This budget tour operator is proving that air travel can be painless: “They’re so nice to deal with at the airport”
When you’re deciding whether to splurge on a flight or go cheap, the latter can be worth it if the service is top notch.
While the reality has improved over the years, as far as budget airlines go, most of us still expect an experience including stressed gate agents, baggage fees that defy gravity, cramped legroom and a cabin crew who’d rather be anywhere else.
But Jet2 Holidays – a British tour operator that’s become an unlikely internet darling – seems to have cracked the code for painless air travel. And yes, it starts at the very beginning of the airport process.
I’ve certainly felt more welcomed when I get to the check-in desk compared to the early budget airline days, and the staff actually look happy to see me. It seems my sentiment isn’t unique.
Travel journalist Claire Dodd summed it up best in a piece for CNN: “They’re super-organized. There’s never a queue. Everyone seems happy.”
What is Jet2 Holidays?
Jet2 Holidays launched in 2007, packaging cheap flights with hotel stays and airport transfers. What began as a freight carrier transporting flowers is now the UK’s biggest tour operator – and in 2024, it flew nearly 19.4 million passengers from 13 regional airports.
The turning point appears to have come via a surprisingly catchy ad, offering £50 (around $66) off per person on vacation bookings. You can see it above. The offer is long gone, but the soundtrack – Jess Glynne’s “Hold My Hand” – lives on. TikTok exploded with memes using the Jet2 jingle, often ironically, to soundtrack vacation mishaps, subway floods, or even Jeff Goldblum’s parody “Jeff2 Holidays” post.
@jeffgoldblum Nothing beats a Jeff2 holiday #jeffirmations #holdmyhand
♬ Jet2 Advert - ✈️A7-BBH | MAN 🇬🇧
As far I can see, Jet2 hasn’t commented on the viral fame. Maybe it doesn’t need to. Glynne herself embraced it, closing concerts with the song and posting her own spoof. Even the White House jumped on the meme, and was immediately scolded by Glynne.
I think we’d all agree that amazing service and solid value for money is what we all look for in an airline or vacation experience. But the marketing teams are rather attuned to which human buttons they can press, and a catchy number is often a winner.
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