Go the extra mile to fly in style

BUSINESS class travel is growing amongst Brits according to the latest figures released by Cheapflights, which reports an overall increase in ‘premium cabin’ flight searches of over 63% compared with 2016. 

Popular long haul routes such as London to Bangkok showed an increase of 94%, whilst London to Cape Town grew by 60% and London to Singapore topping the list with an increase of 166%. While many travellers feel that business class is out of their budget, Cheapflights has also revealed how they can fly at the front of the aircraft for less by going the extra mile.

Andrew Shelton, Managing Director of Cheapflights, says: “Flying ‘up front’ may sound an extravagance, but – if you’re able to factor in a little extra travel time to fly indirect – it can be surprisingly affordable, ensuring you arrive refreshed and ready to rumble, whether that’s a holiday, your honeymoon or a vital meeting.”

Flying direct from London to Cape Town in business class currently costs this month around £5,680 per person with British Airways/KLM. But switching to an indirect flight, adding only 10 minutes to the outbound flight duration and six hours on the way back, brings that cost down by over 40 per cent to £2,371 in business class – just £130 more than a direct economy fare on the same route.

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Cheapflights UK Travel Awards Celebrate Best In UK Travel

THE UK travellers’ favourite airlines, airports, travel brands and destinations were honoured at the inaugural Cheapflights UK Travel Awards. Winners in 20 categories were revealed at a ceremony held in central London last week, ranging from favourite airline cabin crew and airport for duty-free shopping, to best travel blog and favourite short and long-haul destinations.

Andrew Shelton, Managing Director of Cheapflights commented: “In what we can describe as turbulent times it is apparent that the UK has far from lost its appetite for travel, as we’ve seen a near 50 per cent year on year increase in users of our core flight search product, which we expect to number 25 million in 2017, more than a quarter of a million people are using our app every month and we now have over four million subscribers to our mailing list. These are exciting times for the brand and we are looking forward to working closely with new and existing partners as we grow further in 2018.”

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Pirates of the Caribbean inspires more searches on Caribbean Holidays

FLIGHT searches by UK holidaymakers to the #Caribbean are up by 50 per cent year on year according to leading global flight search and travel deals website, Cheapflights, as Brits are inspired by the most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movie and new flight routes and hotels across the region.

Flight searches to this popular region have been on the increase all year, as Brits seek good value alternatives for their summer holidays from busy Med resorts, and the uncertainty that continues to hang over those in North Africa. The build-up to, and release of, the latest chapter in Captain Jack Sparrow’s adventures - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – on 25 May has further shone a spotlight on the Caribbean, contributing to an overall year on year increase of 50% between January and the beginning of June. Although the film was shot mostly in Australia (the previous installment, On Stranger Tides, was shot mostly in Hawaii), the name and locations are evocative of tropical islands such as St Lucia and The Grenadines, which historically harboured the real-life pirates that inspired the franchise.

Deals to the Caribbean available now include:

Save up to £200 per couple off seven nights in Barbados on selected dates in September and October 2017. Book before 13 June to secure seven nights at Time Out Hotel in Barbados, close to the renowned Oistins Fish Market, from £649pp including return flights from London and air-conditioned B&B accommodation. 

Save up to £464 per couple off seven nights five-star all-inclusive at Occidental Grand Xcaret in Mexico on selected dates in September 2017. Book before 14 June to secure seven nights accommodation and return flights from London from £929pp.  

www.cheapflights.co.uk



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Cheapflights reports boom among singletons

CHEAPFLIGHTS has seen a boom in single travellers searching for get-away-from-it-all flights, reporting an 18% rise among flight searches for solo travellers so far this year, compared to the same period in 2016. From the beginning of February to mid-May, ten of Cheapflights’s 20 most-popular destinations have seen increases in searches from people looking to travel on their own.

Far-flung destinations show the highest rise, with searches to Manila, capital of the Philippines, up 55% year-on-year and searches to Thailand’ capital Bangkok, up 37%. Searches for New York and Dubai are both up 13%. Closer to home, Lisbon is the most searched-for short-haul destination among independent travellers, up 25%. Paris (up 16%) and Barcelona (up 6%) are also being widely sought out by those looking to travel alone.

Other solo travellers are choosing to fly within the UK, with searches for London up 41%; Manchester up 33% and Glasgow up 4%.

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Wallet Friendly Stop Over Routes

TRAVELLERS who have the flexibility to fly indirect to their #holiday hotspot can half the price of their airfare and double the #destinations they visit by incorporating a city #stopover along the way.

Cheapflights has found that a direct, return, flight from London to Hong Kong with British Airways, in June, would set a couple back more than £2,350, yet opting to fly indirectly, via Helsinki, with Finnair, on the same dates, would cost just £1,233 for two people, return, including overnight hotel accommodation in Helsinki. The London to Helsinki leg of the journey lands at 12.20 on 24 June and the onward connection to Hong Kong departs at 23.35 the following day, enabling travellers to spend an evening and a full day in Finland’s capital.

The London to Cape Town route also offers some interesting stopover options and hefty savings versus flying direct. A non-stop, return flight for two passengers with British Airways in November is an eye-watering £2,033 but, if a couple were to fly via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, on the same dates, they could net two return tickets and a hotel stay in Istanbul for just £1,029, saving a staggering 46 per cent (£928). 

When booking one-way flights, the savings can be even greater2, for example London to Los Angeles, stopping in Amsterdam; London to Rio de Janeiro via New York; London to St Lucia, via Paris and London to Johannesburg, via Abu Dhabi.

Phil Bloomfield, Global Head of Communications & PR for Cheapflights, comments: “Another reason that fares are often lower when flying long-haul via a short-haul hub such as Paris, Istanbul, Helsinki, Amsterdam or Reykjavik is that the Air Passenger Duty liability is reduced from £75 per person or £150 per couple (band B – long-haul) to just £13 per person or £26 per couple (band A – short-haul), as long as the traveller spends at least 24 hours in the stopover destination.

To search for the best flights and the most competitive prices, visit www.cheapflights.co.uk

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Escape Escape

A NEW innovation from 

Cheapflights.co.uk has given ‘Esc’ keyboard keys everywhere a new lease of life with the launch of its innovative EscEscape (pronounced ‘Escape Escape’) browser extension tool, putting a range of short getaway options just two-taps away from users. 

Launching in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa, ‘EscEscape’ is a free-to- install extension for Google Chrome users. When a user taps their keyboard ‘Esc’ key twice, a live flight search runs to find the cheapest, quickest and smartest return flights to nearby #destinations. 

Results are pulled from Cheapflights’ own search engine API and the users’ nearest airport is detected as their departure airport. The flight results open in a new browser tab and will be the cheapest option for a weekend break in the next eight weeks. The user is then free to go ahead and book if they like the look of what they see – if not, another ‘double tap’ of the Esc key throws up a new option.

“We want people to rediscover their ‘Esc’ key, and make it their shortcut to escaping for real - double tap quick,” comments Andrew Shelton, Cheapflights’ Managing Director.

Initially, a choice of five destinations will be featured each day, selected at random from the top 200 searched-for #holiday hot spots on the Cheapflights website and app, per market. For the UK, US, Canada and South Africa, only flights within a five-hour flight time are selected. 

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Up in the air . . .

Research from global flight search and travel deals website, Cheapflights.co.uk, has revealed that the UK’s regional airports are giving London a run for its money when it comes to price, popularity and pick of destinations. Cheapflights’ analysis of 20 million searches and more than 200 different routes reveals that it doesn’t always pay to fly from the Capital.

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Relax in the Dominican Republic

RELAX in Punta Cana, #DominicanRepublic at the four star Tropical Princess on the beachfront of the popular Playa Bavaro in the province of Altagracia and a 20-minute walk from the lively Plaza Bavaro, this quality all-inclusive resort offers something for everyone.  

Enjoy a range of activities including beach volleyball, windsurfing, sailing, mini-golf and tennis. Dining amenities include three bars and five restaurants serving a variation of traditional island cuisine and international dishes.

Available for departure on selected dates between 9 May - 5 June 2017 via Cheapflights.co.uk, seven nights in luxury four-star all-inclusive accommodation and return flights with British Airways from London Gatwick. Based on two adults sharing.

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Travel Trends

AN exclusive poll of Brits by global flight and travel deals platform, Cheapflights.co.uk, has revealed that almost a third have been put off holidaying in the US because of President Trump’s controversial actions since taking office. If all of them chose to take their travels somewhere else next year, the estimated cost to the US economy would exceed $1.5 billion.

This apparent ‘Trump Slump’ is reflected in searches for flights to the US from the UK, which have fallen by 13 per cent in the period since Trump entered the Oval Office and are currently 10 per cent behind where they were this time last year. On the flip-side, alternative destinations are basking in a ‘Trump Jump’, with demand to Mexico up 22 per cent, Caribbean up 12 per cent, Canada up 6 per cent and Thailand a staggering 27 per cent.

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