British leisure airline Jet2.com has ordered more Airbus A320neo aircraft, banking on further leisure travel growth thanks to more people jetting off on holiday.
The company, which provides package holidays to destinations in Europe, said it has placed an incremental, firm, order for an additional 35 A320neo jets, just over a year after an initial order for Airbus narrowbody jets.
The fresh order, announced on October 18, 2022, and worth $8 billion at list prices, also includes options to extend the total to 71 aircraft. Airlines typically pay less than list prices though and Jet said it had negotiated “significant discounts”.
“We are delighted to build on our existing relationship with Airbus and to have placed this additional aircraft order which provides the company with certainty of supply well into the next decade,” commented Jet2’s Executive Chairman Philip Meeson in a company statement. He said the order reflected the company’s confidence that it has “a much-loved product built on sector leading Customer Service which we can continue to grow”.
.@jet2tweets increases order for the #A320neo Family to 98. https://t.co/IDc5rhbiUD
— Airbus Newsroom (@AirbusPRESS) October 18, 2022
Jet2 is replacing its current fleet of Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft. It first placed an order for A321neo aircraft in August 2021 as part of that strategy and has announced further incremental orders and exercise of options since.
The latest top-up to its order means the airline has placed firm orders for 98 A320 family aircraft, with options for a further 48. If it exercises the options, it would take the total of new aircraft to 146.
Jet2 said it would finance the new aircraft via a combination of internal resources and debt.
Airbus said the A320neos for Jet2 will have 180 seats, with its Airspace cabin that features innovative lighting, new seating products and 60% larger overhead baggage bins.
Jet2 operates from 10 bases across the UK, including London Stansted, Manchester and Birmingham. Its fleet currently comprises 77 Boeing 737-800s, 7 737-300s, and 8 757s, as well as 10 A321s and 2 A330s, according to fleet data from Cirium.
