The festive BA sale is on – launched by Downton’s Amy Nuttall. And if you’re a fan of the hit ITV series, watch out for the airline’s first Christmas Day advert right bang in the middle of the show.
BA says festive fatigue sets in at 9.31pm on Christmas Day. The time reflects the point when goodies have been eaten, presents opened, television has reached its peak and people have spent more time than usual with family. So thoughts turn to holidays leading to a spike in traffic on www.ba.com.
Last year the airline noticed a 62 per cent increase in sales of holidays on Christmas Day and expects the trend to continue. So to give you some inspiration, the first ever BA Holidays TV ad will be shown during the Downton Abbey Christmas special.
Amy (above), who played housemaid Ethel Parks, said: “What better day to launch a holiday campaign than Christmas Day? It’s the time of year we start thinking about warmer climes and in need of holiday inspiration to beat the winter blues. If there’s one thing we all look forward to, it’s a good holiday.”
The advert shows the journey of a young couple going on a variety of holidays and making use of the services BA Holidays offer, such as the option to pay a deposit, the 24-hour customer help line and the holiday finder tab on ba.com which narrows down the holiday options based on criteria such as weather, budget and travel dates.
Offering discounted fares in all cabins, the sale includes destinations in Europe, the Americas, the Indian Ocean, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean and Asia.
In North America a holiday to Orlando including economy flights and seven nights’ accommodation in a three-star hotel is available from £479 per person while a three-night break in New York starts from £499 per person. A five-night stay in Las Vegas, also with three-star accommodation, is on offer from £649.
South American cities on sale include Buenos Aires from £725 (saving 21 per cent), Rio de Janeiro from £649 and Sao Paulo from £690 (both saving 20 per cent).
To Canada flight prices start from £609 to Vancouver and £499 to Toronto (both saving 12 per cent).
Indian Ocean destinations include a seven-night holiday in Mauritius at a three-star hotel from £819. Flights to Sri Lanka start from £515 (saving 11 per cent) and the Maldives are available from £645 (saving 10 per cent).
Flights to Johannesburg, which will boast the airline’s new A380s from February 2014, start from £639 (saving 26 per cent), Tokyo Haneda is on sale from £649 (saving 23 per cent) and Sydney is available from £840 return (saving 30 per cent).
In the Middle East a three-night stay in Dubai at a 3.5 star hotel starts from £469 per person. Flights are also available from £398 to Abu Dhabi and Muscat (saving 15 per cent and 10 per cent respectively).
In Europe, a fly-drive seven-night trip in Malaga including flights and car hire is available for just £99 per person.
Flights to Europe in business class include Faro from £349, Marrakech from £279 (both saving 30 per cent), Innsbruck from £249 and Thessaloniki from £299 (both saving 29 per cent), Amsterdam from £219 and Dubrovnik from £249 (both saving 27 per cent).
A holiday in Barbados at a three-star hotel starts from £549 and elsewhere in the Caribbean flights in Club World (business class) start from £1,595 to Antigua (saving 36 per cent), £1,295 to Kingston (saving 38 per cent) and £1,595 to St Lucia (saving 35 per cent).
Claire Bentley, MD of BA Holidays, said: “Last year we saw a massive 62 per cent increase in people booking BA holidays on Christmas Day. The evening seems to be a peak slot, probably because it’s the first opportunity we have to relax, unwind and think about the year ahead.
“Everyone needs to have something to look forward to after the high of Christmas. And thanks to the current sale, we’ve got plenty of great offers out there for holiday-seekers. Prices start from as little as £129 per person for a three-night break in Venice and a week’s holiday in Paphos in a four-star hotel is available from just £209 per person.”
