AI search, space travel and Christmas in Cyprus: nine unmissable Jet2 conference takeaways

Jet2 has managed to simultaneously back both high street agents and homeworkers with a new Scale up your Street initiative. General manager trade Lloyd Cross (pictured) said agents will be able to pitch for marketing funds to brand up existing – or new – agencies.

"We’re offering you the chance to expand your shop network, whether you’re a homeworker looking to open on the high street or a retailer looking to expand,” said Cross.

Cross also revealed 130 agents had so far taken Jet2 up on its digital windows displays, which were launched at last year’s conference, telling delegates agencies with digital displays had performed 5% better year-on-year than those without. "We promise that by next year, it will be even more [than 130],” he said.

Cross said it was part of a wider focus on “experiential” branding for agencies, including Jet2 airline seats, cabin crew drinks trolleys, light-up roof tiles and interactive walls.

Another innovation has been Jet2’s hanging shop signs, which mark premises out as travel agencies. Cross said they had been inspired by a trip to London’s historic Spitalfields Market. “We’ve installed these in more than 215 stores across the country – they’re very simple, but they look brilliant,” Cross added.

Cross welcomed three agents up onto the stage to record a live podcast, and the conversation soon turned to recruitment. "It's still a bit of a challenge throughout the industry," said head of business development Lynda Ross from Scotland's Stewart Travel.

"During Covid, a lot of people lost their jobs. I thought we'd sweep up. But they all went to work for the NHS, or a 9-5. It's been really difficult getting people in. It's such a great industry, it baffles me people don't want to come."

Buckley Travel owner Jacqui Bowring said she wasn't afraid to hire new-to-travel staff, stressing the "likeability" factor was more important. "We can train someone everything there is to know about travel, but they need to have that spark. There needs to be something that comes across at interview where you think, 'I can work with you, I can train you and develop you'.

Meanwhile, Jonny Fielding, owner of Northern Irish agency JF Travel, which is poised to open its third branch in time for peaks, said that while he was lucky to have an experienced team, the new store would likely see him venture into recruiting new-to-travel staff.

Echoing Bowring, he said a five-minute call with a candidate was usually enough time to assess the vibe. "If I feel good coming off the phone, I feel I can work with them," he said. Fielding added he had expanded tactically to ensure additional branches are within a 30- to 40-minute reach of JF Travel's main base to ensure people can cover effectively.

One major development outlined at the conference by Jet2's director of digital James Malyon was a new AI-powered search, which went live on the Jet2 trade website during the conference and has been hailed a part of the biggest shake-up of search for 20 years.

The new functionality, which Jet2 calls AI conversational search, is prompted in a more conversational style, where agents can string together a list of key demands from a particular client; the search, which uses Google's Vertex AI, can then scan every bit of a content about a particular property to deliver personalised results.

"Great" matches will be flagged in the results, at which point the system uses generative AI to create an overview of why a particular property meets clients’ needs.

Malyon encouraged agents to give the new search a go, and to be as granular as possible, stressing the key booking decisions are rarely made on the basis of something that can be filtered. AI conversational search will learn from agents' usage, and will be rolled out to Jet2's direct-sell site at a later state.

"Search hasn’t changed for 20 years," Malyon told TTG. "What we’re bringing in is the ability to not need filters for more complex queries and to empower agents to have deeper conversations with clients.

"If you can meet the customer’s needs on the first visit, you’ll get that booking every time. It’s going to maximise sales potential and help build the reputation of the agent too."

Taking questions from delegates, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays chief executive Steve Heapy was asked whether – with efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield( DSA) airport progressing – Jet2 might put any capacity into DSA.

"We will go and have a look at Doncaster," he said. "We've not met them yet, they've only just appointed the airport operator. We get approached by airports all around the UK. So we'll meet them and see what the opportunities are."

Heapy said he hoped to see DSA reopen. "I really do hope for the region that Doncaster works. There have been various attempts to create a viable business there, and it's not really worked. I know they've got a new injection of money that will hopefully make it viable. We will be meeting them in the near future."

Reflecting on Jet2's latest base launch, Luton, Heapy revealed Jet2 had been meeting with the Bedfordshire airport for about eight years before making the leap – with those talks pre-dating its expansion to Liverpool. "Sometimes these things take a bit of time, but we'll certainly have a look at it [DSA]."

Heapy was also quizzed on whether Jet2 had considered a return to Egypt (pictured) or launching to Cape Verde. "Our aircraft can get there, and we'd be capable of doing it," said Heapy.

"We've just started operating to Morocco, we've launched Pula and Porto, and there will be some others coming over the next few months. The destinations you refer to are on a list with other destinations we're looking seriously at."

However, while not explicitly ruling out Egypt or Cape Verde, Heapy said Jet2's focus right now was on putting more capacity into existing destinations – "thickening" them – particularly from its new bases of Liverpool, Bournemouth and Luton.

Heapy also said Egypt and Cape Verde – both around six-hour flights – were difficult from an operational perspective owing to restrictions on hours pilots can fly in a single day, meaning it would be tough to fly there and back the same day with the same crew.

He added: "There's another couple of product things in the pipeline, and you'll see more destinations coming over the next few months as well."