Despite decent service, this airline's seats are just too small

The Age

26-05-2025

The seat
There's a simple 3-3 layout, with alternating red and grey plastic seats. It's a disgrace that plummeting standards elsewhere make the 29.5-inch (75-centimetre) pitch seem relatively spacious for a short-haul European flight, but the 17-inch (43-centimetre) seat width is largely responsible for most of the discomfort. As a well-practised pie consumer, that's just too small, and the rebellion against ever-shrinking seats can't come soon enough.
The seats are fairly hard and don't recline. There's a slot above the unfolding tray table for the emergency procedures card, menu, in-flight shopping magazine and sick bag, plus a separate pull-out metal loop for storing cups or glasses in.
Entertainment + tech
Jet2's idea of entertainment is playing British pop singer Jess Glynne's 2015 single Hold My Hand over and over again. The airline, bafflingly, has adopted it as some sort of incredibly annoying signature jingle, and we get to hear it three times before take-off. Otherwise, there's no magazine, no Wi-Fi and no powerpoint or USB port for you charge from as you listen to Jess Glynne on your own device.
Service
British consumer magazine Which? rates Jet2 as the best British airline. This is partly about the generosity on baggage allowance, but a lot to do with customer views on the service. There's a reputation for friendly efficiency, with few problems, which is what I encounter too. The recorded announcements in cloying children's TV presenter voices are a minor irritant, though.
Food
There's a limited menu of sandwiches available, but at least some of them are a little unusual – such as the onion bhaji mango wrap – and they're all available. That's something when rival airlines (cough, Ryanair and WizzAir) have extensive menus but hardly anything on the actual cart. My £5 ($10.40) cheese and ham toastie is about what you'd expect from a coffee shop chain, but I wish I'd waited for the second round of service, where all the sandwiches were suddenly half price.
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Sustainability
Jet2 environmental efforts include investing in a Sustainable Aviation Fuel plant, going electric with more than half of its ground service equipment and cutting out more than 22 million single use plastics in 2023. It doesn't have a Net Zero pledge.*
One more thing
Once upon a time, Jet2 saved its unsolicited exposure to Jess Glynne for passengers in the north of England. However, it now operates flights to dozens of European hotspots from Birmingham, Bristol, London Stansted, Glasgow, Belfast and Edinburgh.
The price
I paid €102 ($178), booking a month ahead, for a flight in January.
The verdict
By the Mariana Trench-low standards of European budget airlines, Jet2 does well. But it's still a squeeze, and boy does it need to widen its playlist.
Our rating out of five
★★★½