EasyJet has revealed plans to turn city breaks into package holidays as it tries to get customers to book their whole trip abroad through the budget airline.
Short-term city breaks could be sold as package trips going forward as the Luton-based firm puts tens of thousands more rooms on sale with its flights.
The move will see it ramp up pressure on rivals such as Ryanair, which has no holiday arm, and tour operators such as Tui and OnTheBeach, which focus on beach resorts.
EasyJet is also trying to gain an edge on online travel agents including Booking.com, which are currently used by most of its flight-only travellers for booking hotels.
The airline launched its easyJet Holidays operation in November 2019 and demand surged last year with UK customers rising from 1.9million to 2.6million.
But this was still only a rise from 5 to 7 per cent in the UK package holiday market share – compared to Tui and Jet2 which both have almost 20 per cent each.
Now, easyJet’s new chief executive Kenton Jarvis is trying to maximise the potential of the Holidays arm which is already the group’s most profitable division.
The firm is also trying to capitalise on a bounceback in interest for visits to cities in Europe after a post-Covid dip in demand when Britons instead headed for beaches.
easyJet Holidays demand surged in 2024 with UK customers rising from 1.9million to 2.6million
EasyJet has added trips to Tromso in Norway, aimed at those hoping to see the northern lights
EasyJet is also now operating city breaks to Strasbourg, popular for its Christmas market
City break trips now make up 47 per cent of demand for easyJet, having been at 42 per cent when travel restrictions were lifted and at more than half before Covid.
Mr Jarvis told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘These are really popular routes. Amsterdam, for example, will be one of our busiest destinations this winter. Yet at the moment almost everyone travels independently and books their own room.
‘What we need to do is persuade people coming to us for flights that we can also offer quality accommodation at a cheaper price, which is true seven times out of 10.’
He also pointed out that city break travellers tend to care more about the location of a hotel than those heading to beaches, who are more interested in the quality of the accommodation.
Mr Jarvis said: ‘If you’re going to Rhodes you want a hotel that’s on the beach, has three or four restaurants, tennis courts and so on, but you’re not that bothered about where it is.
‘But if you’re going to Paris you may want to be in Montmartre, or near the Louvre or the Musée d’Orsay, and the location becomes the most important thing.’
EasyJet Holidays told MailOnline that popular city break destinations for 2025 include Amsterdam, Krakow and Paris – with the first few months of the year being a popular time to visit.
Cities see particularly high demand for adult-only bookings, although Paris is popular with families given the draw of Disneyland Paris.
Three nights at the 4* Staycity Paris Marne La Vallee in Paris on a room-only basis including flights from Luton on February 4 costs £125 per person (based on two adults, two children)
Paris is a popular city break destination for families given the draw of Disneyland Paris (above)
Three nights at the 4* Zaan Hotel Amsterdam Zaandam in Amsterdam is available through easyJet Holidays for £182 per person including flights from Edinburgh on February 3
Amsterdam is also one of the most-booked destinations for city breaks according to easyJet
The firm gave three examples of trips on offer next month on a room-only basis, including:
- Three nights at the 4* Staycity Paris Marne La Vallee in Paris on a room-only basis for £125 per person (based on two adults, two children) including flights from London Luton on February 4;
- Three nights at the 4* Zaan Hotel Amsterdam Zaandam in Amsterdam for £182 per person including flights from Edinburgh on February 3; and
- Three nights at the 4* Premier Krakow Hotel in Krakow for £157 per person including flights from London Gatwick on February 2.
EasyJet has also recently added trips to Tromso in Norway, aimed at those hoping to see the northern lights; and Strasbourg, which is popular for its Christmas market.
Three nights at the 4* Premier Krakow Hotel are on sale for £157 per person including flights from London Gatwick on February 2
Krakow is listed as being among the top city break locations for easyJet Holidays customers
And its recent Travel Trends report highlighted the rise of the ‘small city seeker’.
This was defined as: ‘Travelling to smaller cities to avoid the crowds and experience somewhere more unique than the usual big hitters.
‘Destinations throughout Europe have a variety of smaller cities that still offer activities, culture and experiences in spades, i.e. Girona instead of Barcelona, or Rimini instead of Rome.’
EasyJet offers beach and city holidays to over 7,000 hotels in more than 100 destinations across Europe and North Africa, directly through its website and through over 7,000 travel agent partners.
The firm lists its most popular locations for city breaks on its website as Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Krakow, Lisbon, Prague, Reykjavik, Copenhagen and Berlin.
EasyJet highlighted the rise of the ‘small city seeker’ where people ‘travel to smaller cities to avoid the crowds and experience somewhere more unique’ – such as Girona (pictured)
Another ‘small city seeker’ destination was suggested as Rimini (above), instead of Rome
easyJet’s new chief executive Kenton Jarvis, who took over on January 1, is trying to maximise the potential of the Holidays arm which is already the group’s most profitable division
Its website also claims that its city break packages were looked at more than 750,000 times last month.
In October 2024, easyJet reported headline pre-tax profits of £610million for the year to September 30, up 34 per cent from £455million 12 months earlier.
Trading was boosted by strong demand for easyJet Holidays, with the division seeing pre-tax profits jump to £190million, up 56 per cent from a year earlier. This was driven by a growth in customer numbers of 36 per cent.
EasyJet also carried 7 per cent more passengers in its most recent 12-month period at 89.7million.
Mr Jarvis, who was previously easyJet’s chief financial officer, replaced Johan Lundgren as chief executive on January 1. Mr Jarvis has been with the group since February 2021.
