As the peaks of the Summer 2023 season begin, we ask the following question: Who is operating more flights in the UK? Jet2 or TUI?
Using data from RadarBox.com, we will get down to this question and see who is storming ahead in the Summer season.
Without further ado, let’s get into the numbers…
TUI’s Numbers in the UK…
For May 9-16, TUI operated 248 movements in the UK, based on a seven-day rolling average provided by the flight tracking company.
This represents a decrease of 21.52% compared to the same period last year, where 316 movements were handled.
Below is the last four weeks’ worth of data from the carrier:
| Date | 2019 Numbers | 2022 Numbers | 2023 Numbers | Percentage Difference (2023 vs. 2022) |
| April 11-18 | 118 movements | 160 movements | 119 movements | -25.62% |
| April 18-25 | 115 movements | 168 movements | 118 movements | -29.76% |
| April 25-May 2 | 177 movements | 167 movements | 118 movements | -29.34% |
| May 2-9 | 205 movements | 185 movements | 244 movements | +31.89% |
What we can see from the data is that as TUI entered the month of May, the numbers unsurprisingly spiked upwards, which represents when the peak of the Summer season was beginning.
As we progress further into May and into June, July, and August, this is where we can see higher movement numbers.
For example, TUI, at the start of July 2022, operated around 400 flights per week.
Jet2’s Numbers…
For May 9-16, Jet2 handled 365 movements, which is an increase of 20.46% compared to the same period last year, where 303 were handled.
Such a figure is higher than pre-pandemic levels, showing that the airline is having a strong start to the Summer so far.
Below is the last four weeks’ worth of data from the carrier:
| Date | 2019 Numbers | 2022 Numbers | 2023 Numbers | Percentage Difference (2023 vs. 2022) |
| April 11-18 | 216 movements | 232 movements | 260 movements | +12.07% |
| April 18-25 | 202 movements | 238 movements | 246 movements | +3.36% |
| April 25-May 2 | 256 movements | 207 movements | 260 movements | +25.60% |
| May 2-9 | 286 movements | 235 movements | 348 movements | +48.09% |
Like with TUI, Jet2’s spike in movements began on May 2-9, where you can begin to see the sharp increases begin.
As mentioned above, this is quite early into the Summer season still, but we can begin to see who is operating more flights per week.
If we compare it to the start of July, like with TUI, Jet2 operated around 399 flights per week in that same period in July 2022, just one flight short of its holiday competitor.
Overall…
What remains clear is that as we enter the busy peak periods of the Summer 2023 season, Jet2 has come out on top by around 117 weekly movements currently.
However, as we get into the months of June, July, and August, we will no doubt see that gap close up.
But with Summer 2023 demand expected to exceed 2022’s, it is going to be interesting to see how TUI and its competitor get on in a post-pandemic-based busy season.
