Jet2 PLC (AIM:JET2) has added its voice to the optimism coming from airlines over the winter and summer holiday periods.
Winter bookings strengthened all through December 2022 and January 2023, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday, with load factors (or how full its planes are) now above the pre-pandemic 2018/19 period, while pricing and margins are ‘significantly higher’.
Package holidays have accounted for around 60% of winter departures, Jet2 added, or up 16 percentage points on the pre-Covid comparison.
As a result, profits for the year ended March 2023 will beat market forecasts of £317mln and come in between £370mln and £385mln before currency movements, it said.
For the summer, seat capacity is currently 6.6% higher than a year ago with forward bookings described as 'encouraging'
Package holidays represent 77% of these departures, a 1-point rise, while load factors are also one percentage point higher.
On a note of caution, Jet2 pointed out that input cost pressures including fuel, carbon, a strengthened US dollar and wage increases are putting some pressure on margins.