Jet2 boss announces new Bristol base and predicts ‘people will book holidays in droves’

Exclusive: ‘People are desperate for good news, and desperate to get away,’ said Steve Heapy

“Never throw in the towel, never give up, as Mr Churchill said in the Second World War,” says Steve Heapy.

“It’s not the biggest or the strongest that survive, it’s the quickest to adapt.”

Mr Heapy is chief executive of Jet2. As UK airports grind to a halt and many airlines trim back their plans because of the collapse of demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Leeds-based budget airline and holiday company has just announced a 10th UK base will open at Bristol airport on 1 April 2021.

“We know how much demand there is, because we have been listening to customers and independent travel agents in the region for some time,” said Mr Heapy.

“The announcement reflects our long-term strategy to continue growing our successful business and become the UK’s leading leisure travel business.”

Jet2 will base three aircraft at the West of England’s leading airport, adding 200 jobs in the process, and fly to a total of 33 destinations.

Many are the “usual suspects”: the first flight is to Lanzarote, with Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and Tenerife also on offer. The Canary Islands constitute the only part of Spain from which returning UK holidaymakers currently need not quarantine.

The three main Balearic islands, Ibiza, Menorca and Mallorca, will be served multiple times each week, as will Faro on Portugal’s Algarve coast.

Corfu, Crete, Rhodes, Skiathos and Zante get multiple weekly services, as do Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey.

All but four of the destinations (Almeria in southern Spain, Izmir in Turkey and the Greek islands of Kalamata and Lesbos) are already served from Bristol airport.

Many of the locations have currently require two weeks of self-isolation for travellers to the UK. Even if that rule eases – which Jet 2 evidently believes will happen – the new flights will add nearly half a million seats and trigger some retaliation from competitors, particular in early summer.

Both easyJet and Ryanair will fly from Bristol to many Mediterranean destinations and Continental cities next summer, and the giant holiday company Tui has a significant presence at the airport.

The announcement coincided with Heathrow airport warning of “catastrophic” passenger numbers in October and predicting worse for November, and the Manchester Airports Group reporting a fall of 84 per cent in traffic.

But the Jet2 chief executive believes the time is right.

“People are champing at the bit, waiting for some good news, and I think they will book holidays in droves,” he said.

“When the news of the vaccine came out a couple of days ago, we saw a jump in bookings. People are desperate for good news, and desperate to get away.

“The British see their holiday as a right, not something that’s nice to do if you feel like it and have time. It’s a right.”