et2 is one of the most successful British airlines in recent years.
Having emerged during the low-cost boom in the early 2000s, from what was a small cargo carrier known as Channel Express, it has now become the largest tour operator in the UK, and a major force in low-cost travel.
History of Jet2
Jet2 was founded in 2003 with a fleet of Boeing 737-300 aircraft operating from its first base, Leeds Bradford in Yorkshire.
The airline had originally been founded in 1983 as Channel Express, and was operating Boeing 737s and Lockheed Electra’s from Bournemouth.
As the number of destinations grew, Jet2 also began sourcing more aircraft – mostly second-hand from operators like Lufthansa.
Jet2 opened its second base at Manchester in 2004, followed by Belfast International, Newcastle, Blackpool and Edinburgh over the next two years.
The airline also acquired second-hand Boeing 757-200 aircraft for routes that demanded greater capacity.
Jet2 Today
Today Jet2 has ten operating bases:
- Belfast International
- Birmingham
- Bristol
- East Midlands
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- Leeds Bradford
- London Stansted
- Manchester
- Newcastle
It operates to 67 destinations with a fleet of 102 aircraft (and many more on order).
Jet2 Aircraft Livery and Branding
Jet2 unusually has two distinct identities across its aircraft, which represent the two parts of its business – as an airline, and as a tour operator and holidays company.
As a result, you can see the two liveries on examples of all aircraft types in its fleet (apart from the Airbus A321-200s, which only fly in the Holidays livery).
The standard Jet2 livery features a silver fuselage with red tail, engines and the red-and-white Jet2 logo on the forward fuselage and white Jet2.com logo on the tail. Many aircraft also have a slogan in red along the upper fuselage.
The Jet2Holidays livery has a mostly white fuselage, with blue tail and engines. The tail also features an orange-and-red sun motif. Jet2Holidays titles appear in orange-and-red on the forward fuselage, and again slogans such as ‘Package Holidays You Can Trust’ appear along the upper fuselage.
A330 MRTT G-VYGL (ZZ341) operating for Jet2.
Leased-in aircraft, such as the AirTanker A330s, are usually painted white all over with red Jet2 titles on the forward fuselage and tail.
Jet2 Fleet
At present Jet2’s fleet comprises Airbus A321-200, Boeing 737-300, Boeing 737-800 and Boeing 757-200 aircraft. It also leases in extra capacity during the summer months from AirTanker and their Airbus A330-200 fleet.
Jet2 has large orders for additional aircraft in place, which include 35 Airbus A320neo and 63 Airbus A321neo. These will ultimately form the basis of the fleet, with the Boeing types being retired.
Interestingly, Jet2 is the last scheduled passenger operator of both the Boeing 737-300 and 757-200 in the UK.
Jet2 Fleet List
Airbus A321-200
- G-HLYA
- G-HLYB
- G-HLYF
Boeing 737-300 (to be retired in 2023)
- G-GDFG
- G-GDFK
- G-GDFL
- G-GDFM
- G-GDFN
- G-GDFO
- G-GDFT
Boeing 737-800
- G-DRTA
- G-DRTB
- G-DRTC
- G-DRTD
- G-DRTE
- G-DRTF
- G-DRTG
- G-DRTH
- G-DRTI
- G-DRTJ
- G-DRTK
- G-DRTL
- G-DRTM
- G-DRTN
- G-DRTO
- G-DRTP
- G-DRTR
- G-DRTT
- G-DRTU
- G-DRTW
- G-DRTY
- G-DRTZ
- G-GDFC
- G-GDFD
- G-GDFF
- G-GDFJ
- G-GDFP
- G-GDFR
- G-GDFS
- G-GDFU
- G-GDFV
- G-GDFW
- G-GDFX
- G-GDFY
- G-GDFZ
- G-JZBA
- G-JZBB
- G-JZBC
- G-JZBD
- G-JZBE
- G-JZBF
- G-JZBG
- G-JZBH
- G-JZBI
- G-JZBJ
- G-JZBK
- G-JZBL
- G-JZBM
- G-JZBN
- G-JZBO
- G-JZBP
- G-JZBR
- G-JZBS
- G-JZHA
- G-JZHB
- G-JZHC
- G-JZHD
- G-JZHE
- G-JZHF
- G-JZHG
- G-JZHH
- G-JZHJ
- G-JZHK
- G-JZHL
- G-JZHM
- G-JZHN
- G-JZHO
- G-JZHP
- G-JZHR
- G-JZHS
- G-JZHT
- G-JZHU
- G-JZHV
- G-JZHW
- G-JZHX
- G-JZHY
Boeing 757-200 (to be retired by 2026)
- G-LSAA
- G-LSAB
- G-LSAC
- G-LSAE
- G-LSAI
- G-LSAJ
- G-LSAK
- G-LSAN
Additional aircraft often lease during the summer months.
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