Brits continue to view ‘hard-earned holidays’ as a priority, despite cost-of-living pressures, Jet2 plc reports, with CEO Steve Heapy adding people ‘cherish’ their time away from the rainy UK weather.
In a trading update, the group reports winter 2023/4 bookings up 17%, average pricing for flight-only and package holidays ‘robust’, and ‘similar trends’ for February and March 2024.
As a result, the group has tightened and raised its profit guidance for the financial year to 31 March 2024 to between £510 million and £525m. Previous guidance was in the range of £480m to £520m.
Jet2 added the new guidance ‘remains dependent on no material extraneous events in the balance of the financial year’.
Seat capacity for summer 2024 is 12.5% higher than summer 2023 at 17.2m seats, with load factors 1.5 percentage points ahead. Package holiday customers are up by 17% with the package holiday mix of total departing passengers at approximately 77% and in line with summer 2023 at the same point in the booking cycle.
Jet2’s Retail Operations Centre, which opened in October 2023, is now fully operational and customers ‘are seeing tangible benefits from much improved on-board product availability’. Bookings for Liverpool John Lennon Airport, where Jet2 will start operating from on 28 March are ‘pleasing’.
“Booking momentum is positive with hard-earned holidays remaining a priority for our customers,” Jet2 said.
But it warned: “Whilst pricing for summer 2024 across both our leisure travel products is currently showing an increase compared to the same period last year, we remain mindful of the current macro-economic and geo-political environments and how these could impact future consumer spending.”
Steve said: “We are pleased with how the 2024 financial year is ending and are encouraged by early bookings for summer 2024. Whilst recognising that there are many demands on consumer discretionary incomes, we believe that our customers cherish their time away from our Rainy Island and want to be properly looked after throughout their holiday experience.
“As a customer-focused and much trusted holiday provider, we remain confident they will continue to travel with us to the sun spots of the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands and to European leisure cities.”
The next Jet2 update will be in April 2024 and the group’s preliminary results for the year ending 31 March 2024 will be announced on 11 July.