Arrival comes after Jet2 wins five awards at the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association Travel Awards including Edinburgh Airport Sustainability Award
Celebrations were in the air on Friday (1st November), as Jet2.com and Jet2holidays welcomed their first new Airbus A321neo aircraft at Edinburgh Airport and marked the occasion with a special customer event.
Customers on Friday’s Edinburgh to Tenerife flight, which is the first flight to be operated on the new Airbus A321neo aircraft from the airport, were surprised by the leading leisure airline and UK’s largest tour operator with a VIP customer experience at the departure gate. As well as receiving a red-carpet welcome, customers were also greeted with cupcakes and discount vouchers offering them money off their next flight or holiday.
The arrival of the first Airbus A321neo aircraft to be based at Edinburgh Airport comes just after Jet2.com were honoured for their sustainability efforts and awarded the Edinburgh Airport Sustainability Award at the 2024 Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association Travel Awards (SPAA) last night (Thursday 31st October).
In addition to receiving this award, Jet2.com won European Airline of the Year and Jet2holidays was named Short-Haul Operator of the Year in recognition of the companies’commitment to delivering a VIP customer service. To cap off a spectacular evening of success, Jet2CityBreaks scooped European City Break Operator of the Year and Aileen Rutherford (Business Development Manager at Jet2holidays) won Leisure Representative of the Year.
To support its ongoing growth and refresh their existing fleet, Jet2plc has a firm delivery stream of 146 new Airbus A321neo aircraft through to the 2035, and today’s celebration at Edinburgh Airport marks the first such aircraft to come into operation fromthe airport.
Including this aircraft, the companies now have ten of the new aircraft in service across three UK airports (Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham). For Summer 26, the companies will also operate the new Airbus A321neo aircraft from London Stansted and Glasgow for the first time.
With a capacity of 232 passengers, the new Airbus A321neo aircraft is over 20 per cent more fuel efficient than older aircraft and has a lower noise footprint of 50 per cent. This enables Jet2.com and Jet2holidays to grow more sustainably in line with the demand for award-winning flights and holidays.
The introduction of more fuel-efficient aircraft at their airports is just part of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays’ journey to net zero by 2050, in line with Government targets.
In May, the company published an updated sustainability strategy describing the progress Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have already achieved In The Air, On The Ground and In Resort on their journey to net zero since the publication of their first sustainability strategy in September 2021.
The updated strategy can be viewed here: www.jet2.com/en/Sustainability
As well as further reducing emissions per passenger, the fleet of new aircraft will support the ongoing growth of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays.
Steve Heapy, CEO at Jet2.com & Jet2holidays, said: “Today is a special day for Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, as we welcome our first brand-new Airbus A321neo aircraft to come into operation at Edinburgh Airport and celebrate five award wins at the Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association Travel Awards (SPAA).
“We are extremely proud and grateful for Edinburgh Airport to award us its Sustainability Award and recognise our commitment to sustainability, as evidenced by the arrival of this new aircraft today.
He added: “The addition of this new aircraft at Edinburgh Airport plays a huge role in supporting our continued growth, whilst providing customers with more choice, comfort and quality than ever before.
“As well as enabling us to continue delivering our VIP customer service, the introduction of the Airbus A321neo not only helps us to reduce fuel emissions per passenger but also our noise footprint.
“We are delighted to now have our new Airbus A321neo aircraft based at three airports and have further plans to welcome them at even more of our airports in the future. We look forward to welcoming customers in Scotland on the new aircraft and taking them on their well-deserved holidays.”
Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport, said: “The whole industry is aware of the need to play its part in the move to Net Zero and an important part of this will be investing in a modern and efficient fleet, something we are seeing today as Jet2.com introduces the first of its A321neo aircraft to operations at Edinburgh Airport.
“This is one of the most advanced aircrafts available on the market and we are thrilled to see it operating out of the capital. It demonstrates the ability to add sustainable growth while maintaining a wide variety of destinations for passengers who are looking forward to a well-earned holiday.”
For further information and to book visit www.jet2.com or www.jet2holidays.com