Jet2 announces encouraging bookings for 2021

The firm announced plans to change the group's name to Jet2 plc

The owner of package holiday operator Jet2holidays and airline Jet2.com said prices will need to stay enticing to attract cautious holidaymakers as more countries are added to the quarantine list amid the coronavirus crisis.

The Dart Group said winter 20/21 bookings have yet to match capacity cuts, although it said bookings to date for summer 2021 are encouraging.

The firm also announced plans to change the group's name to Jet2 plc as part of its plan to expand its travel business.

Philip Meeson, executive chairman of Dart Group, said: “Winter 20/21 forward bookings have yet to match our revised on-sale seat capacity, with customer bookings displaying a shorter lead time than in previous years.

“Therefore, pricing for both our leisure travel products – end-to-end package holidays with Jet2holidays and flight-only seats with Jet2.com – will need to remain consistently enticing.

“For summer 2021, we plan to fly to all our popular leisure destinations with an appropriate, tailored level of service, which we anticipate will be close to summer 2019 seat capacity levels.

“Bookings to date are encouraging, with average load factors ahead of the same point last year and package holiday customer numbers as a proportion of total departing customers showing a material increase.”