Airline Jet2.com says it had sold too many seats to fly the Love Island finalists home after observers claimed the sponsors had been “mugged off” by Ryanair – which transported the reality TV stars.
Ryanair’s flight from Palma to Stansted was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes as the contestants, including winning couple Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham, made their way back to the UK.
Jet2holidays was one of Love Island’s brand partners, and ran competitions for viewers to win holidays throughout the popular series, which saw 3.6 million tune in for its finale on Monday night.
After it was noticed that, despite the partnership, Ryanair’s branding was seen in the background of many promo pictures, Jet2 said is simply didn’t have room to take the finalists, which also included three other couples, home.
A spokeswoman said: “Due to the logistics of schedules and popularity of our award-winning flights across the summer, there were not enough seats remaining to fly the contestants back to the UK to meet the required timescales.
“We are absolutely delighted with our Love Island brand partnership this summer, which has really showcased the fantastic range of holidays that we have on offer for young people.”
Andrew Botterill, a majority stakeholder in Travcorp, noticed the irony.
He said on Twitter: “I’m not a marketing expert but if I’d spent a fortune sponsoring Love Island I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t be happy with Ryanair flying home all of the finalists #muggedoff”.
I’m not a marketing expert but if I’d spent a fortune @jet2tweets sponsoring @LoveIsland I’m fairly sure I wouldn’t be happy with @Ryanair flying home all of the finalists #muggedoff
— Andrew Botterill (@AndrewBotterill) July 31, 2018