EasyJet and easyJet holidays bookings took off during their biggest ever ‘Big Orange Sale’, filling two planes a minute at peak booking periods.
The company saw the busiest ever sale trading day for package holidays on what the airline called ‘Sunshine Saturday’, typically known in the industry to be the busiest day of the year for Brits to book an overseas holiday.
Flights to Amsterdam, Paris, Alicante and Malaga have proved to be the most popular since the launch of the sale, while Greek island Skiathos, Calabria in Italy and Rovaniemi in Lapland are among the destinations to have experienced the greatest rise in popularity compared to 2023.
Central European destinations Zadar in Croatia and Tivat in Montenegro have also seen a boost in popularity for 2024, while Britons have been booking flights to French destinations like Rennes and La Rochelle in greater numbers.
Last minute flights in January were most popular, as travellers snapped up winter sun breaks and hot spots like Tenerife saw a boost versus last year.
Geneva, Lyon and Innsbruck are top for ski breaks. The airline has been focusing on expanding ski routes with the addition of three aircraft in Switzerland which will see it increase its ski flying programme by 20% this year compared to last.
May proved to be the most popular summer month for flight bookings since the start of the sale with people taking advantage of half term deals to the likes of Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Faro, while August is currently set to be the most popular departure month for package holidays.
The ever-popular Palma de Mallorca in the Balearic Islands has been the most-booked peak summer destination for flight since the sale began. Copenhagen has seen an increase in popularity this summer compared to last year, with the airport providing quick access to the Swedish city of Malmö which is playing host to this year’s Eurovision song contest.
For package holidays, easyJet’s tour operator arm saw a boost in bookings for May, June and July, with Spain accounting for over a quarter of all summer 2024 beach sales and other beach bestsellers including the Algarve, Crete, Rhodes, Turkey and Tunisia. Families made up over a third of beach bookings, while over 70% of sales were into 4* or 5* properties.
All inclusive continued to dominate, with over 60% of beach bookers opting for this board basis. Recent research carried out by the airline in recent months showed more than two thirds of Brits (67%) have said they more likely to travel abroad in 2024 than in 2023. Protecting holiday spend remains a priority for most with over three quarters (77%) saying they will prioritise spending money on a holiday over anything else in their yearly budget – up from 70% last year.
EasyJet CEO Johan Lundgren said: “With flights and holidays bookings taking off during this traditionally busy booking period as well as strong booking momentum for summer 2024, we continue to see that the value and importance of holidays for our customers.
“The popularity of easyJet holidays also continues to grow, with 48% more customers in our first quarter of the year and an expected increase of more than 35% this financial year, all of which is a which is testament to the strength of demand for our brand and network and we remain focused on delivering for our customers.”
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