Jet2.com marked a major milestone earlier when it took formal delivery of the last of 34 brand new Next Generation 737-800 aircraft from Boeing.

The delivery took the number of aircraft in its fleet to 100.

The aircraft, which seats 189 passengers, was handed over to Jet2.com and Jet2holidays at a ceremony at Boeing’s Seattle Delivery Centre in the United States.

The aircraft will fly to the UK this week, where it will be fitted with special finishing touches, including bespoke seating, before coming into operation in the next few weeks.

This newest aircraft is the final one of 34 brand new Boeing 737-800NG aircraft which Jet2.com and Jet2holidays has brought into its fleet since September 2016.

The aircraft have an approximate list price of $3.3 billion, however the company has negotiated significant discounts from this price.

The fleet of new aircraft enable the company to continue its growth and development strategy, meaning it can fly more package holiday and flight-only customers to sunshine, ski, and city destinations across Europe, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean.

As well as Jet2.com being the UK’s third largest airline, Jet2holidays is now the second largest tour operator in the UK.

The company’s flight-only product was enjoyed by 5.37 million passengers in the last financial year (year ‎ended March 31st), a growth of 48 per cent year-on-year, while demand for ATOL protected package holidays continues to grow, as Jet2holidays took 2.5 million customers on real package holidays, an increase of 45 per cent year-on-year.

Steve Heapy, chief executive of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said: “The arrival of the 100th aircraft into our fleet is a momentous occasion and demonstrates the confidence we have in our growing business.

“Operating a fleet on this scale means we can continue to increase capacity, offering holidaymakers more choice and flexibility than ever before when it comes to getting to Europe, the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean.”

The delivery is the latest stage in the growth story of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays since flights began from Leeds Bradford Airport in 2003.

Since then, the company has expanded to become the third largest registered airline in the UK, providing friendly low fares to more than 70 sun, city and ski destinations across Europe.