Leeds-Bradford-based leisure airline Jet2.com carried more than 3 million passengers in the year to end-March, with load factors ahead of last year and yields down.
Jet2.com grows load factors at the expense of yields
Leeds-Bradford-based leisure airline Jet2.com carried more than 3 million passengers in the year to end-March, with load factors ahead of last year and yields down.
Its AIM-listed parent company Dart Group issued its full year results yesterday. Dart also has a big distribution and logistics business, Fowler Welch-Coolchain. Financials for Jet2.com are not pulled out from the overall group performance.
Jet2.com “experienced weaker customer demand for its passenger services, especially during off-peak and winter months, with flights to skiing destinations being particularly affected.” Passenger numbers for the previous year were not disclosed in the 08/09 results.
Other comparisons can be made – load factors this year are ahead of last year at 80% compared with 78%. It has also increased ancillary revenues from just under £15 per passenger last time to £21 this time.
Jet2holidays.com has also improved significantly in volume terms. In the 08/9 year, the airline carried around 34,000 passengers on its planes who were flying as part of a Jet2.com package. This year the numbers on packages increased to 64,000.
It explained that it was starting to use direct contracts for the hotel element of the package, rather than bedbanks.
The business has developed its own IT systems in order to maximise its revenues, yields, load factors and ancillary sales. The aviation unit has an in-house team of 40 web and IT employees. Its loyalty scheme, myJet2, launched in November 2008, now has more than 250,000 members. Points can be redeemed online to buy flights.
The airline has revenue streams. It operates as a charter airline for other tour operators and agents, while also hiring out planes in full to “other airlines, sports teams, pilgrims, government & national agencies, corporate customers, orchestras and cruise lines.”
It has also worked with the Royal Mail for more than 40 years, running eight “quick change” aircraft to distribute first class mail.
