Easyjet Holidays boss plans to take package deal crown by ousting Tui and Jet2

The chief executive of Easyjet Holidays has outlined how the firm plans to become the biggest package holiday provider in the UK.

Easyjet’s fast growing holiday business is eyeing 10 per cent market share as a medium-term target, up from 3 per cent in 2019, as it looks to oust the likes of Tui and Jet2.

“I think in terms of where that’s coming from, got to bear in mind that with EasyJet, we have over 100 million seats,” Garry Wilson told City A.M. in an interview.

“So our ability to be able to, you know, talk to EasyJet customers who are traveling to the destinations that we sell holidays to and to convert those from flying only to holidays, customers, the potential there is massive.”

Package holiday and flight prices are rising and travel agents have warned that holidaymakers will likely need to pay 20 per cent extra to jet to their favourite destinations in 2024.

Wilson argued strong value for money offerings would help the provider ramp-up capacity faster than its rivals.

“We’re cheaper 75 per cent of the time versus some of our major competitors. And that’s really compelling for customers who are looking for great value, but not looking to compromise on quality,” Wilson told City A.M.

Competition is tough though. Jet2 hiked its annual profit forecast to between £510m and £525m in February.

Meanwhile Tui, which is soon to depart the London Stock Exchange, delivered a record fiscal first quarter, with revenues at nearly £4bn.

But it’s not just on prices. Easyjet Holiday’s chief executive is mooting a move into new markets, including ski, villa and City breaks, as it expands its offerings in Switzerland, France and Germany.

“When you look at the types of customers and holidays that we sell, I think there’s a whole list and range of opportunities for us to explore. We’re not in the space of villas, we’re not in the space of ski at the moment, you know… There’s huge opportunities there,” Wilson said.

“I think the one area that gets me more excited than others, it’s the opportunity within the city breaks, because I think we are seeing a real robust demand in city breaks and people going for those two, three days.”

He added: “So a lot of those city destinations, and I think given the size and scale of EasyJet, it’s where our bread and butter is as an airline. Therefore, we can really bring a good product to customers, through thinking about that and developing our city break proposition. So I think that’s where I would see an area of real excitement.”

In a note, analysts at the Bank of America said Wilson’s plans for how the business will maintain its trajectory were “compelling,” with Holidays a key part of medium-term growth at easyJet.

“After growing its customers by 77 per cent in FY23, easyJet Holidays has seen a strong start to FY24 and is on track for growth of 35 per cent year-on-year.”