Travel operator Jet2 shares fell sharply on Thursday after it cut back its seats on sale for the winter, warning of a difficult market with customers booking holidays ever nearer the departure date.
Shares in the holiday group fell by 15% after it told investors its earnings for the year were now likely to be at the lower end of forecasts.
Jet2 said it would have to cut 200,000 seats, from 5.8m to 5.6m, over the winter season because of “a less certain consumer environment” – despite the viral spread of its marketing jingle this summer.
The ad campaign – a Jess Glynne song ending with the message, “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” – has been widely repurposed on TikTok and social media to ironically soundtrack disastrous vacation scenes. Jet2 said it would now be “reallocating marketing monies”.
The firm said customers were booking later than ever, a trend that made for “limited visibility” and meant that pricing was only rising modestly, with much of winter seat capacity still to sell.
Package holiday passenger numbers grew by 2% in summer 2025, slower than the 8% growth reported the previous year. Its flight-only passenger numbers were up by 17%.
Steve Heapy, Jet2’s chief executive, said: “Although we are currently operating in a difficult market, we have a proven business model, a loyal customer base, a flexible approach to capacity management and of course our multi-award-winning customer service.
“We believe that these factors provide the foundation for a solid financial result this year and for further profitable growth in the years to come.”
A hot early summer and economic uncertainty may have contributed to the late booking trend, which Jet2 highlighted in July, when shares fell despite the firm unveiling record profits.
Shares in easyJet, which also now has a growing holiday arm, fell almost 4% as trading opened on Thursday, while IAG shares also took an early dip before recovering to 1% down by late morning.
