I am beyond delighted to state that Jet2 now flies from Gatwick airport, our local base for all of our flights just a 15 minute train away and the main airport for everyone down south.
I’ve been on a number of Jet2 holidays; however they’ve always been from Stansted airport, which is a bit more difficult for me to reach in Sussex, so this is an absolute game changer!
This has also brought 300 new jobs to the local industry, including roles for cabin crew, pilots and engineers.
Where Will They Be Flying To?
From now on, you will be able to book your holidays from London Gatwick to Bulgaria, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Turkiye and Malta.
Gatwick is the third largest airline in the UK, but it doesn’t suffer with the same painful queues of Heathrow, while the change away from the 100ml liquid rule means all the queues move very quickly. I mean seriously quickly. Do you remember before the electric passports how long we had to queue to show someone our passport, kids will never know the pain we all went through!
Will More Routes Be Launched?
Yes, according to Steve Heapy, the CEO of Jet2holidays and Jet2, they have plans for new destinations for the winter of this year, potentially focusing around ski destinations and Christmas market routes, which is exciting to hear (you can’t beat a good Christmas market).
I’ve always wanted to get away during the winter months but I’ve often used up my annual leave, so I’ll have to reserve some this time!
According to this news article, they’ve already seen a 27% increase in demand since their launch, highlighting how successful this expanded service has been already.
Where Did We Go?
We gave the new Jet2 Gatwick flights a try as we headed off on our Holidays to Tenerife from Gatwick Airport.
This was a 4 night all inclusive stay at Barcelo Tenerife with Jet2holidays and we 100% planned on hiking, exploring and sightseeing, however once we got to that sunbed and we remembered how to switch off, it was very hard to stand up again.
For once, we didn’t spend the entire time documenting every moment, we instead relaxed, picked up a cocktail and laughed away the week.
Our flight was seamless, while unlike certain other unnamed airlines, they didn’t harass anyone about the size of their baggage.
Plus, travelling to Gatwick versus Stansted knocked off an hour on the journey there and an hour off the journey back. That means an extra hour in bed in the morning before our flight.
Our Trip
For anyone contemplating a similar Tenerife trip, we were booked in with Jet2holidays, the UK tour operator which offers package holidays that take away all the stress of planning. This meant that our package included flights, accommodation and transfers.
The transfers are always so useful to have included, as you don’t have to tackle the issue of calling an Uber or finding a taxi and not knowing the cost, as it’s all handled in advance with a bus that is awaiting your arrival alongside other holiday goers.
The transfer coach also won’t just leave without you if you’re lost or late. When you arrive at the airport there will be Jet2 staff with clipboards looking out for you, while the bus drivers have lists of names as well, so you can feel confident you’ll arrive to your destination with ease.
You also get 22kg baggage and 10kg hand luggage included every time, which I see as a nice benefit as I often don’t add the added baggage when booking myself and regret this later when I’m squishing everything into a rucksack.
Barcelo
Our stay was at Barcelo in Tenerife, a hotel located along the South Coast, a stone’s throw away from the airport, making it the first stop on the transfer route.
I really do have to highlight the entertainment as my favourite aspect, they really did entertain us throughout the day, with yoga in the morning followed by aqua aerobics (still a bit tipsy from the night before), some form of tasting class (cocktails, wine & cheese tasting, coffee liquer etc), bingo, then the evening shows, which included tributes of Tina Turner and Freddie Mercury.
They did have kayaks available for the small river within the hotel grounds, but I couldn’t persuade Raquel to give it a go.
This was an all inclusive stay, meaning the vast majority of drinks at the bars were included (exceptions really being big brand names), while you could go to a buffet or snack bar throughout the day to eat. They offered 20% off at on-site restaurants, but who wants to pay for food when you’ve got all inclusive available.
They had 7 pools, but only one was heated and arriving at the end of March during a rare colder period with a storm recently passing, it meant only one pool was usable for swimming. I can imagine in the summer time when the temperature has jumped another 10c, people won’t care about the pool temperature by then.
The hotel was a bit far away from the main activities, my fault for not really researching this in advance, so I would recommend researching where the activities are that you would like to book or try, whether that’s Siam park or Mount Teide, then check through the extensive list of hotels available with Jet2holidays and find one that ticks all your boxes.
Honestly, I cannot speak highly enough of our experiences with this brilliant tour operator, I’d 100% recommend booking your summer holidays with them.
