Jet2 trade chief urges agents not to forget about the lates market during peaks

Heading into peaks, late sales – which Jet2 classes as departures within nine weeks of the booking – are down by 3% year-on-year, but nonetheless still account for around three in every 10 Jet2 bookings through the trade.

Cross said every late enquiry or booking was an opportunity to get clients thinking about the getaway after that. Equally, owing to the strength of the lates market, he stressed every classic peaks booking for the summer was a chance to seal a late sale for this winter or the spring.

"But agents have to sell these holidays rather than just wait for clients to book them – nobody comes in just to enquire," said Cross. "Lates is the best marketing tool. When you’re booking a holiday, your mind’s ticking away thinking, ’I like that, I’ve seen this, I’ve seen that’. The client is in the frame of mind [to book]. Too often, agents tend to just accept the sale and get rid of it. They move on."

’Market, market, market’

Cross said he expected peaks to be strong, and to extend beyond January, echoing the thoughts of Jet2’s three Ask the Experts panellists – Barrhead Travel product and commercial director Caroline Donaldson, Dawson & Sanderson managing director Annelene Hutton and Idle Travel owner and managing director Tony Mann.

"We’re anticipating a bumper peaks," said Donaldson. "We always do. This year was tremendous, and we’re expecting no different next year. What I would say that I expect it to go beyond January like it did this year – hopefully peaks will be Q1, maybe into Q2. Certainly longer than just January."

Hutton said Dawson & Sanderson was seeing "similar trends". "We’re expecting it to be incredibly busy, and we’re preparing for that now. I do think it’ll extend, I don’t think it’ll be just January and February like it has.

"Last year, we saw peaks extend, and it’s a lot flatter across the whole year now than those big spikes that used to occur."

Hutton, though, sounded a note of caution. "One thing we won’t do is take an eye off the future," she said. "There is a fight to be had. The cost of living crisis hasn’t really taken a hold as holidays are very important to people.

"But at some point, the longer it is sustained, if it doesn’t start to ease for people, it’ll become a lot harder and holidays will be a little more considered. So we’ve got to keep a little eye on that future."

Mann recently revealed to TTG he and his team would be treating 10 months of the year as if they were peaks as the business heads into its 40th year. "Keep on marketing," he advised delegates.

"Get your name out there. Don’t let people forget about you. Market, market, market. Ten months of peaks, why not? Why take your foot off the gas? You’ve got to get people through your door."