A very shrewed move by Ryanair to start their new services in spring, this must be costing Jet2 a small fortune in de-ice and re de-ice aswel as playing the friendly airline card and not cancelling flights.
Jet2 do not need to re de-ice the aircraft as they are not de-iced until fully ready for departure and the runway is open.
How is it costing Jet2 a fortune to NOT cancel flights? The only extra cost is the LRV's which to be honest a lot of people don't even bother with and the extra staff to keep ground ops/crew going. It would cost them a lot more if they were ryanair, but as Jet2 treat their passengers as they should be treated, i.e putting them in hotels/coaching to another flight etc then a delay of a few hours is the obvious option. Jet2 even put on extra flights to relieve the backlog of passengers and put 757s on 737 routes. Hats off to everyone at LBA over the past weeks. Everyone has worked together extremely well, despite being one, if not the worst affected airport.