Origins Jet2.com = is a subsidiary of
Jet2 plc, an aviation services group. The airline began operating commercial aircraft in 1983 under the name
Channel Express, when it was purchased by the Dart Group's current Executive Chairman, Philip Meeson. Initially a freight operator, from 2001, the airline also began operating passenger charter services using
Boeing aircraft to international destinations on mainly short and medium-haul routes.
Formative years in the former livery in 2011 In 2003, Channel Express launched the Jet2.com brand from
Leeds Bradford Airport. It began operating as a leisure airline with its first flight from Leeds Bradford to
Amsterdam on 12 February 2003, which operated a twice-daily rotation with two
Boeing 737-300 aircraft. During 2003, further scheduled flights were launched to seven European sun and city break destinations. In 2004, a second base was opened at
Manchester Airport with the airline operating from Terminal 1. The airline also acquired further Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft and opened a base at
Belfast International Airport. In 2005, Jet2.com opened a third base at
Newcastle. Later that year, the company acquired two
Boeing 757-200 aircraft, enabling it to fly medium-long haul destinations as well as carrying more passengers on popular existing routes. These aircraft helped the company to open two more bases at
Blackpool and
Edinburgh. In 2006, the company relocated from
Bournemouth to Leeds and was renamed Jet2.com Limited.
Expansion In November 2008, Jet2.com changed its slogan from "The North's Low Cost Airline" to "Friendly Low Fares". This preceded the announcement of opening a hub at
East Midlands Airport, the first of the airline's hubs outside the North of England and Scotland. The base at East Midlands Airport opened in May 2010. During November and December 2008, the airline operated four direct flights from Leeds Bradford to
Newark Liberty International Airport using Boeing 757–200s, with a series of flights also planned from both Leeds Bradford and Newcastle during December 2010. Once again, Jet2.com re-introduced seasonal Christmas flights to
New York during the 2012 winter season; however, this time, flights would operate from Glasgow, East Midlands and Newcastle, in addition to Leeds. The seasonal flights to New York continued annually until 2019 and ran from five of its UK bases. As an effect of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the airline cancelled the flights. They are unlikely return as the airline retired their
Boeing 757s, and the
Airbus A321neos replacing the Boeing 757s do not have enough range to cover those trips. In 2010, the airline announced an eighth base at
Glasgow Airport would be opened in April 2011, with an initial nine routes. The base was opened on 31 March, slightly earlier than scheduled. In January 2011, the airline introduced second-hand
Boeing 737-800 aircraft into its fleet. This provided aircraft larger than its existing 737-300s yet smaller than its 757-200 aircraft. Jet2.com carried more than 600,000 passengers in its first year of operation and more than nine million passengers during 2017, its highest recorded total. On 17 September 2016, the airline received its first brand new Boeing 737–800 of the order for thirty made in 2015. In November 2016, Jet2.com opened its new maintenance hangar at Manchester Airport. In December 2016, Jet2.com announced that it had ordered a further four Boeing 737–800 aircraft, bringing the total on order to 34. The airline further expanded by opening its eighth and ninth UK bases in March 2017 at
Birmingham and
London Stansted airports, the latter being its first in the southeast of England. These have since expanded significantly to become the airline's largest UK bases after Manchester.
Recent years In 2019, Jet2.com received delivery of its 34th new Boeing 737–800 aircraft, taking its permanent and leased fleet size to more than 100 aircraft. Owing to the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on aviation, Jet2.com announced they were suspending flight operations until at least 15 July 2020. The airline continued to operate repatriation flights for British citizens overseas. On 17 August 2020, Jet2 announced via
BALPA that they would be laying off 102 pilots from various UK bases due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In November 2020, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays announced that they would open their tenth United Kingdom base at
Bristol Airport on 1 July 2021, operating to 33 destinations. In August 2021, Jet2.com announced an order for 36 Airbus A321neo aircraft, plus 24 options, totalling an order for 60 planes. Although Jet2 has operated a small number of Airbus jets on lease to cope with summer demand, this is Airbus' first direct order from Jet2, and a clear shift away from the company's traditionally all-
Boeing fleet. Jet2.com celebrated its 20th birthday on 12 February 2023. On the same day, it was revealed that Jet2holidays had become the UK's largest tour operator with an ATOL licence to carry 5.8million passengers, surpassing TUI's 5.3million. This includes additional services to Spain, Turkey, Italy and Greece destinations across all of their bases. In July 2023, Jet2 announced that its Chairman Philip Meeson was stepping down. Robin Terrell took over as chairman in September 2023. Robin joined Jet2 as a non-executive director in April 2020. Meeson has now moved to the position of founder and advisor to the board. In March 2024, Jet2.com announced they would open their twelfth United Kingdom base at
Bournemouth Airport on 1 April 2025, operating to 16 destinations. Also in March 2024, Jet2 launched its first flight from
Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Tenerife, marking the start of its new services to 20 different holiday destinations with plans for further expansion in summer 2025. In July 2024, Jet2.com announced that they were bringing forward the launch of their operations from
Bournemouth Airport to February 2025, due to high demand with their first flight operating to Tenerife. In November 2024, Jet2.com announced they would be opening up a thirteenth UK base at
London Luton Airport, basing two Airbus A321neo aircraft flying to 17 destinations from 1 April 2025. In December 2025, Jet2 announced plans to resume flights and package holidays to Egypt, with scheduled services to
Sharm El Sheikh and
Hurghada beginning in February 2027. In 2025, Jet2.com banned two passengers for life following an in-flight altercation that forced a diversion. According to reports, a physical fight broke out on board, prompting the flight crew to divert to an alternate airport where authorities removed the disruptive passengers. Jet2 stated that the individuals involved would not be permitted to fly with the airline again as a result of the incident. The new programme is expected to include up to 14 weekly direct flights from multiple UK airports to the two
Red Sea resorts, which Jet2 estimates will provide approximately 169,000 additional seats in its first year of operation. Flights will depart from several UK airports, including
Birmingham,
Manchester,
London Stansted,
Edinburgh (for Sharm El Sheikh) and
Glasgow Airport (for Hurghada), with services scheduled to begin on 11 February 2027. The relaunch responds to renewed demand from UK holiday-makers for winter-sun destinations and expands Jet2's long-haul holiday offering beyond its traditional Mediterranean and
Canary Islands routes. == In popular culture ==