The Best Way to See China? On Futuristic, Punctual, Very Fast Trains
The ride felt decidedly more languid when I turned my attention from the window. A smartly uniformed attendant was passing out snack boxes, but I craved something more substantial and made my way to the Starbucks-equipped snack bar to order a cappuccino and soup dumplings.
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In 2001, with two Boeing 737s on its roster, it branched out into charter flights for the public, rebranding as Jet2 and launching scheduled flights from its Leeds Bradford airport base in the north of England two years later. Jet2 Holidays followed in 2007, packaging up flight, hotel, and transfers between the two — and sowing the seeds for 2025's song of the summer. Today, Jet2's fleet of 120 Boeing and Airbus airplanes scoop up people in search of a wallet-friendly vacation from 13 regional airports around the UK, and drop them off around Europe's sunny hot spots. In 2024, just under 19.4 million passengers flew with them, on nearly 115,000 flights. They enjoy themselves, too. Both Jet2 and Jet2 Holidays get glowing reviews from Which?, the UK consumer association, which compiles its ratings from customer feedback. Jet2 has topped the short-haul table in its annual 'airline satisfaction' survey every year since the pandemic. 'Jet2 is one of our best rated travel firms,' says Naomi Leach, deputy editor of Which? Travel. 'A huge draw is that the brand has friendly, helpful staff who often go above and beyond to assist. If something goes wrong they are likely to have staff on hand to help.' There are, of course, negative reviews. Scroll through a site like Tripadvisor and it's clear not everyone enjoys their Jet2 Holiday experience. But those one-, two-, three- and four-star reviews combined don't come close to matching those with five stars. That's a far better showing than for other rival European budget carriers like Ryanair and EasyJet. For those embarking on a Jet2 plane, it's over to Jess Glynne again. 'Darling, hold my hand!' she sings, over and over again on the PA system as passengers board. Weeks after the vacation has ended and suntans have faded away, that earworm will still be playing in their heads. Tina Edwards, a DJ who has performed at festivals around the world, thinks it's Glynne's song that's made the Jet2 commercial's audio go viral rather than the '£50 per person' voiceover. 'It's funny being asked whether this track is the sound of the summer because I feel that it's essentially the 'Darling hold my hand' hook that's the teeny tiny hit,' says Edwards, who hosts a music show, Next Big Thing, for Jet2's rival, British Airways. It is, she says, an example of a classic perfect fifth, a musical interval known for its harmonious quality. 'It sounds so complete, so satisfying.' Glynne celebrated a decade of the track in March, which gave her her first UK number one, staying at the top of the charts for three weeks. Nominated for Song of the Year at the 2015 BBC Music Awards, it even charted on the US Billboard Hot 100. As well as being the soundtrack to all 115,000 Jet2 flights each year, it's been sampled in a Coca-Cola ad and was part of the 'Bridget Jones' Baby' soundtrack. Glynne hasn't publicly commented on the song going viral, but she did post her own spoof of the ad in May, larking around in the gym with her girlfriend. 'Here's to Jet2 blasting it in everyone's ears,' she wrote in March to mark its 10-year anniversary. She has started closing her sets with the track, as fans brandish 'Nothing beats a Jet2 Holiday' signs, according to music publication NME. She also criticized the White House after it posted its own controversial version of the meme on X, setting the audio to footage appearing to show deportation flights from the US. 'My music is about love, unity and positivity — never about spreading hate,' she wrote in an Instagram story. 'This post honestly makes me sick.' Glynne's music, along with a predictable and upbeat service, is all part of the Jet2 appeal, say those who have experienced it. 'You know exactly what you're going to get,' says Markus Kendall-Young, director of Auria Travel, who dispatches people around Europe on Jet2 Holidays from his Leicestershire base. 'Clients absolutely love it because they know it's stress-free, easy, they'll get a good deal. They'll get their flight, transfers, accommodation and they're going to have staff around to help them every step of the way. Flying in a Jet2 plane is an essential part of the experience, he says. 'You know you're going to have the Jess Glynne tune playing over and over again. It sticks in people's heads and they absolutely love it. It makes you feel like you want to have a little bit of a dance — you're going on holiday, you want a drink. 'You know exactly which prerecorded message is next. You know it's 'Ladies and gents, boys and girls,' you know they're going to do the really corny announcements about the special offers onboard. They push food and drink really hard, and you know they're offering you all those special deals and hoping that by the time you get to the end of your flight you'll be well and truly inebriated and ready for your holidays.' It is, he says, 'just perfect. It puts a spring in your step going up the stairs, knowing you're boarding a Jet2 plane.' Rick Turner, a copywriter and designer from Leeds, is an unlikely fan. A houseboat dweller, he runs a YouTube channel with his husband Adam about slow sea and rail travel around Europe. He calls Jet2 his 'guilty pleasure.' 'We live off grid so always feel a bit dirty flying, but Jet2 flights are fun, cheap, and a much nicer experience than other budget airlines,' he says. For Kendall-Young, it's a thoroughly British success story: 'I think the UK just loves a package holiday.'
