Jet2

Airline Profile

This budget airline - motto: Friendly Low Fares - operates from a position firmly north of the Watford Gap. Headquartered at Leeds Bradford Airport, Jet2 has additional bases at Belfast, Blackpool, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Manchester and Newcastle, from which it flies to numerous popular European holiday and city-break destinations, a brace of North African hotspots (Tunisia and Sharm el Sheikh) and - from Leeds and Newcastle at least - to New York. One of the few low-cost airlines to allow customers to book instore at selected travel agents (as well as online and over the phone), its also among a select few to maintain freight operations alongside its passenger flights: the company has been entrusted as an overnight delivery provider for Royal Mail.

Customer feedback on Jet2, however, remains mixed at best. Although it appears that passengers prefer the inflight experience to that of budget rivals Ryanair - the generous baggage allowance is frequently cited as a big pro when booking with Jet2 - many complaints have been lodged across passenger forums. Some of these stem from the companys relative inexperience: ill-trained cabin crew, tickets issued with erroneous dates, etc. Other passengers note the usual vagaries of budget flying: well-worn planes, long walks to and from terminals, an inefficient (if not entirely indifferent) refunds procedure. The airline has a major expansion program in place for summer 2011 - anecdotal evidence suggests it has work to do on the basics in the meantime.