Jet2, the airline best known for package holidays and budget fares, now has a plane with no economy seats at all. The carrier has configured a Boeing 737-800NG entirely for business class and is chartering it out for the winter season, with its first customers already flying from Liverpool John Lennon airport.
The numbers are striking. A standard Jet2 737 squeezes in 189 seats; this version carries just 76, each with at least 43 inches of legroom. Charter customers also get catering built around whatever they want, rather than a fixed menu.
This isn't something you can simply book like a normal flight. The aircraft is aimed at groups — sports teams, touring musicians, entertainment companies and specialist parties — who want to hire the whole plane. Jet2 says demand came from clients looking for privacy, flexibility and a more comfortable way to move people together, and early feedback has apparently focused on the space and the premium cabin feel. Trevor Caplis, the airline's head of charter and airline sales, called it the first time Jet2 has offered a dedicated business-class specification on any of its aircraft.
For ordinary holidaymakers, the news is less about rushing to book a seat (you can't) and more about what it signals. Jet2 is clearly testing the premium charter market, and group travel organisers — think a corporate offsite, a golf trip or a fan club excursion — now have a cheaper-tier option between standard group charters and full private jet hire. Splitting an all-business-class 737 across a large group can work out surprisingly sensibly per head compared with 76 individual premium fares.
The timing isn't accidental. Premium cabins are having a moment: British Airways recently unveiled a multi-million-pound revamp of its A380 fleet, including a new first-class concept pitched as a luxury hotel in the sky and the largest business-class cabin in the world, with the first reworked aircraft due in service in the coming months. Carriers of every size are chasing passengers who will pay more for space.
If you're planning a large group trip this winter and the idea of a whole plane appeals, Jet2's charter team is the route in — expect quotes tailored to routing, dates and catering requests rather than a published fare. For everyone else, keep an eye on whether the airline likes the numbers enough to add more premium seating to scheduled flights too.
