EasyJet’s Packaged Vacation Push Won’t Be a Sure Thing


Skift Take

How seriously is EasyJet going to take the packaged vacations market? More seriously than it did before for sure, but enough to compete with the plethora of tour operators and online travel agencies out there? At this stage it's hard to tell.

After appointing someone as CEO who had spent pretty much his whole working life in tour operating, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see EasyJet get deeper into the package vacation market. Low-cost airlines across Europe have slowly woken up to the fact bundling up flight tickets with hotels and car services can be a money generator. You only need to look at the likes of UK-based Jet2 to see the growth potential for airlines. Even Ryanair is starting to get more involved. EasyJet has outsourced its holiday product since it launched in 2011: first through the now-defunct Lowcostbeds and currently through a subsidiary of Hotelbeds. It also uses Booking.com for its hotel offering. And after dipping its toe in the water for a number of years, it sounds like this is all about to change. “Based on my previous experience, I know that EasyJet has a huge opportunity in this area that we just haven't leveraged,” CEO Johan Lundgren said on a conference call with analysts after