Jet2.com

Origins

Jet2.com is a subsidiary of Jet2 plc, an aviation services group. The airline began operating commercial aircraft in 1983 under the name Channel Express, when it was purchased by the Dart Group's current Executive Chairman, Philip Meeson. Initially a freight operator, from 2001, the airline also began operating passenger charter services using Boeing aircraft to international destinations on mainly short and medium-haul routes.

Formative years

In 2003, Channel Express launched the Jet2.com brand from Leeds Bradford Airport. It began operating as a leisure airline with its first flight from Leeds Bradford to Amsterdam on 12 February 2003, which operated a twice-daily rotation with two Boeing 737-300 aircraft. During 2003, further scheduled flights were launched to seven European sun and city break destinations.

In 2004, a second base was opened at Manchester Airport with the airline operating from Terminal 1. The airline also acquired further Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft and opened a base at Belfast International Airport. In 2005, Jet2.com opened a third base at Newcastle. Later that year, the company acquired two Boeing 757-200 aircraft, enabling it to fly medium-long haul destinations as well as carrying more passengers on popular existing routes. These aircraft helped the company to open two more bases at Blackpool and Edinburgh. In 2006, the company relocated from Bournemouth to Leeds and was renamed Jet2.com Limited.

Expansion

In November 2008, Jet2.com changed its slogan from "The North's Low Cost Airline" to "Friendly Low Fares". This preceded the announcement of opening a hub at East Midlands Airport, the first of the airline's hubs outside the North of England and Scotland. The base at East Midlands Airport opened in May 2010.

During November and December 2008, the airline operated four direct flights from Leeds Bradford to Newark Liberty International Airport using Boeing 757–200s, with a series of flights also planned from both Leeds Bradford and Newcastle during December 2010. Once again, Jet2.com re-introduced seasonal Christmas flights to New York during the 2012 winter season; however, this time, flights would operate from Glasgow, East Midlands and Newcastle, in addition to Leeds. The seasonal flights to New York continued annually until 2019 and ran from five of its UK bases. As an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the airline cancelled the flights.

In 2010, the airline announced an eighth base at Glasgow Airport would be opened in April 2011, with an initial nine routes. The base was opened on 31 March, slightly earlier than scheduled. In January 2011, the airline introduced second-hand Boeing 737-800 aircraft into its fleet. This provided aircraft larger than its existing 737-300s yet smaller than its 757-200 aircraft.

Jet2.com carried more than 600,000 passengers in its first year of operation and more than nine million passengers during 2017, its highest recorded total.

On 17 September 2016, the airline received its first brand new Boeing 737–800 of the order for thirty made in 2015. In November 2016, Jet2.com opened its new maintenance hangar at Manchester Airport. In December 2016, Jet2.com announced that it had ordered a further four Boeing 737–800 aircraft, bringing the total on order to 34. The airline further expanded by opening its eighth and ninth UK bases in March 2017 at Birmingham and London Stansted airports, the latter being its first in the southeast of England. These have since expanded significantly to become the airline's largest UK bases after Manchester.

Recent years

In 2019, Jet2.com received delivery of its 34th new Boeing 737–800 aircraft, taking its permanent and leased fleet size to more than 100 aircraft.

Owing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, Jet2.com announced they were suspending flight operations until at least 15 July 2020. The airline continued to operate repatriation flights for British citizens overseas. On 17 August 2020, Jet2 announced via BALPA that they would be laying off 102 pilots from various UK bases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays announced that they would open their tenth United Kingdom base at Bristol Airport on 1 July 2021, operating to 33 destinations.

In August 2021, Jet2.com announced an order for 36 Airbus A321neo aircraft, plus 24 options, totalling an order for 60 planes. Although Jet2 has operated a small number of Airbus jets on lease to cope with summer demand, this is Airbus' first direct order from Jet2, and a clear shift away from the company's traditionally all-Boeing fleet.

Jet2.com celebrated its 20th birthday on 12 February 2023. On the same day, it was revealed that Jet2holidays had become the UK's largest tour operator with an ATOL licence to carry 5.8 million passengers, surpassing TUI's 5.3 million. On 16 May 2023, Jet2 announced they were opening their eleventh UK base at Liverpool John Lennon Airport. In June 2023, Jet2 announced an expansion to their 2024 summer season, with some destinations being made available from earlier months, and extra capacity for other destinations.