Jet2holidays targets increased market share as Gatwick base takes off

Jet2 aims to increase its 20% share of the UK package holiday market following its launch from Gatwick in March, with chief executive Steve Heapy noting the airport brings “a whole new customer base”.

 

Speaking as Jet2 reported full-year results to March this month, Heapy noted “we remain underrepresented” in the Southeast and argued: “There is a compelling opportunity to increase our market share across the south of England [where] brand awareness is significantly below what it is in our established markets.”

 

Group chief financial officer Gary Brown insisted: “We’re confident in our ability to capture market share.”

 

Jet2holidays’ current share of the market is about 20% given it holds an Atol for just over seven million passengers out of total Atol capacity of 35 million.

 

Jet2’s overall capacity this summer is up by almost 8% on last year, but six percentage points of the increase is due to the launch from Gatwick and increased flights from Luton and Bournemouth. 

 

Capacity at the group’s more established bases is up just 1.8% on summer 2025.

 

Package holiday bookings are expected “to be about 60%” of the total this year, according to Brown, down from 63% last year. 

 

He attributed the decline in share to “a later market because of the war” and noted: “Packages will be a little less than 60% at Gatwick.”

 

However, the Jet2 chiefs downplayed any suggestion that an increase in flight-only sales was an issue, despite package sales accounting for 80% of group revenue in the 12 months to March.

 

Heapy said: “We’ve penetrated the package holiday market to a great extent [and] probably neglected our flight-only proposition. Every customer who gets on board helps fill our aircraft.”

 

Brown added: “People who take flight only are often package customers of the future.”

 

Heapy hailed a “strong set of results”, saying: “The reason for our success is a fully integrated flight and holiday product. We control everything that affects your holiday.

 

“Customers don’t want someone who throws together the components of a holiday and leaves them to it. We look after them at every stage of their holiday.”

 

He reported bookings this summer up 7.1% to date against a year-on-year capacity increase of 7.7% but said: “There is a strong lates market.”

 

Brown said: “Holiday pricing is holding up really well”, but he described flight-only bookings as “more price sensitive” and “a little down – in the mid-single digits”.

 

He noted Jet2 would “look to pass on” annual cost inflation of 3.6%-3.7%.

 

Rapid growth in personalised marketing

 

Jet2 aims to be “at the forefront” of developments in personalised marketing to customers, according to Heapy.

 

He noted “the landscape of marketing is changing rapidly” and said: “We’re at the forefront of that change with our technology partner Adobe.”

 

Heapy argued “everyone is trying to get to one-to-one marketing” and said: “We’re building a more personalised marketing platform with Adobe.”

 

This would enable the company “to run several million marketing messages at one time”, he said.

 

Jet2 reported a pre-tax profit of £551 million for the 12 months to March, 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.

 

The company reported an increase in capacity for the coming winter of 400,000 seats, and revealed plans to add 4% capacity for next summer following a 7.7% increase this summer on last.

 

Brown said: “We’re trying to be responsible regarding capacity management.”