XL collapses as Jet2 profits soar

NORTHERN-BASED low cost airline Jet2 looked ahead confidently today as the UK’s third largest package holiday group went into administration.

The airline’s parent company Dart Group said that the airline was continuing to perform well after a “bumper summer season” – with profits for the first half of the year expected to be in excess of £30m.

Philip Meeson, chief executive of Jet2.com, said: “We have had another great summer, our aircraft have been full and we have made record profits, in fact we are expecting our parent company’s half-year profits to be in excess of £30m We have been able to hedge our fuel, plan ahead and ensure we offer Jet2.com’s low fares to our customers’ favourite European leisure destinations from our six regional UK bases. And we have recorded our best ever load factors – in excess of 90%.”

The positive news comes at a time when the industry is reeling from the collapse of XL – which went into administration this morning with debts of £143m.

Mr Meeson added: “The airlines and tour operators that have had problems have been those with a bias towards trans-Atlantic and long haul flights, as was the case with Zoom, Silverjet and XL, each of which operated frequent scheduled services to several destinations in North America, and this is an entirely different market to ours.”

XL Leisure Group, which operates XL airlines, flies to 50 destinations, mainly in the Mediterranean.

All its flights have now been cancelled and its aircraft grounded.

A further 200,000 customers have advance bookings.

Chief Executive Phil Wyatt said there is a “huge challenge” to bring home 67,000 currently abroad on XL holidays.

The company blamed the move on volatile fuel prices and the economic downturn.

The Civil Aviation Authority has labelled the collapse “probably the biggest holiday operator failure of the past 20 years”.

Passengers yet to travel should make alternative arrangements, while those already on holiday will be brought home on flights arranged by the Civil Aviation Authority, the statement said.

XL has previously flown flights out of Humberside Airport to destinations including Rhodes, Tenerife and Fuerteventura. It is unclear whether any flights travelled out of Humberside Airport at present.

The XL group, which is based in Crawley, West Sussex, runs an airline and owns several travel companies, including Travel City Direct, Medlife Hotels Limited, The Really Great Holiday Company, Freedom Flights and Kosmar Holidays.

The group, which carried 2.3 million passengers last year, has 1,700 employees worldwide.

The company flies mainly from bases at Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow airports.

David Clover, a spokesman for the CAA, said: “In respect of people who are currently abroad we’re making arrangements and working very closely with the travel industry to organise repatriation flights. Clearly though, with XL Airways no longer operating, we’re having to bring in substitute aircraft to bring people home.”

It remains unclear what effect the administration will have on West Ham United, the Premiership football club which has a £2.5m shirt sponsorship deal with XL Leisure.

XL underwent a management buyout in 2006, and quickly grew to become a big player in the UK holiday market, behind the two dominant firms TUI Travel and Thomas Cook.

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