Investment bank Stifel has branded the operator “our top pick in the travel space” after a good set of half-year results. Stifel also highlighted the amount of cash Jet2 has, its good customer service during the pandemic, and its ambitious aircraft order.

Stifel and another bank, Jeffries, are optimistic about the operator’s future, with Stifel suggesting it will not be long before it overtakes Tui as UK market leader, with whom it is already neck and neck.

What analysts think is important – ask Liz Truss, who found out very quickly that losing the confidence of banks doesn’t make for a good career path. Likewise, Thomas Cook went bust because a bean counter in the City pointed out that its debts were too huge for it to overcome, which crashed the share price and spooked consumers.

This time, the bean counters have given a tour operator their resounding backing, pointing out that with the pandemic now over, Jet2 can continue filling the gap in the market left by Cook.

That may not be the limit of Jet2’s ambitions, though. At last week’s Jet2holidays conference in the Algarve, chief executive Steve Heapy remarked to delegates that with 146 new aircraft on order, “we have to double in the next five or six years".

Normally, this would ring alarm bells among investors fearful that yet again, the travel industry had failed to learn its lesson that over-capacity equals seat dumping equals profits crashing.

Jet2’s more sober statement to the Stock Exchange was that it needed these aircraft “to meet the future anticipated growth of its leisure travel business and to refresh its existing aircraft fleet”.

Jet2 is reluctant to say what the balance will be between replacing existing aircraft and adding to its already 100-strong fleet, but a look at Jet2’s current stock should calm any concerns about reckless expansion.

Many of its aircraft are more than 20 years old, and at least 15 of the older Boeing 737-300s and vintage 757s will be replaced. Jet2 also leases a number of aircraft from airlines like Titan to boost summer capacity, so these will likely also be replaced by in-house capacity.

Aiming to double in size does, though, suggest Jet2 could need some new UK departure points. In one scenario, Jet2 – having made a success of Stansted, where it will offer 41 routes next summer – could look to take up vacant slots at Gatwick and fully establish itself in the south, putting itself on another trajectory.

However, Heapy told TTG the airline and operator would seek to double down in the Mediterranean, adding more routes to existing hotspots. New destinations are expected to be announced imminently.

The new aircraft, Airbus A320 and A321neo, will be more fuel-efficient and, in the latter case, offer more seats, bringing down costs. In this way, Jet2 can expand profitably simply by putting more bottoms on seats to its traditional sun spots from existing bases – so perhaps it does not need any new UK airports.

Whichever path it chooses, the City seems likely to be supportive. The brand’s share price today was around £9.40, with Stifel targeting £11 and Jeffries £13. As travel gets back to normal, Jet2 staff can be as confident as investors.

Gary Noakes is senior contributor and analyst at TTG.