Chief executive Steve Heapy said a ‘massive amount of people still want to go away’
Jet2 issued an update to its customers
Airline and package holiday provider Jet2 released an update today (Wednesday, July 8), revealing that the company has experienced a surge in demand in recent weeks on the back of US-Iran peace talks.
The firm posted a pre-tax profit of £551 million for the year ending March, a 7% drop from £593 million the previous year. Summer bookings are up 7% compared with the same period last year, while the average proportion of seats filled on its flights for the four months to the end of July are 1.2 percentage points up year-on-year.
US President Donald Trump announced he signed a peace deal with Iran last month, though this has been called into question following overnight strikes.
Publishing its full-year financial results, Jet2 said: “Reduced geopolitical uncertainty has led to strong booking momentum in recent weeks.”
Speaking to reporters, chief executive Steve Heapy said demand has risen across all of Jet2’s destinations, with the biggest recoveries in percentage terms seen in those areas hardest hit by the conflict, including Turkey, Cyprus, some of the eastern Greek islands, Bulgaria and parts of north Africa.
“I think confidence has improved,” he said. “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’.
“We speak to our customers a lot and try and understand their booking intentions,” he added. “A massive amount of people still want to go away.”
Jet2 announced record annual passenger figures of 20.8 million, representing a 5% rise from the previous year. The company said its performance at Gatwick Airport – where it began flights and holidays in March – is “ahead of initial expectations” and further expansion is planned for summer 2027.
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.”