EasyJet holidays hikes Atol capacity by a third as Jet2 retains top spot

Lastminute.com (BravoNext SA) is eighth in the list (754,465, +1.5%) and Tui’s cruise brand Marella Cruises ninth (409,852, +15%), with Expedia (339,644, +12%) creeping ahead of dnata OTA Travel Republic into 10th place.

Travel Republic actually falls nine places in the list to 19th after reducing its Atol from around 320,000 seats to just over 140,000, a 57% reduction.

Carnival plc has reduced its Atol slightly from just under 250,000 to 237,000 (-5%), while Thomas Cook – which was recently acquired by Poland’s eSky Group – has increased its from 172,000 to 215,000 (+25%).

In the agency sector, Travel Counsellors – a spring renewing Atol holder – remains 18th in the list with an Atol for 151,199. But jumping ahead into 17th is Hays Travel’s in-house tour operation, which now has an Atol for 160,000 seats (+24%).

Registered under Hays Tour Operating Ltd, Hays last year revealed it would relaunch its in-house tour operator in the new year as a standalone B2B brand called Vista and make cruise a priority.

The latest renewals see Jet2holidays extend its dominance in the mainstream Atol package market over Tui after hiking its Atol in February 2023 to become the biggest Atol holder before extending it again in October 2023.

With Tui keeping its Atol at 5.8 million seats, easyJet holidays has inched closer to Tui, although its Atol remains only around half the size.

However, with Booking.com significantly reducing the size of its Atol, easyJet holidays climbs to fourth in the list and brings travel closer to having a so-called "big three" comprising competitors solely from the operator sector.

Loveholidays will renew its Atol in spring 2025. It added more than a million seats in April this year, bringing its total Atol authorisation to nearly +200% versus where it stood pre-pandemic.