 | 90.6% | 30.7% |
| 2018 | 12,170,681 | 70,963 | 91.4% | 25.5% |
| 2019 | 14,393,162 | 82,931 | 90.9% | 18.3% |
| 2020 | 2,851,455 | 20,287 | 74.8% | 80.2% |
| 2021 | 3,168,738 | 27,879 | 62.9% | 11.1% |
| 2022 | 15,533,430 | 92,062 | 87.8% | 390.2% |
| 2023 | 17,321,108 | 100,817 | 88.9% | 11.5% |
| 2024 | 19,495,418 | 114,496 | 87.9% | 12.6% |
| Source:United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority[32] | ||||
Jet2.com operates flights to 70 destinations in Europe, with a focus onSpain, theMediterranean Sea,Bulgaria,France,Greece,Italy andTurkey. Its main base is atLeeds Bradford Airport with twelve additional operating bases across theUnited Kingdom as well as overseas bases atAlicante Airport,Palma de Mallorca Airport andTenerife South Airport.[33]
| Rank | Airport | IATA | Destinations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Manchester | MAN | 72 |
| 2. | Birmingham | BHX | 70 |
| 3. | Leeds/Bradford | LBA | 55 |
| 4. | Newcastle upon Tyne | NCL | 54 |
| 5. | London–Stansted | STN | 53 |
| 6. | Bristol | BRS | 42 |
| 7. | Edinburgh | EDI | 41 |
| 8. | East Midlands | EMA | 38 |
| 9. | Glasgow | GLA | 33 |
| 10. | Liverpool | LPL | 28 |
| 11. | Belfast–International | BFS | 26 |
| 12. | Bournemouth | BOH | 22 |
| 13. | London–Luton | LTN | 17 |
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As of October 2025[update], Jet2.com operates the following aircraft:[35][36]
| Aircraft | In service | Orders | Passengers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A321-200 | 5 | — | 220 | |
| Airbus A321neo | 23 | 129 | 232 | Airbus A320neo orders converted to the largerA321neo in July 2024.[37] |
| Boeing 737-300 | 7 | — | 148 | To be phased out in 2026.[38][39] |
| Boeing 737-800 | 98 | — | 189 | |
| Total | 133 | 129 | ||
In October 2021, Jet2.com announced that they had placed an order withAirbus to purchase multipleAirbus A321neo aircraft.[40] In July 2022, Jet2.com further announced that they had expanded their order with Airbus, ordering a total of 60 A321neo aircraft.[41] In October 2022, Jet2.com announced an additional order for 35Airbus A320neo aircraft;[42] however, in July 2024, this order was converted into the larger A321neo, and later that month, Jet2.com exercised its remaining purchase options with Airbus taking the total order up to 146 A321neo aircraft. These aircraft are intended to increase the fleet size along with replacing older 737-300 and 757-200 aircraft. In January 2025, the remaining Boeing 757s were phased out of the fleet with Jet2.com being the last UK airline to operate the passenger variant.[43][39]
Jet2.com previously operated the following aircraft types:
| Aircraft | Total | Year Introduced | Year Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 757-200 | 17 | 2005 | 2025 | Last UK passenger airline to operate the type.[43] |
| Boeing 737-200 | 1 | 2007 | 2007 | |
| Boeing 737-300 | 27 | 2002 | — | To be phased out in 2026.[38][39] |
| Boeing 737-400 | 2 | 2005 | 2007 |
Media related toJet2.com at Wikimedia Commons
