How U.K. travel packager Jet2holidays is in the social media spotlight

Travel Weekly

a day ago

Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday. That's according to the now-viral audio from U.K. tour operator Jet2holidays, which has found itself in the social media spotlight.
TikToks and Instagram Reels abound with audio from a January 2024 ad promoting a Jet2holidays deal that knocked 50 pounds (equal to about $67) per person off a package price. Set to a backing track from Jess Glynne's song "Hold My Hand," a voiceover cheerily begins: "Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday ...."
And it caught the attention of TikTok users, who began juxtaposing the audio clip with videos showing chaotic or unfortunate moments, whether travel-related or not.
Some viral examples of TikTokers using the trending audio include a video of a boater trying to enter Italy's Blue Grotto while the ocean waves repeatedly crash them against the rocks. Another shows a woman's hair catching fire as she leans forward to blow out her birthday candles.
According to a Forbes report, the most-liked video using the sound has accumulated 35 million likes on TikTok. In it, a person ostensibly in a hotel room throws open the floor-to-ceiling curtains only to be confronted with a tiny window.
The ad "sound" has been used 1.4 million times on TikTok; the original ad on YouTube has received 2.4 million views.
A British powerhouse travel packager
Jet2holidays may be a relatively unknown travel company to most U.S. travelers, but it calls itself the U.K.'s largest package holiday provider.
In its preliminary results for the fiscal year that ended in March and published July 9, Jet2 said it carried a record 19.8 million passengers and 6.6 million package-holiday customers.
It recorded 7.17 billion pounds in annual revenue, a 15% increase over the previous fiscal year.
Like other package-holiday operators in the U.K. such as TUI, Jet2 has its own hardware: It has a fleet of 135 aircraft and is planning to acquire 132 Airbus A321neo planes over the next 10 years. According to its financial statement, it works with more than 5,000 properties across more than 75 destinations.
It also works through travel advisors and is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents. In its financial report it noted that its annual advisor conferences bring together more than 350 of its top-selling travel agents, directors and senior management.
How Jet2 has leaned into the viral trend
Jet2 did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the viral ad.
The ad concept appears to go back as far as 2022, when Jet2 said it was launching a new series of adverts called "Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday." The ads featured the Glynne song, and "the message 'contact your local independent travel agent' continues at the heart of the multichannel campaign," it said.
But it has since referenced the trend. Earlier this year it unveiled a new version of the audio on TikTok and Instagram, promoting savings of about 400 pounds (about $540) for a family of four. The video amassed 1.4 million likes.
The company also used the trending audio to promote a contest to win a 1,000 pound (about $1,300) Jet2holidays voucher. TikTokers who used the new sound in a video were eligible to win the contest, which ran through May 19.
The operator also unveiled a discount code referencing the advertisement.
It is not the first time a travel brand has catapulted into the public eye because of a viral TikTok moment. A baby, dubbed the "Four Seasons Baby," went viral last year on TikTok after showing her excitement for the Four Seasons Orlando.