Heatwave having ‘no impact’ on summer bookings, says Steve Heapy

The June and July heatwaves across Europe have had “no impact” on demand for overseas holidays, according to Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy.

 

The Jet2 boss also insisted that queues at European airports caused by the biometric registration requirements of the EU Entry-Exit System (EES) were having less impact on Jet2 customers than other UK travellers because of the assistance provided by Jet2 staff.

 

Reporting full-year results for the 12 months to March this year, Heapy said: “The heatwave in Europe is having no impact – no impact whatsoever. People want to get away.

 

“There is no evidence of people wanting to go to cooler destinations or trying to avoid the hottest time of year.”

 

He added: “I live in the north. We have two and a half days of sun a year, and we’ve had them, so it’s all downhill from here.”

 

Asked whether the well-publicised problems with the EU’s EES was affecting Jet2 customers, Heapy said: “Have we had any passengers miss flights? No, we haven’t.

 

“We’re completely aware of where the problems are. We get weekly reports from every airport, and we write to EU governments each week to make them aware because often they are not.”

 

Heapy hailed a “strong” set of results, saying: “We know it’s been a turbulent year for the UK economy, but we’ve taken more people on holiday than every before.”

 

Jet2 reported a pre-tax profit of £551 million for the year, down 7% on the previous year despite a 4% rise in revenue to £7.5 billion and 5% increase in passengers to 20.8 million.

 

Heapy argued: “The reason for our success and what makes us different is that we have a fully integrated flight and holiday product. We control everything that affects your holiday. That is why we get so many repeat bookings.”

 

Jet2holidays saw 61% of customers make repeat bookings in the 25 months to March this year.

 

Heapy reported “a strong lates market” following the peace agreement between the US and Iran, saying: “People wanted to see what happened with the conflict and are waiting for the World Cup to finish.”

 

Jet2 capacity for this summer is up 7.7% on last year, with bookings to date 7.1% up, but the capacity increase at the company’s established bases accounts for just 1.8% of the increase with the remainder at newer bases Gatwick, Luton and Bournemouth. 

 

Asked what he hopes to see from a new Labour prime minister – with former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham likely to take over from July 20 – Heapy said: “What the industry needs does not change with the prime minister.

 

“We want a revenue certainty mechanism in place for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) producers. We want a credible and sizeable SAF industry in the UK, and we want airspace management modernisation.”

 

In addition, he said his message to the new prime minister would be “don’t treat aviation or the holiday industry as a cash cow”.

 

Heapy dismissed concerns over who is likely to be the next Chancellor, saying: “I think any economic policy will be driven very much by Andy Burnham.”