easyJet sees bookings take off following PM roadmap for return to international travel

easyJet has seen UK bookings surge within hours of the UK Prime Minister setting out his roadmap for travel. Flight bookings for the summer season increased by 337% and easyJet holidays bookings rose 630% week on week since the address to the nation, with beach resorts among top destinations for this summer and travel in August, followed by July and September proving most popular, suggesting that Brits are keen to book a summer beach break to look forward to this year.

Malaga, Alicante and Palma in Spain, Faro in Portugal and the Greek island of Crete are the current front runners for summer season flight bookings, following the indication by the UK Government that it intends to reopen international travel.

All customers booking flights and holidays with easyJet benefit from some of the most flexible policies under its ‘Protection Promise’ which means that customers can book now for later this year with the confidence that if their plans change, so can their booking.  

Johan Lundgren, CEO of easyJet said:“We have consistently seen that there is pent up demand for travel and this surge in bookings shows that this signal from the Government that it plans to reopen travel has been what UK consumers have been waiting for.

The Prime Minister’s address has provided a much-needed boost in confidence for so many of our customers in the UK with demand for flights up 337% and holidays up 630% already compared to last week and beach destinations proving most popular for this summer.

“Our Protection Promise means that customers can book with confidence knowing that if they are unable to travel or their plans change so can their flights or holiday and we’ve put more flights and holidays on sale this summer to even more destinations, so that customers have more choice to book something to look forward to.

“And while the summer may be a little while off, we will be working around the clock to ensure we will be ready to ramp up our flights to reconnect friends and family or take them on long-awaited holiday to remember.”

 Earlier this month the airline put 15 new international and domestic summer routes on sale from the UK, including ten new easyJet holidays destinations, such as the popular beach resorts of Enfidha in Tunisia and Bourgas (Sunny Beach) in Bulgaria, providing customers with even more choice when making plans for this summer. The airline also launched new domestics routes for those seeking a UK staycation, including from Newquay to Manchester and Glasgow.

A survey conducted last month of over 5000 consumers across Europe showed that almost two-thirds (65%) were planning to or had already booked a flight in 2021. The pent-up demand seen among Brits was even stronger with 68% of UK consumers actively looking to travel in 2021. easyJet’s existing customers are even more likely to travel this coming year, with almost three quarters planning a trip. With the majority of consumers stating they like to travel a lot (82%), the survey also revealed that travel still remains a priority for many and of those who had already made a booking for 2021 (14%) over half (56%) said they intended to book again this year, showing a strong appetite to make up for lost time.

easyJet and easyJet holidays have introduced market-leading flexible customer policies under its ‘Protection Promise’, meaning that customers can book now with the confidence that if their plans change, so can their booking. This includes a Refund Guarantee for flights or holidays if they are cancelled plus a full refund for holidays if a customer changes their mind up to 28 days before and – unlike other airlines – with our Travel Ban Protection customers can also receive a refund for non-cancelled flights if plans are impacted by travel bans in a regional or national lockdown; the Freedom To Change flights without a fee up to 14 days before departure, and change a holiday up to 28 days before departure; and if quarantine measures come in to place last minute, our Quarantine Assurance also means impacted flights can be changed without a change fee. All holidays are covered under easyJet holidays’ Covid commitments if holidays cannot go ahead or are impacted by restrictions.

Safety and wellbeing of all customers and crew remains easyJet’s highest priority and the airline continues to have a number of biological safety measures in place onboard in line with guidance from the relevant authorities. This includes daily enhanced cabin disinfection effective in protecting against coronavirus for at least 24 hours and mandatory mask wearing for customers and crew. All easyJet aircraft are already fitted with HEPA filters, similar to those used in hospitals, which filter 99.97% of airborne contaminants in the cabin, including viruses and bacteria.