Jet2 has announced thousands of extra seats on its routes out of Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle this winter. The move follows the collapse of Thomas Cook, however, Jet2 says its new routes are a result of increased demand, not a result of additional slots being freed up by the failed tour operator.
Jet2 announced an impressive expansion of its winter capacity on Friday, which will add thousands of extra seats to destinations including the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Cyprus, Greece, Spain and Turkey.
The total of 170,000 extra seats will be added in the form of extra flights between October and March. Jet2 says they will be putting a focus on services throughout October to account for increased demand around school holidays.
As reported by Travel Weekly, Jet2 services to the Canary Islands over the winter season will see an additional 100,000 seats alone. Discussing the announcement, Jet2’s CEO, Steve Heapy, said,
“This week has seen an unprecedented amount of demand, and we have responded quickly to that by adding more flights and holidays to the sunshine this winter”.
The Jet2 winter flight expansion focuses on destinations in Southern Europe and Turkey, where customers will be able to get their fix of much-needed winter sunshine.
Jet2 expanding in the absence of Thomas Cook
As with all major airline collapses, the collapse of Thomas Cook Group has left behind significant extra capacity in flight slots and demand for tickets.
The other major airline bankruptcy this year – Jet Airways – has been good news for carriers on the subcontinent. SpiceJet has seen record profits and Air India has enjoyed solid expansion.
Jet2 operates in much the same segment as Thomas Cook, but it says the announcement of more seats on certain routes is not a result of Thomas Cook Group’s bankruptcy. Rather than taking on slots left by Thomas Cook, the Jet2 says that winter route expansions are a response to heavy demand for holiday flights from the UK.
Jet2's additional winter capacity
The additional seat capacity announced by Jet2 on Friday has something to offer for all sorts of travel tastes.
The expansion will mainly be focused on flights out of airports in the North of the UK. It includes 65,000 seats from Manchester, 40,000 seats from Birmingham, 20,000 seats from Glasgow and 15,000 seats from Newcastle.
The 100,000 extra seats to the Canary Islands breaks down into 50,000 extra seats to Tenerife and 40,000 to Lanzarote, with the remainder going to Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura.
The Balearic Island destinations of Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza will receive 10,000 additional seats, while Greece will receive 5,000 additional seats to destinations including Corfu, Crete, Kos and Rhodes.
Other European destinations to receive extra seats will be Cyprus, Malta and Reus in Spain. Outside Europe, there will be almost 30,000 extra seats to Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey.
Jet2’s additional seat capacity is certainly good news if you’re looking for cheap flights to a sunny European destination, or Turkey, this winter.