Summer 2013 trading for Jet2holidays and Jet2.com was described as “satisfactory” today despite the good weather in the north of England this year.
The business also achieved increases in ticket yields and load factors, though more recently yields and operating margins have come under pressure, parent company Dart Group reported in a trading statement today.
The package holiday arm took 634,866 passengers on holiday in the six months to September 30, against 312,000 in the same period in 2012.
“This growth continues to be fuelled by further improvements to the Jet2holidays product range, underpinned by a relentless focus on providing a great value offering to our Northern based customers,” the company said.
Sister budget airline Jet2.com flew 4.1m passengers in the six months, an increase of 13%, supported by the continued growth of Jet2holidays and its sales of “value” package holidays.
“Summer 2013 trading in our leisure travel businesses has been satisfactory despite the fine weather experienced in the North this year,” Dart said.
“As previously noted, our leisure travel operations are becoming increasingly seasonal as we continue to grow the business.
“This will result in the group’s profit before taxation for the first half of the year being approximately 37% ahead of the same period in the previous year, with increased losses expected in the second half.
“As a result, and with the important winter booking period still to come, the board remains cautiously optimistic in relation to profit growth for the financial year ending 31 March 2014.”
Interim results for the half year September 30 are due to be announced on November 21.