Jet2 cut capacity and fares as demand falls
23.10.11
The managing director of Leeds Bradford Airport based Jet2, Ian Doubtfire, has said that the budget airline has been forced to cut its winter capacity and reduce its fares as the squeeze on household incomes hits spending on holidays, the Yorkshire Post reports.
Jet2’s parent company Dart Group recently issued a trading statement saying it had a ‘satisfactory summer’ despite the tough economy. Passenger numbers increased 32% in the six months to the end of September to 3.2m, with load factors up by over two percentage points to almost 90%.
Mr Doubtfire told the newspaper that the budget airline’s customers are booking holidays later as they look for the best deals. He said: ‘The current UK climate is making people think very carefully about their holidays with inflation, high fuel prices and less disposable income. We are finding that we are having to lower our prices. We are having to make sure that they are very low. We tailor our capacity to demand and the demand is less in the winter so we have reduced our capacity too.’
He added that rather than axing routes, the airline is using smaller planes on some routes, relying on the flexibility of its fleet of 24 Boeing 737-300s, 12 Boeing 757-200 and two Boeing 737-800s. He said: ‘It’s more about the size of planes. We are taking full advantage of that.’
However, Mr Doubtfire added Jet2 is looking to increase capacity next summer. He said: ‘We are looking for opportunities to add capacity. There is going to be a lot of demand around public holidays and the Jubilee.’
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