Following today’s news that Jet2.com is to suspend flights and holidays to 23 June 2021;

Rheanna Norris, Associate Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Jet2.com has become the first UK-based holiday and flight operator to cancel and suspend bookings, due to uncertainty surrounding the opening up of international travel. Citing a ‘lack of clarity and detail’ as the reason for this decision, it is evident that Jet2.com does not want to promise customers a holiday it cannot provide.

“According to a GlobalData survey*, 30% of respondents are not willing to travel, with just 28% willing to travel within the same continent. This shows that consumer confidence in traveling abroad is already low and this announcement will be a further knock to confidence ahead of the important summer period.

“There have been many noises from senior travel industry figures about the lack of clarity in the government’s plans to re-open international travel. What we have here is a clear illustration of the impact this can have.

“The industry could see a similar move from Jet2.com’s competitors, as confidence in booking for this period could decline if one operator has already suspended operations. Flexible booking options could allow customers to rearrange trips for later in the year, when restrictions will hopefully be lifted. Such flexibility is the main line of defense operators can employ to combat the effects of uncertainty.”

*Live survey as of 09/4/21 with 1,120 respondents.