Jet2 cuts winter flight capacity in ‘difficult’ market

Holiday group Jet2 has cut its winter flight programme and said earnings will be towards the lower end of forecasts as it cautioned over a “difficult” market.

The group – which has seen the song used in its adverts, Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne, become a social media trend this summer – said it will now trim seats on sale by 200,000 to 5.6 million for the upcoming winter season, although this will still be 9% higher than a year earlier.

It flagged a “less certain consumer environment” and said holidaymakers were booking even closer to the departure date, with the trend becoming “more pronounced” since its last update in July.

The group saw package holiday passenger numbers grow by 2% in the five months to the end of August, down from growth of 8% in the previous year.

But it saw flight-only passengers accelerate, rising by 17%.

Shares in the firm slumped 13% in Thursday morning trading as Jet2 cautioned it now expects underlying earnings for the year to March 31 2026 towards the lower end of forecasts for between £449 million and £496 million.

This compares with £446.5 million the previous year.

But the company said it was too early to give “definitive guidance” on overall group profitability for the year.

Steve Heapy, Jet2 chief executive, said the group was “operating in a difficult market”.

But he said the group’s flexibility over its programme and loyal customer base would help “provide the foundation for a solid financial result this year and for further profitable growth in the years to come”.

Jet2 said its pushed through a “modest increase” in package holiday prices over the summer season.

It added that for the winter, “we plan to maintain attractive pricing to ensure our customers are able to get away from it all and enjoy a relaxing holiday”.