Jet2 boss Steve Heapy told delegates attending ABTA’s Travel Convention that he is ‘a bit worried’ about the forthcoming Budget.
Taking part in a panel discussion with TUI UK Managing Director Neil Swanson, Steve pointed out the National Insurance and National Minimum Wage increases in the last Budget cost Jet2 an extra £25 million a year.
One of his concerns is that the next Budget, which will be announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves on 26 November, will increase taxes for middle-income earners and bring more people on lower wages into the tax bracket.
Quoting recent data from HMRC, Steve said half a million more people now pay the UK’s top rate of income tax compared to two years ago.
His concern, clearly, is that further tax increase will leave consumers, especially those in the mid-market, with less money to spend on holidays.
Speaking later to Travel Gossip, Neil suggested just the fear of what might be in the Budget might be one of the reasons some people are holding off booking.
“There is a bit more financial uncertainty, maybe it is the geopolitical situation, and people want to see what’s going on, they are waiting to see what the Government does,” he said.
“Some people are waiting to see what [the Budget] is going to mean for their finances, people want certainty.
“Maybe people are concerned about things like what’s going to happen to their mortgage, and that’s where we will come in with our payment plans, which are so popular; 40% of our customers now pay by direct debit.”
However, Neil said the market isn’t booking any later than last year, and average selling prices are up on 2024, but ‘it isn’t coming forward as it has in previous times’.
