Jet2 has been forced to wet-lease an additional capacity ahead of the summer season. The airline is short of aircraft after Airbus production delays, it said. The carrier has not hinted on who they are leasing from or what types of aircraft it will be. However, Jet2 has before wet-leased in capacity from ETF Airways, AirExplore, and Titan Airways.
Jet2 orders
The airline had ordered 14 A321-200NX aircraft expected to be delivered by Summer 2025. As a result, they would own 23 units within its A321neo fleet, Jet2 plc reveals.
Initially, Jet2 first placed an order of 36 A321neo, with the option of an additional 24, in August 2021. Since then, the airline has slowly increased the number of orders. As of now, Airbus has unfulfilled 134 Jet2 orders of the A321neo.
A Jet2 spokesperson said:
Unfortunately, a number of these aircraft will be delayed from their agreed delivery dates and consequently we expect to incur additional operational costs to cover aircraft gaps in the peak summer flying programme.
Jet2’s current fleet consists of 118 aircraft, including three A321-200s, 14 A321-200NX, one wet-leased A330-200 from AirTanker, seven B737-300s, and 93 B737-800s. The aircraft due are intended to replace the carrier’s old fleet of B737-300s and B737-800s.
Airbus delays
Airbus have been experiencing manufacturing delays. They recently revealed that the A350F has been delayed to 2027 due to supply chain issues. They also struggled to produce A350s at an increased rate due to manufacturing setbacks.
However, Airbus revealed, in their 2024 annual report, that the company aims to deliver 820 commercial aircraft in 2025. They stated that they are stabilising a monthly production rate of four A330s, 14 monthly production rate for the A220 by 2026, and targets a rate of 12 A350s by 2028.
The company revealed an 8% drop in income across 2024 down to €5.4 billion (£4.7 billion).
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