(Reuters) -British low-cost airline and travel firm Jet2 said it was premature to give a forecast for fiscal year 2026 as later bookings and global uncertainty clouded visibility into future business, sending shares sharply lower on Wednesday.
The global travel and leisure sector is operating against the backdrop of geopolitical disruptions and inflationary cost pressures, while a severe heatwave across Europe and wildfires in France and Greece may further strain bookings.
Bookings for summer 2025 continue to be made closer to departure, Jet2 said in a statement, adding that its summer seat capacity was revised down to about 18.5 million, from the 18.6 million previously guided in April.
The majority of its winter 2025/2026 capacity of 5.8 million seats was also yet to be sold.
Shares in the company, known for its budget flights and holiday packages slid as much as 8.4%, and were last trading 5.7% lower by 0732 GMT.
“The continued trend towards later bookings, combined with ongoing geopolitical risks and a fragile economic backdrop, could weigh on consumer sentiment over the crucial summer months,” said Julie Palmer, partner at Begbies Traynor.
Jet2 said customers remained eager for overseas vacations if the pricing was attractive, and that it was currently trading in line with market expectations.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, partly attributed the fall in Jet2’s share price to profit taking. Shares have risen nearly 12% so far this year.
Jet2 reported an 11% jump in annual profit before FX revaluation and tax to 577.7 million pounds ($785.2 million) for the year to March 31, and hiked its dividend by 12% to 16.5 pence per share.
It expects profit for 2026 to be in line with the market view of 579 million pounds.
($1 = 0.7357 pounds)
(Reporting by Yamini Kalia and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Rachna Uppal)
