BRITAIN’S THIRD largest airline Jet2 will open its 13th UK airport base at London/Luton next April. The move comes amid continued expansion by the leisure carrier which, during 2024, opened a base at Liverpool/John Lennon and announced a new base at Bournemouth which is due to begin operations in early February 2025.
From April 1, Jet2 will position two brand-new Airbus A321neos at Luton which will operate flights to 17 destinations across Europe, the Canary Islands and Mediterranean.
The move to open a base at Luton will position Jet2 firmly in easyJet territory and with the latter’s package holiday division growing rapidly in recent years, it is likely this was a factor in Jet2’s decision-making.
Meanwhile, Jet2 reported a strong financial performance in its half-year results up to the end of September 2024. Revenue was up 15% to £5.08bn while profit before tax rose 20% to £791.4m, compared with the same period in 2023. The company’s cash reserves increased by 9% to £2.3bn, providing it with the unusual ability to purchase many of the new incoming A321neos in cash.
In the financial report, the airline said that it was on track to deliver year-end profit, before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation, ahead of market expectations. Summer 2025 capacity is also 9% higher than the previous year, boosted by the new bases at Bournemouth and Luton.