The boss of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has warned that the UK economy and US trade tariffs are ‘potential banana skins’ for the travel market this summer.
Steve Heapy, chief executive, made his comments on a Travel Weekly webcast as the sister brands started operations from their new base at Bournemouth today (February 4).
Commenting on the peaks season so far, he said it has been “not bad, pretty consistent”.
“It’s been a steady build-up, which is the better way to start a season…rather than have sporadic good and bad days,” he said.
“The robustness of the holiday product has shown people still want to get away and get their bits of sunshine.”
He noted there was “quite a slow start” because of bad weather in early January but said the second half of the month has been “a lot stronger”, adding: “We expect that to continue. It has been ok.”
He said the Mediterranean is selling “pretty well” and he is not too concerned about any particular destinations.
Talking about wider issues, he said “the start of a return to more normal conditions” in the Middle East might help, but highlighted President Donald Trump’s possible trade tariffs and the impact of the budget on the economy.
“The imposition of trade tariffs means more expensive imported goods. People pay more for stuff, which means they have got less money in their pocket, which means inflation and prices go up,” he said.
“Depending on which commentators you listen to, it doesn’t sound like there’s a lot of confidence in the economy.
“We’ve had a lot of companies that have been hit hard by tax rises, etc, and those costs will be passed on to consumers, so we’ll see rising prices as a result of the budget.
“And we’ve seen some companies that have announced they are perhaps changing investment decisions. There’s always a lot of potential banana skins further down the road.”
He also told the webcast that the airline will add Agadir in Morocco to its network for next winter, along with Prague, Vienna and Iceland.
The original plan was to start operating flights and holidays for the summer season from April 1, but the brands decided last summer to launch earlier on February 4, with winter sun trips to the Canary Islands because of high demand.
“After a couple of weeks, we saw that the demand for sales had been very good,” he said, explaining the decision to start earlier than April.
By this summer, there will be 16 destinations across Europe, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean, with up to 27 weekly flights. In summer 2026, there will be 41 flights a week to 25 destinations.
Heapy also noted how the airline will also base a third aircraft at the south coast airport to help operate the increased programme.
“Demand has been good and we have had good support from independent travel agents,” he said. “They have done a great job in establishing us. Hopefully we will continue to grow.”
He noted the percentage of trade sales was “slightly lower” than for other bases but was “confident” that will increase to reach the same levels as elsewhere.
Furthermore, he welcomed the investment at Bournemouth airport, which is expanding to cater to the rising passenger numbers.
“It looks different than last time I came down here, and next time will be different again,” he said.
“There will be expansion at the airport and it will be in a better position to take all the additional passengers.”