Groups Fly High with Jet2.com

03rd August 2011

• Jet2.com named runner up in Group Travel Awards’ ‘Best Airline for Groups’ category
• - Majorca, Ibiza and Alicante most popular group destinations

Leading leisure airline Jet2.com is celebrating top award recognition for the service it provides to groups looking to get away.

The airline received a prestigious accolade in the 2011 Group Travel Awards ‘Best Airline for Groups’ category, being named runner-up, second only to Virgin Atlantic and impressively beating British Airways, Easyjet, Emirates, Flybe and Monarch. The awards are voted for by the 10,000 readers of the Group Travel Organiser magazine based on personal experience.

Jet2.com has revealed its top group holiday destinations are the Spanish hotspots of Ibiza, Majorca and Alicante and with September being one of the most popular times for large parties to travel, people are taking full advantage with a reported surge in bookings.

The majority of parties travelling to the top Spanish destinations are groups of friends, stags or hens, who are keen to make the most of great value air fares to book a break abroad rather than opt for a UK-based celebration. Meanwhile Faro on Portugal’s Algarve is popular with golfers, and school trips flock to cultural hotspots such as Pisa in Italy.

Steve Heapy, Chief Commercial Officer of Jet2.com, commented: “It’s easy to see why the top three resorts of Majorca, Ibiza and Alicante, with their winning combination of beaches and nightlife, are so popular with parties. Typically groups take full advantage of the so called ‘shoulder periods’, which are either side of the main summer holiday season, so at the moment we’re seeing a lot of bookings for September this year as well as May and June next year. These periods represent great value for money and of course the weather is still very good. Golfers are also keen on getaways in the cooler months, which are where our flights to Faro – which continue right through October – come into their own.”

Flights to all Jet2.com’s most popular group destinations start from just £29.99 one way including taxes, and Jet2.com offers a generous 22kg baggage allowance and friendly flight times, meaning holidaymakers can be on the beach, enjoying a drink in the bar, on the golf course or sightseeing on the same day they depart.

The reason that Jet2.com ranked highly in the Group Travel Awards is it’s specially tailored service for parties of 10 or more, helping bridesmaids, best men, school teachers and other group organisers to avoid some of the more common stresses of organising a group booking:

• To help organisers manage the finances, and to give enough notice for group members to save up, just a low deposit of £25 per passenger is required, with the balance due eight weeks before travel.
• Anyone who has organised a group trip knows one of the most frustrating things can be people unable to commit, or changing attendees. Jet2.com removes the stress of this by offering free name changes up until two weeks before departure, so even if not everyone has confirmed, organisers can still go ahead with the booking.
• Every holiday should start from the moment the journey begins – whether that’s making the most of the chance to catch up with old friends, or getting to know new ones. To help groups sit together, a buy one get one free offer on seat selection minimises the costs*.
• Given the time and effort put into organising a group trip, the organiser deserves a reward! Through the myJet2 scheme, loyalty points can be earned on all the flights booked and can then be used to pay for future flight bookings.

Steve Heapy continued: “We are delighted with the recognition from the readers of Group Travel Magazine. We appreciate the job of a group organiser can be difficult, so we make the process as easy and stress-free as possible for them. Jet2.com now offers flights to over 50 city, sun and ski destinations from eight UK bases - so we really can offer something for every type of group.  

“Through our sister company, package holiday specialist Jet2holidays, we can also offer fully organised ATOL protected trips including 2 to 5 star accommodation, which include resort transfers and a generous 22kg baggage allowance.”

Groups interested in finding out more should visit www.Jet2.com/groups

*Customer purchases outbound seat selection and will receive the inbound seat selection free of charge. Not available to passengers purchasing one-way flights. Not applicable to extra legroom seats. Subject to availability.