Jet2 ends year as expected as it navigates geopolitical uncertainty

29th Apr 2026 10:09

(Sharecast News) - Jet2 said in an update on Wednesday that it expected annual operating profit to be in line with market expectations, after what it described as another strong year, while warning that geopolitical uncertainty was limiting visibility for the peak summer season.

The AIM-traded package holidays and leisure airline group said it expected to report operating profit of between £435m and £440m for the year ended 31 March, compared with £446.5m a year earlier.

It said the figure includes £11m of promotional and resourcing start-up costs linked to the launch of its London Gatwick base, which began operations on 26 March.

Jet2 said its balance sheet remained strong, with total cash of £3.3bn at the end of March, net cash of £2.0bn and access to an undrawn £500m revolving credit facility.

The company said its financial position enabled it to navigate short-term volatility, continue investing in growth and return £363.0m of capital to shareholders during the year.

Chief executive Steve Heapy said the 2026 financial year had been "another strong year for Jet2", capped by the launch of operations at Gatwick.

"As ever, our focus on providing the very best Customer First service underpinned our performance in the year, and with that, I would like to thank every one of our Colleagues for their unwavering hard work and support," he said.

Looking to the year ending 31 March 2027, Jet2 said the launch at Gatwick took the group into the UK's largest holiday airport for the first time, with more than 90% of the British public now within a 90-minute drive of one of its 14 UK bases.

The Gatwick operation was performing ahead of initial expectations, with more than 0.4m passengers booked for the summer season.

Summer 2026 on-sale capacity was currently 7.7% higher than summer 2025 at 19.9m seats.

Booked passengers to date were up 6.2%, with growth in both package holidays and flight-only bookings.

Jet2 said that since the start of the conflict in the Middle East, booking patterns had become increasingly close to departure.

It said its combined average load factor for the first quarter, covering April, May and June, was currently in line with the prior year, although the group said geopolitical uncertainty was limiting visibility for the peak summer season and beyond.

The company said it continued to invest in load factor and remained committed to pricing that was attractive and represented value for customers.

Jet2 said it had hedged 87% of its summer fuel requirement, with jet fuel swaps at an average price of $707 per metric tonne, giving it a high degree of cost certainty.

It added that it was maintaining frequent discussions with fuel suppliers and airport partners on fuel supply.

Heapy said Jet2's integrated, customer-focused and service-led model supported growth and resilience.

"This is supported by our growing fleet of more fuel efficient and quieter A321neo aircraft, with 31 in operation this summer," he said.

"Clearly, we continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East but remain focused on our medium-term goals.

"Jet2 is a business with strong fundamentals, an attractive product offer, and a brand synonymous with VIP customer service."

Heapy said those attributes were central to Jet2's "People, Service Profits" philosophy and gave him confidence in long-term profitable growth as more customers used the group for holidays.

Jet2 said it would announce preliminary results for the year ended 31 March on 8 July.

At 0950 BST, shares in Jet2 were up 2.06% at 1,092p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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