Jet2 has reported stronger bookings for summer 2026 and increased capacity for the coming winter season, as the package holiday group seeks to move its shares from London’s junior AIM market to the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
The company, which describes itself as the UK’s largest package holiday provider and third-largest airline, said the number of passengers booked for summer 2026 travel was 8.8 per cent higher than at the same point last year.
The increase covered both package holidays and flight-only bookings.
Jet2 said its load factor, a key measure of how full its aircraft are, was 1.5 percentage points ahead of last summer.
The group is also expanding its winter capacity. Seat capacity for the 2026-27 winter season currently stands at 5.9mn, 8 per cent above the previous year, following an increase in operations at London Gatwick.
Jet2 said customers were continuing to book holidays closer to departure dates, a trend that became particularly pronounced during the summer amid disruption and uncertainty linked to the war in Iran.
Travel disruption and shortages of jet fuel have increased costs for airlines and contributed to greater caution among holidaymakers.
Jet2 said, however, that it had largely hedged its jet fuel requirements for the financial year, giving the company “cost certainty” despite movements in energy markets.
Steve Heapy, Jet2’s chief executive, said he had been “encouraged by the sustained level of demand for both our holiday products through the peak summer season which gives us confidence for the remainder of the financial year”.
The company also announced plans to transfer its shares from AIM, the Alternative Investment Market, to the London Stock Exchange’s main market.
The move would mark a significant step for Jet2, taking it from London’s specialist growth market and potentially widening access to UK and international institutional investors.
Heapy said the proposed change reflected “the scale of the business we have built, our proven track record of delivery and the opportunities that lie ahead”.
The proposed listing change comes as Jet2 continues to expand its network and increase capacity, potentially making the main market a more appropriate venue for a company with a significantly larger operating footprint than when it first listed on AIM.
Adam Vettese, a market analyst at eToro, said the move was an “important signal”.
“Jet2 has outgrown AIM in everything except the ticker,” he said.
“A main market listing is management saying the next chapter is about scale, liquidity and a wider institutional following, with FTSE 250 membership the obvious prize.”
The move would give Jet2 greater visibility among institutional investors and could increase the liquidity of its shares.
For the airline, the combination of resilient demand, higher capacity and protection against fuel-price volatility provides a relatively supportive backdrop as it enters the winter season.
But the continued trend towards late bookings leaves some uncertainty over the final strength of demand, particularly given ongoing geopolitical disruption and the potential impact of fuel costs on the wider aviation industry.
Jet2’s proposed move to the main market nevertheless underlines the extent of its expansion and signals its ambition to establish itself more firmly among the UK’s larger publicly traded travel companies.
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