It started life as a small freight carrier flying flowers from Guernsey almost 50 years ago, but Leeds Bradford Airport-based Jet2.com is now the third largest airline in the UK.
The award-winning company is not only one of the biggest, but it is also regarded by many as one of the best to travel with, and was named travel brand of the year by Which? last year – one of the many accolades it has received over the years.
Priding itself on putting passengers first, Jet2 recently marked the arrival of the 100th aircraft in its fleet at a glittering ceremony – and in line with its customer-first ethos, it made a point of putting members of the public at the centre of this event.
Six lucky competition winners were given a once-in-lifetime flight to Seattle on board the latest arrival and enjoyed a four-night stay in the American city.
The arrival of the 100th plane was a real milestone for Jet2 chief executive officer Steve Heapy.
“It was a momentous occasion and demonstrates the confidence we have in our growing business,” he said.
The company’s links with Leeds Bradford Airport go back to 2003, when it was launched in its current guise and flew passengers out of the airport for the first time.
Its roots, though, go back to a company called Carpenter’s Air Services set up to fly flowers from Guernsey in 1971.
The company grew as an air freight company, and Dart Group plc – which remains the parent company of Jet2.com and Jet2 Holidays – was formed in 1991.
In 2002, Jet2.com was launched. With the first flight set for February the following year, it officially opened for business on December 11, selling 12,000 seats online within the first 24 hours.
The airline’s first flight took off from Leeds Bradford bound for Amsterdam on February 12 2003. Since then, the company has grown from strength to strength, and in 2007 it launched its own package holiday company Jet2holidays, which is now the UK’s second largest tour operator.
This summer, there will be a total of 12,000 people working for the company.
The airline is a real Yorkshire success story, and for Steve, there is no doubt that the family-friendly ethos has played a large part in its growth.
“Since launching flights from Leeds Bradford Airport in 2003, Jet2.com has enjoyed fantastic success and growth,” he said.
“Our family friendly formula means we have expanded to become the UK’s third largest registered airline, providing low fares to more than 70 sun, city and ski destinations across Europe, with nine UK bases in operation.
“Our package holiday business, Jet2holidays, has played a critical role in our success.
“We know that Britons work hard and save hard for their well-deserved holidays, so we invest and work equally as hard to make sure that everyone’s holiday is perfect from start to finish.
“As an example of that, this summer we will have 12,000 colleagues dedicated to providing our award-winning VIP customer service so that our customers have a lovely holiday.
“Our focus is on providing every single customer with a VIP experience throughout their flight or holiday so that they book with us time and time again. Delivering this industry-leading customer service will always be our number priority and as long as we continue that, we remain very confident that we will carry on growing and succeeding.”
Steve was confident that whatever the outcome of Brexit eventually is, holidaymakers can continue to book with confidence.
“The UK Government has confirmed that flights to our EU holiday destinations will continue just as last year, providing assurance that, whatever the outcome of Brexit, holidaymakers can continue to book holidays with confidence,” he said.
As a Yorkshire success story, Steve has no doubt that Jet2 being based in the region remains a vital part of that.
“Since our very first flight, Jet2.com has gone on to become a national brand, flying millions of customers on holiday every year from nine UK bases, but our operation at Leeds Bradford remains absolutely critical,” he said.
“Take this coming summer; we will operate over 200 flights every week during peak periods from Leeds Bradford Airport, with over 1,500 colleagues looking after our customers.
“That is a significant operation and as Yorkshire’s leading airline and tour operator, we are very proud of our scale and success here.”
The company also employs 1,500 colleagues at its commercial offices in Leeds City Centre, and its IT Office in Sheffield plays a key role in supporting IT Systems and Web Development.
“Our multi-million pound Training Centre in Bradford is where thousands of cabin crew and flight deck colleagues are trained every year to provide the safe, friendly, award-winning flight experience that our customers have come to expect,” he added.
The arrival of the 100th aircraft earlier this year saw Jet2.com and Jet2holidays take formal delivery of the last of 34 brand new Next Generation 737-800 aircraft from Boeing.
The plane seats 189 passengers, and was handed over at a ceremony at Boeing’s Seattle Delivery Centre in the United States.
The aircraft have an approximate list price of $3.3 billion.
Well-known for comfort and reliability the Boeing 737-800 is part of the successful Next-Generation 737 family. It can fly approximately 3,000 nautical miles (5,500 km), up to 900 nautical miles more than earlier 737 models and 175 nautical miles (320 kilometers) further than competing aircraft.
The expansion of the fleet will allow the airline’s growth to continue. More than 12 million seats are due to go on sale this summer from across its nine UK base airports – a capacity increase of 15 per cent.
Three new destinations – Chania in Crete, Bourgas in Bulgaria, and Izmir in Turkey – have been added.
Steve said: “Operating a fleet on this scale means we can continue to increase capacity, offering holidaymakers more choice and flexibility than ever before when it comes to getting to Europe, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean.
“As well as continuing to grow, we have never lost our unwavering focus on providing the very best in class when it comes to customer service and customer experience, and our track record of high-profile award wins shows we are getting this right.
“Our brand-new aircraft means we continue to build on this success, providing more comfort in an enhanced cabin interior for customers on their well deserved holidays.”
