UK leisure airline Jet2 has restarted its services this week, and today opened its 10th UK base with its inaugural flight from Bristol. Targeting green list destinations, the airline saw 22 departures yesterday, welcoming back an estimated 4,000 passengers to its services.
Jet2 is back
Jet2.com and Jet2holidays took to the skies once again yesterday, relaunching its flight and package holiday services to four sun and sea hotspots. After several months of flight suspensions, the airline has reacted swiftly to the UK government’s latest green list announcements, laying on trips to the most accessible destinations.
In total, 22 flights departed from the UK, leaving from Belfast International, Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester, and Newcastle. Services headed to the four sunny green list destinations of Ibiza, Menorca, Majorca and Madeira.
The airline said that it has seen a flurry of bookings following last week’s green list additions, with bookings to the Balearic Islands for July travel up more than 3,000%. Madeira saw some love too, with bookings surging 1,500%. The airline says that it’s the most volume it has seen for almost a year.
Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, commented on the restart, saying,
“We are delighted to see our flights take off again today. We know how much pent-up demand there is … and we have already added extra flights to Madeira to cope with demand. It is fantastic to be back in the air and doing what we do best – delivering award winning customer service and package holidays you can trust!
“We look forward to more destinations being added to the UK’s Green List very soon and taking more customers away on their much-needed holidays.”
Despite the upbeat tone of the CEO, the airline is still struggling to fully resume its network. It issued an update yesterday noting that it would not be restarting any travel to amber list destinations until after the next green list announcement. The next update is expected on or around July 15th, so its amber list flights are suspended until July 18th at least. Turkey, as a red list destination, is suspended until at least July 21st.
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Jet2 opens 10th UK base
Continuing the high from its launch of services yesterday, the airline today took off from its 10th UK base for the first time. Bristol Airport, in the southwest of the UK, welcomed the arrival of its newest airline, stating that it marks a major investment in the region and the creation of around 200 new jobs.
The first flight to depart was a service to Majorca, which the airline said was fully booked. To celebrate its inaugural, the airline laid on a VIP service for passengers, including red carpet welcome, a Spanish guitarist and even dance-based entertainment. The first passengers to check-in - Allison and Stuart Rees from Bridgend – won a free holiday in the Costa Brava, while the first 20 check-ins all received free flight vouchers.
Graeme Gamble, Chief Operating Officer at Bristol Airport, commented on the significance of introducing another airline to the facility, saying,
“This is a major step forwards for Bristol Airport recovering from the impact of the pandemic with the airline’s base at Bristol creating 200 job opportunities initially and this number increasing as the base grows, providing significant investment and an increase in the choice of destinations and holidays available to customers in the region.”
Jet2 is flying to the four green list destinations from Bristol initially, but hopes to add more holiday hotspots as travel restrictions ease.