As a travel journalist, Claire Dodd checked in to a five-star hotel and set sail on a butler’s artificial cruise. But when she books her own vacation, she clearly wants something more modest. Jet2Holidays is the UK budget tour operator who she declares “the joy of flicking.”
“They’re so happy to deal with it at the airport,” she says. “You get there and look happy to actually meet you instead of the slightly more difficult services you sometimes get from budget airlines. They’re very organized.
Dodd is not alone. Since its launch in 2007, Jet2 Holidays has grown to become the UK’s largest tour operator and has offered flight and hotel “package holidays” with transfers included. Known for its vibrant red branding, bright staff and smooth operation, it quietly becomes a cult favorite among British vacationers.
Now, unexpectedly, its cult status has become global.
It all began with an ad that aired in January 2024. “A holiday with a 30-second event package discounted at £50 per person – £200 for a family of four.”
In the original video, the family (of course four) races in excitement towards the Jet2 check-in desk, happily boarding the Jet2 plane, five cabin crews descending and enjoying a vacation in the sun. Of course, it’s a discount of just $66 per person, accompanied by a hook from singer Jess Grinne’s 2015 song “Hold My Hand.”
Discount agreements have been expired for a long time, but they live in the memes. On social media, families were erased, and only audio became the virus. So far, they have soundtracked over a million tiktok videos due to the fact that they have been so incorrectly wrong vacation footage, including being arrested on a JET2 flight.
Anything negative seems to work. Dodge Italian mosquitoes and spit out the flood waters gushing out carriages on New York’s subways. This week, Jet2 Holidays landed in Hollywood. Jeff Goldbrum contributed his video to Tiktok and narrated the same script, but branded “Jeff2 Holidays.”
Free ads or negative ads? Asked by CNN that there was unlikely social media fame, Jet2 offered no response.
For the Internet, it’s a fleeting crash. But for those who were on Jet2 holidays, it’s a long-term relationship.
“You know where you are on the price, your luggage is included, it usually includes transfers and you can upgrade to a private transfer if you don’t want to sit with everyone else’s hotel for hours.”
Tanya Kirk, an art therapist in Northern Ireland, is another repeat customer. “It was a great experience from start to finish,” she tells Benidorm, southern Spain about her final JET2 holiday. “When we were having problems – Mom left her travel wallet in money and documented at the coach’s transfer – they were extremely helpful and did everything they could to trace the lost wallet and return it to us.
“Cooking for flights, hotels and organisation transfers can be stressful enough. Booking with Jet2 Holidays will help you relax on your holidays without worrying about these things.”
All I know about JET2 holidays is that at one point, if only they managed to win £200 in a family of four (including £48 bags), then 101 of the UK’s biggest tour operators.
Despite the current topic, Jet2’s origins are rather mediocre. It began as a Carpenter air service in 1971, and flew flowers from Guernsey Island to the UK mainland of Douglas DC3. In 1975, it was rebranded as Express Air Freight and four years later the name Express Air Services was renamed again. In 1983, under new ownership, it became Channel Express.
In 2001, two Boeing 737s were on the roster, branching out into charter flights for the public, rebranding as JET2, and two years later launched a scheduled flight from Leeds Bradford Airport Base in northern England. JET2 holidays continued in 2007, packaging flights, hotels and relocations between the two, and sowing seeds for the summer 2025 song.
Today, a Jet2 fleet of 120 Boeing and Airbus planes will scoop people in search of wallet-friendly vacations from 13 regional airports around the UK and drop them down to sunny European hotspots. In 2024, 19.4 million passengers flew in approximately 115,000 flights.
They’re having fun too.
Both JET2 and Jet2 holidays receive passionate reviews from the UK Consumer Association, which compiles ratings from customer feedback, from whoer. Jet2 has broken through the short-haul table in its annual “airline satisfaction” survey since the pandemic. “Jet2 is one of our top-rated travel agencies,” says Naomi Leach, Associate Editor at Which. trip. “The big draw is that the brand has friendly and friendly staff.
Of course, there are negative reviews. Scrolling through sites like TripAdvisor makes it clear that not everyone enjoys the JET2 holiday experience. But these one, two, three stars, and four stars, and four reviews, don’t get close to matching five stars. This is a show that is far better than other rival European budget carriers, such as Ryanair and EasyJet.
For those embarking on a JET2 plane, it ended up with Jess Glynn again. “Darling, hold my hand!” she sings over and over again in the PA system as a passenger committee. A few weeks after the holidays, the sunburn disappeared and the ear bugs are still playing in my head.
DJ Tina Edwards, who played at festivals around the world, believes that it was Glynne’s song that brought the audio from Jet2 commercials to viral, rather than narration for “£50 per person.”
“It’s strange whether this track sounds like a summer or not, because I feel it’s essentially a “darling hold my hand” hook.
She is the classic perfect fifth example of the musical intervals known for its harmonious quality. “It’s so complete and I’m very pleased.”
Glynn celebrated the 10th track in March. It gave her the first UK number one and stayed at the top of the charts for three weeks. It was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2015 BBC Music Awards and was a soundtrack for all 115,000 Jet2 flights each year, as well as sampled in Coca-Cola ads and was part of the “Bridget Jones ‘Baby” soundtrack.
Grinne has not publicly commented on the song that the song goes viral, but in May he posted his own spoofing in an ad, moving around in the gym with his girlfriend. “It’s about Jet2 blowing it up into everyone’s ears,” she wrote in March to commemorate the 10th anniversary. According to the music publication NME, fans were waving around the “Nothing Nothing beats a Jet2 Holiday” signs, so she started closing the set on the track.
She also criticized the White House after posting her own controversial meme meme to X and then set the audio on footage that appears to show a deportation flight from the US. “My music is about love, unity, positivity, never about spreading hatred,” she wrote in her Instagram story. “This post honestly makes me sick.”
Glynne’s music, along with predictable and bright service, is all part of Jet2’s appeal.
“I know exactly what you’re trying to get,” says Marcus Kendall Yong, director of Auria Travel, which sends European people from Jet2’s holiday from his Leicestershire base.
“The clients absolutely love it because they know it is stress-free and easy. They will fly, relocate, get accommodation and welcome staff to help with every stage.
Flying on a JET2 plane is an important part of the experience, he says.
“I know Jess Glynn’s songs get you playing over and over again. It sticks to people’s heads and they absolutely love it.
“Next, you know exactly which pre-recorded message is next. You know that it’s “women, boys and girls.” You know they’re going to make a really bad announcement about special offers on board.
He says, “It’s just perfect. I’ll go up the stairs, go up the stairs and find out I’m on a JET2 plane and put Spring on your steps,” he says.
Leeds copywriter and designer Rick Turner is an unlikely fan. A houseboat resident, he runs a YouTube channel with his husband Adam about slow-sea and rail travel around Europe. He calls Jet2 “guilty pleasure.”
“We live off the grid so we always feel a bit dirty flight, but Jet2 flights are more fun, cheaper and much better experience than other budget airlines,” he says.
For Kendall-Young, it is a thoroughly British success story. “I think the UK loves packaging holidays.”
