Published on Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Jet2 says bookings are up a thousand percent

Jet2holidays and its leisure airline Jet2.com are among a growing number of companies reporting a dramatic surge in bookings immediately following the Prime Minister's announcement of an exit roadmap from lockdown.

The company said there was a 1000% increase in bookings in the 24 hours after 3.30pm on Monday when Boris Johnson detailed his exit strategy to the House of Commons.

There has been a notable increase in bookings from July, which continues through the rest of the school holidays and summer, it said.

However, Jet2 has suspended all flights and holidays up to 16 May after Mr Johnson said foreign holidays would resume on 17 May at the earliest.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays said: "We have seen enormous pent-up demand from British holidaymakers for some time, with people wanting nothing more than to get away to the sunshine and enjoy their well-deserved holidays.

The government's announcement is the news they have been longing for, and the surge in bookings shows how ready our customers are to get away to the sunshine on a real package holiday.

"We are very pleased that the government has shown a clear ambition to reopen international travel in the coming months, and we look forward to more detail in due course."

Jet2 has not put a figure on the number of bookings taken in the 24 hours following the PM's announcement and some in the industry have pointed out that the increase in sales has come from a low base.

Scottish Passenger Agents' Association Joanne Dooey has warned that bookings might not be as buoyant as recent figures published by tour operators in England would suggest.