Review of Jet2.com flight Tenerife Island → Manchester in Economy

Chasing Classic- Jet2 Boeing 757!

The Boeing 757 has been gracing the sky since 1982. Whilst the aircraft is still going strong as a cargo aircraft (mainly replacing even older Boeing 727 & McDonnell-Douglas DC-8) as well as being expected to fly well into the late 2020's with United & Delta in the USA, in Europe- the airliner is almost gone as a passenger airliner. The last wide spread operators in the scheduled airline sector are Icelandair, Condor Airlines and Jet2- the subject of this Flight Report.

Jet2 has used the Boeing 757-200 in the past to do Christmas Shopping package holidays from Manchester Ringway & Leeds-Bradford to New York- Newark Airport.

Jet2 first took flight in February 2003, so I was flying them a few days after their 20th birthday. But the airline predominantly has a history of operating from the North of England and Scotland. For years the airline's biggest bases were Leeds-Bradford (where they're based) and Manchester Airport. In the mid-2010s that began to change. Running out of expansion opportunities in the North the airline began to expand outside its main demographic of the last decade, finding themselves in the Midlands (Birmingham & East Midlands) as well as the South (Bristol) and to seal the deal- they opened a London base at London Stansted Airport in late-2017.

Past and Present- Sixteen second hand Boeing 757-200 have been in the Jet2 fleet since 2005.

Jet2 also had some luck when various competitors began to collapse over the years. Some noteworthy examples included FlyGlobespan (2009), Monarch Airlines (2017) and Thomas Cook Airlines (2019). These collapses resulted in various opportunities to allow them to gain footing and establish solid and sustainable competition against giants like British Airways, Ryanair, easyJet and TUI Airways.

Whilst Jet2 has used the Boeing 757 across various bases, they appear to be relegated to main base Manchester Airport.

Whilst Jet2 has used the Boeing 737-300 and Boeing 737-800 as the heart of its fleet for the majority of its 20 year history, the Boeing 757 has being a strong part of their expansion and history since 2005. 16 Boeing 757-200 have been in the fleet since then and the airline (at the time of writing) has an active fleet of 8 Boeing 757-200 aircraft. Though the last decade has seen half the fleet leave service in favour of Boeing 737-800 and more recently Airbus A321-ceo.

With the Boeing 757s being mainly second hand- the airline's fleet have previously flown for the likes of: Air Transat, Ryan International Airlines, Iberia, Air Europa, Transavia, Avianca, China Southern Airlines and (slightly ironically) Britannia Airways.

In 2021 the airline went "Judas" turning away from Seattle for Toulouse as they announced a 90+ Order for Airbus A320-neo & Airbus A321-neo, which eventually will become the mainstay of the fleet. Whilst the Boeing 737-800 will likely fly for years to come- the Airbus order is a basic death knell for the Boeing 757-200 & Boeing 737-300 fleets which will be finally bowed out by 2026.

With the remaining eight Boeing 757-200 in the fleet approaching 30-35 years old, their twilight years are now firmly upon us….

So with time ticking, an opportunity came up for me. I don't live near Manchester- but a trip to Tenerife came up and low and behold Jet2 often sends the Boeing 757-200 on the Manchester-Tenerife route, spending £175 and making a VERY huge gamble I booked for a flight on the Boeing 757 and a much needed return to Jet2 (I last flew them on STN-AGP in September 2017) the hunt was on, as this will likely be my only time flying a British owned Boeing 757.

It is a bit of a hack- but Jet2 often missions their Boeing 757 to the Canary Islands from Manchester these days- should you want to try your luck. However during the off-peak winter season newer Airbus A321 and Boeing 737-800 stalwarts often replace them.

Tenerife South Airport

My grand entrance into Tenerife South didn't quite go to plan. I had to get a taxi from my hotel to the Airport for £30 (34EUR) as the bus I was going to use didn't turn up on its scheduled time. I can't fault the Airport for this though, but it is something to keep in mind as a future reference, but the cab driver I hailed for a ride got me from A to B without fuss and I was very grateful.

The entrance and exit signs for the Airport are posted in Spanish, English and German- a reflection of the Canary Islands main tourist demographic alongside their local market.

Tenerife South Airport was opened in 1978, almost a year after the infamous Tenerife Disaster at Los Rodeos Airport (Tenerife North). Some of the issues that lead to the fateful disaster were reason enough for Tenerife to establish the Southern Airport which is less prone to those issues. Tenerife South Airport is the second busiest airport in the Canary Islands after Las Palmas Airport on Gran Canarias. This airport sees all the major International flights and a large number of domestic/inter-island flights. The former Los Rodeos Airport only sees Spanish domestic and inter-island services alongside a few select international services from Vueling and Ryanair.

The airport sees service from all over Europe especially the UK, Germany, Nordics and Benelux regions. Some of the most prominent operators include: TUI Group, Ryanair, easyJet, Condor Airlines and Jet2- who fittingly have a large amount of promotional material spread across the Airport entrance.

Jet2 has such a presence at Tenerife Airport that they have their own dedicated check in area and a dedicated Customer Service Desk- as opposed to a generic handler operating on their behalf with dozens of other airlines.

At the time of this report being done Jet2 operates to Tenerife South from: Belfast International (BFS), Birmingham International (BHX), Bristol Airport (BRS), Nottingham-East Midlands Airport (EMA), Edinburgh Airport (EDI), Glasgow Airport (GLA), Leeds-Bradford Airport (LBA), London Stansted (STN), Manchester Ringway (MAN) and Newcastle International (NCL).

Airside was quite easy despite it being the end of the half-term holidays. Security didn't take too long, probably about 5-10 minutes tops. Then came the mandatory "Route March" through Duty Free. A last ditch attempt to sell tax free alcohol, tobacco/cigarettes, various chocolates/sweeties and some rather tropical Canary Islands products.

Enter text here…

Airside there are multiple bars and cafes to mingle around once out of Duty Free. There are some windows you can stop at to get some nice views across the apron and runway, which annoyingly dips bellow the taxi way. All British flights leave from the C-Gates, which requires a passport check as you leave the Schengen zone. Not a huge fuss and I went shortly after they announced the Gate we were flying out of. There are toilets and a small café in that post-Schengen zone.

It wasn't long before my plane arrived from Manchester Airport, and boarding was to begin on time. So let's dive into the flight!

Jet2 LS918 (TFS-MAN)

My Boeing 757-200(WL) today was G-LSAC. This aircraft is 30 years old and began flying in 1992 for Air Transat, towards the end of the 1990s Air Transat did away with the Boeing 757 fleet and this plane found itself with Ryan International Airlines- A US ACMI Airline (not to be confused with the Irish Ryanair). 2006 comes around and Jet2 acquired this Boeing 757 for its growing operations. At that time Jet2 only operated the Boeing 737-300 and the Boeing 757-200 was a good plane for use on longer and busier routes from their Northern bases at the time. It originally wore the Jet2.com Red/Silver livery but it now sports the White/Blue Jet2Holidays livery.

Despite walking partly through a jet-bridge, this Jet2 flight was going to be an incredible open board onto this 30 year old Boeing 757!

To say I was very excited about this is an understatement! I boarded through the second door which was being used for the forward cabins, but a second door at the rear was open for those boarding in the rear sections of the Boeing.

I took my place in Seat 9F, which offered a fantastic forward view of the wing/engine. The legroom was good for me and the cabin was in the usual Jet2 design of alternating Grey/Red seats. Reading material and the safety card was stowed in the top of the seat back and a small metal wire cup holder was there in place- something I wish more airlines would offer.

Looking at these photos you wouldn't think that this plane is 30 years old! Jet2 has maintained these Boeing 757s well, just like Delta Airlines has done in the USA.

Whilst we had all boarded on time and the crew closed off the cabin doors, it soon became apparent that there was trouble afoot much to the pilots annoyance. The Canary Islands ATC was limiting the amount of planes flying in its airspace, so it eventually held us up for about 45 minutes. I wasn't too bothered by this delay- I can't say for the other passengers on my flight. 

We finally got a slot to depart, I don't know the full reason as to why ATC held up flights. I know France had ATC Strikes on at the time, which could have caused a bottle neck for the Canaries if there were many delayed European flights resulting from this. But we had a quick and uneventful taxi out to the Runway and followed by a rolling take off leading to these amazing departure views of Tenerife- a nice little parting gift as we all left our amazing holidays behind for the gloomy North of England we were headed for.

It was a lovely late afternoon departure. We headed North for the UK and settled into the flight, which was estimated to be about 4.5 hours. It felt it was going to be a case of "time passing quickly" compare to my previous flight to Tenerife.

I paid extra to pre-order an inflight meal with Jet2. There are multiple options to select on Jet2 when you pre-order a meal, which is unsurprising given the fact their flights often average 2.5 to 5 hours. I had a chicken curry back in 2017, so I opted to go for something different and I opted for a Thai Beef Curry (Thai Massaman). Jet2 offers a complimentary hot drink (tea or coffee) alongside their meals.

Grubs up! This Thai Curry was absolutely delicious!

I got up to use the bathroom and move my legs a bit. I noticed how retro the toilet on this plane looked compare to the more newer Boeing 737s & Airbus A320s I've flown on recently.

As we flew parallel to Spain and Portugal the sun began to slowly set as we headed over towards the British Isles.

You can get some great photos and film during the "Golden Hour" as the day concludes.

It would appear Jet2 is trying to take a page from Ryanair's book as they were offering charity scratch cards for £1 a card. So I opted to give two a go. I didn't win anything- but someone at least did.

I drowned away my loss by having an extra Tea with a cheeky 4 finger Kit-Kat.

We flew up near Ireland as we began our decent and then flew into Manchester Airport from the West. It was raining unsurprisingly during our arrival. But we landed without any hassle and it was a smooth one in my book, despite some clapping from the rows behind!

Passing various aircraft parked up at MAN for the night (including an equally vintage TUI Airways Boeing 767), our plane came to a halt on stand at Terminal 2, a new facility for me personally. Once we stopped the other passengers began to file off and return to their homes around the North-West. I had a hotel for the night instead as I don't live in or anywhere near Manchester.

I asked whether I could visit the flight deck as I love a good Boeing 757 (and Boeing 767) and my request was granted, I had a quick chat about the Boeing 757 with the pilots and told them as to why I was coming into Manchester on this flight. 

The cockpit still looks very modern despite the Boeing 757 being one of the first aircraft to use a digital "Glass Cockpit" over 40 years ago.

I left the plane and said goodbye to the crew, I felt really amazing having done that flight myself. I grabbed a quick photo of the plane on stand, knowing this will very likely be my only flirtation with the Jet2 Boeing 757 as they are due to retire in the next 3 years, and there frequency on flights will no-doubt slim down in those final twilight days.