Anyway, back to Jet2. People keep talking about the seasonal nature of Jet's operation and how it wouldn't suit a leased fleet of aircraft. I understand that Thomson send several 737's to Canada to offset their lack of their flying over the winter. This explains how they manage it, but how do other charter airlines (I'm thinking specifically of Thomas Cook) or other small scheduled low cost airlines who's flights are mainly to holiday destinations (Monarch) cope despite having largely (or indeed entirely) leased fleets?
I don't know if anyone knows how Jet2's fleet usage compares to TC and MON over the winter, but being similar sized airlines with similar short haul routes, I would have thought the seasonal nature of their business would be similar (TC's long haul network notwithstanding).
Jet2 obviously have several strings to their bow, with a decent number of charters over the winter as well as the royal mail contract to keep things ticking over, but this talk of fleet renewal with possibly a fair number of leased aircraft made me wonder, would there be a need for them to tinker with their business model to accommodate a leased fleet?