EasyJet Holidays ‘in conversation with a number of agents’

Garry Wilson, easyJet Holidays chief executive, told reporters on Tuesday (19 November) the airline’s holidays division was in the process of establishing links with agents.

However, responding to questioning from TTG, Wilson declined to confirm when easyJet Holidays product would be made available to the trade to book.

“We are in conversation with a number of agents, but one of the important messages we should give is it has to be right for us,” said Wilson, who added the operator – which it was confirmed on Tuesday will launch “before Christmas” – would make a further announcement on progress with the trade at a later date.

EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren, meanwhile, said easyJet firmly believed travel agencies “definitely had a role to play”, adding Wilson was engaging with the industry to see what any potential trade agreements could look like.

Holidays product will include more than 5,000 hotels spanning in excess of 100 beach and city destinations.

While EasyJet has declined to put a firm number on its Atol plans for easyJet Holidays, the company has repeatedly stressed it expects to become “a major player” in the package holiday market.

Its Atol currently stands at just shy of 800,000 passengers, but this can – and is expected to be – adjusted up as its holiday operation develops over the coming year, ahead of the September 2020 Atol renewal window.