Jet2.com cheered by rise in passenger numbers

BUDGET airline Jet2.com reported a 32 per cent increase in passenger numbers in the six months to September 30, despite the challenging economic environment.

After what parent company Leeds Bradford airport-based Dart Group described as a “satisfactory summer”, Jet2.com said passenger numbers reached 3.2 million.

Load factors – a measure of how full its planes are – increased by over two per cent to almost 90 per cent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But higher fuel costs have hit margins, which will be below last year.

Dart said that its ATOL protected holiday operation, Jet2holidays.com, continues to grow strongly, meeting customer demand for low priced package holidays from local airports.

Jet2holidays.com will take more than 200,000 customers on holiday this year.

The group’s distribution business, Fowler Welch, one of the UK’s leading logistics providers, reported revenue growth in line with the board’s expectations.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

However the business has experienced some pressure on margins.

Dart said that Fowler Welch, which specialises in the distribution of chilled and ambient foods on behalf of leading supermarkets and their suppliers, continues to deliver good customer service.

Overall, the group’s pre-tax profits for the first half of the year will be ahead of the same period in the prior year, with a similar level of losses expected in the second half of the year.

The board still hopes to meet market expectations for the current year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The group intends to announce its interim results on November 17.

Analyst Peter Ashworth at Charles Stanley said: “Interim profit will be ahead of last year, with a similar level of losses in the second half. Overall the group expects to meet market expectations. We are forecasting 2012 pre-tax profits of £29.8m, having downgraded marginally in September.

“Jet2holidays continues to grow strongly and aims to handle 200,000 customers this year.”

Dart’s chairman and chief executive Philip Meeson said both the airline and its holiday business, Jet2holidays, are attracting customers despite the tough economy.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Both products meet the demand for real value in these difficult and uncertain economic times,” he said.

“Higher utility prices, the rising cost of food and fuel, and employment uncertainty, are all taking their toll on leisure spend.

“Both our seat-only and package holiday products are absolutely geared to meet the holiday needs of value-seeking customers.”

Dart believes it is well placed to combat weak consumer sentiment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The group said it flew fuller planes in the year to the end of March, helping underlying pre-tax profits lift almost 36 per cent to £25.9m.

Jet2.com operates from airports across the north of England and Scotland.

In March Dart opened its eighth base, at Glasgow, increasing its summer seat capacity by 26 per cent.

The group has also leased four new aircraft to bolster its fleet – two Boeing 757-200s and two Boeing 737-800s. In January, political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa forced Dart to cancel flights to Tunisia and Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada in Egypt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Meeson hailed the progress made by Jet2holidays, which carried almost 98,000 package holiday customers during the year.

“We are now working to double that number for the current financial year, ” he said.

Its packages include flights, transfers and accommodation, and the group now has more than 800 directly contracted hotels throughout the Mediterranean resorts.

“There are major opportunities to cross-sell between our flight only and package holiday customers,” said Mr Meeson.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jet2.com has also been growing add-on revenues it earns from passengers, such as extra leg room, entertainment and commission on car hire.

Analysis of customer needs

Dart Group is increasingly using computer analytics to increase sales and profits.

The group said it is building its data capture and analysis capabilities to better tailor flights and services to customers’ needs.

“Both Jet2.com and Jet2holidays revenues will benefit from our continued IT innovations,” said chairman and chief executive Philip Meeson.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The group collates information from customer purchases, bookings, questionnaires, surveys and focus groups.

This is used to generate extra revenues on flights, such as meals, films and extra leg room.

Related topics: