LONDON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - British tour operator Jet2.comsaid it would start flying 21 new routes from London Stanstedairport next year in a show of confidence in holiday demanddespite an increasingly competitive European flight market.
Low fuel prices have led to a strong growth in capacity onEuropean routes, putting market expansion at a 10-year high onforecasts that airlines will add new capacity of 8 percent overthe next six months.
But low-cost carrier Jet2.com, owned by UK-listed travel andlogistics company Dart Group, said that it would notstruggle to fill planes on its new connections from London'sthird biggest airport and the fourth busiest in Britain.
"We've aimed for the popular leisure destinations in Europe,in Spain, Portugal and the Canary Islands. We feel that some ofthem are actually underserved from London Stansted so we thinkthere is still strong demand," Jet2.com Chief Executive SteveHeapy said in an interview on Wednesday.
Flying from Stansted will bring Jet2.com into competitionwith Ryanair, the airport's biggest user and Europe'sbiggest low-cost airline.
Jet2.com's new base at Stansted will give it a presence insouthern England for the first time. In the past, it has servedpassengers in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Heapy said Jet2.com's sister brand Jet2holidays, throughwhich it sells package holidays, would help it attract customersand compete with Ryanair.
About half of the passengers travelling on the new Stanstedflights, due to start from March next year, will be on aJet2holidays trip, predicted Heapy.
Jet2holidays, plus larger rivals TUI Group andThomas Cook, say demand for holidays has remained strongamong Britons this summer, despite a 10 percent fall in thevalue of the pound against the euro since the Brexit vote inJune.
Some destinations like Turkey have not benefited from thisdemand because of security concerns there. (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
