Oh it’s a difficult choice, hopping on a plane to Barbados or hosting the in-laws for Christmas lunch. Nearly one in five of us would consider flying off on a holiday rather than entertaining relatives, according to a BA survey.
The Scots were most likely to want to avoid the in-laws, while seven per cent of Londoners said they would use being abroad as an excuse not to buy presents. Seventeen per cent of 25 to 34-year-olds said they would even be willing to travel just to get out of the washing up and 10 per cent to avoid any family arguments.
Susan Smillie, BA worldwide cabin crew member, said: “I’m not surprised by the findings. I have been flying for over 20 years, and when I chat with our customers they often say they are relieved to be escaping the demands of Christmas.”
BA’s last-minute deals include:
New York: Three nights room-only at the four-star Millennium Hilton from £819 per person, based on two people sharing, departing from Heathrow on December 24.
Barbados: Seven nights all-inclusive at the four-star The Club Barbados Resort & Spa (above) from £2,649 per person, based on two people sharing, departing from Gatwick on December 24.
Maldives: Seven nights half-board at the at four-star Olhuveli Beach & Spa Resort from £2,499 per person, based on two people sharing, departing from Gatwick on December 23.
Abu Dhabi: Three nights B&B at the five-star InterContinental Abu Dhabi from £799 per person, based on two people sharing, departing from Heathrow on December 24.
Marrakech: Five nights B&B at the three-star Ryad Mogador Marrakech from £579 per person, based on two people sharing, departing from Gatwick on December 21.
Click here to book with BA Holidays
BA’S XMAS CRACKERS
- BA’s busiest day for bookings is Friday December 21 when it is expected that 102,000 people will be travelling on BA flights around the globe.
- At 00:01 on Christmas Day there will be 58 planes in the air with approximately 17,500 customers onboard.
- BA aircraft will travel just over half a million miles on Christmas Day.
- BA ordered almost 60,000 mince pies for longhaul flights from Heathrow accompanied by one tonne of single cream.
- During 2012 BA’s customers enjoyed more than 4 million bottles of wine.
- Fifty women in Sreepur (Bangladesh) make 2,000 charity Christmas cards a week over the course of the year to support local people living in poverty. The cards are flown to the UK for free by British Airways, which means all the money from the cards can be returned to the village.
- At Heathrow and Gatwick there will be 845 Heathrow pilots and 2,473 cabin crew working or overseas on Christmas Day.
- BA has a number of staff with Christmas-themed surnames including two Christmas’, one Claus, four Rudolphs, two Snowballs and five Yules!
- iPads were the most popular items left on BA flights over the Christmas period last year. Luckily, most were reunited with their owners.
- BA expects around 200 domestic pets to travel during the week before Christmas, proving the British are a nation of animal lovers.
