Booking patterns have “pretty much” returned to normal after the pandemic, according to the chief executive of Jet2 and Jet2holidays.
Commenting on market trends, Steve Heapy told a Travel Weekly webcast: “It is pretty much back to normal. The booking cycle has normalised now.
“During the pandemic, and the operational disruption, people started booking closer to departure, because they were unsure about what was happening, so they booked later.
More: Jet2 unveils 11th base at Liverpool John Lennon Airport
“Customers are now looking to secure their holiday for this summer and next summer.
“Hopefully, the pandemic will become a more and more distant memory as we go on, as will the operational disruption from last year that affected many airlines.”
Heapy was speaking to Travel Weekly as the company unveiled its 11th base, at Liverpool John Lennon airport. It is offering 20 destinations from summer 2024 in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, plus three in Turkey: Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum.
He said the market to Turkey has now recovered following the devastating earthquakes in February.
In the aftermath of the disaster, the company saw cancellations increase “significantly” while the number of bookings fell.
“Cancellations quickly recovered – those got back to normal levels – and bookings are pretty much where they were. Turkey is back to where it was,” he added.
The best way people can show support for Turkey is to book a holiday there
“And it’s a great value destination. It’s in for a good year.
“The best way people can show support for Turkey is to book a holiday there because the economy needs the customers.”
He told the webcast the company chose Liverpool because of demand from independent travel agents and customers, who keep on booking with Jet2 because of its good reputation and reviews.
“We were noted for the way we handled people during the pandemic: refunding people in full and on time – and the operational performance last year was second to none,” he said.
“People have seen that, they understand that we take care of our customers, we take pride in customer service.
“And they want to experience that from Liverpool airport. We’re actually in demand for real package holidays, not self-packaged holidays, not dynamically packaged holidays from a third-party OTA (online travel agency).”
“I think that customer demand will continue to grow and will result in us putting more capacity on,” he added.
“Look at other the airports we’ve launched over the last few years and how we’ve grown from the initial capacity to where we are now.”
More: Jet2 unveils 11th base at Liverpool John Lennon Airport