Jet2.com
United Kingdom · CHANNEX · Active
Airline Identity
History
Jet2.com launched on 12 February 2003 as a rebrand of Channel Express, a freight airline that had operated since 1983, flying its first passenger service from Leeds Bradford Airport to Amsterdam with a pair of Boeing 737-300s. The airline is wholly owned by Jet2 plc, a Leeds-based holding company formerly known as Dart Group PLC, and grew steadily through the 2000s and 2010s into the United Kingdom's third-largest scheduled airline by building a leisure-focused network to Spain, the Mediterranean and other sun destinations from a growing string of regional English, Scottish and Welsh airports. A pivotal part of its business model has been pairing scheduled flying with its own tour operator, Jet2holidays, which became the UK's largest tour operator. The airline has continued adding UK operating bases in recent years, including Bournemouth (opened February 2025) and London Luton (April 2025), while phasing out its older Boeing 757-200s. Jet2 has remained under the leadership of long-serving CEO Steve Heapy since January 2013, with Robin Terrell serving as non-executive Chairman since September 2023.
Current Operations
Jet2.com operates a fleet of more than 100 aircraft, primarily Boeing 737-800s alongside a growing number of new Airbus A321neo jets (146 on order) that are gradually replacing older Next-Generation 737s. The airline flies to roughly 70 leisure destinations across Spain, the Mediterranean, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and France from 13 UK bases, with its main hub at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) and major bases at Manchester (MAN), Birmingham (BHX), London Stansted (STN), Glasgow (GLA) and Edinburgh (EDI). Jet2.com carried around 19.5 million passengers in 2024, cementing its position as the UK's third-largest scheduled carrier and, through Jet2holidays, the country's largest tour operator. The airline operates independently of any global alliance, focused squarely on the UK outbound leisure market. Planned network additions include a resumed Egypt holiday program from February 2027, reflecting continued route expansion alongside fleet renewal.
Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.