According to the Association of British Travel Agents’ (ABTA) latest Holiday Habits report, package holidays are here to stay. A whopping 51 per cent booked one in the past twelve months.
The reason? Convenience – over 75 per cent said they opted for a package holiday because they enjoyed ‘having everything taken care of’.
Another 58 per cent said it was because they are the ‘best value option for price’.
With all this in mind, getting the best deal possible is a top priority for many holidaymakers.
Express.co.uk has spoken to travel expert, Jack Sheldon from Jack’s Flight Club, about how to get the most bang for your buck when booking a package holiday. Jack revealed the following tricks.
Last minute deals do exist
Contrary to popular opinion, last minute deals do exist, according to Jack. In fact, when it comes to chartered airlines they even reverse the trend.
Jack said: “Most airlines raise their prices sharply around two weeks prior to departure” . This is regardless of whether the flight is in demand or not.
The reason? “To capitalise on business travellers who are less concerned about price than they are about their schedule”.
However, package holidaymakers are in luck. According to Jack, the world’s biggest travel group TUI “bucks this trend completely”.
This means that two weeks prior to departure, package holiday providers are actually dropping their prices to get rid of their remaining seats, even during peak travel times.
So, according to Jack “if you are not too fussed about your destination, you can find some incredible deals”.
As well as TUI, another package holiday favourite, Thomas Cook Airlines, also drop their prices substantially within a month or two of travel.
Departure airport
According to Jack you shouldn’t be tied to one departure airport as “you might find cheap flights from Manchester or Glasgow say, but not from London – and vice versa”.
With Manchester Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport only a mere 30 miles from one another, when looking for good deals it’s always advisable to include nearby airports in your holiday search.
The same is true of the London airports. London Luton and London Stansted airports are only forty miles apart. Travelling from a different airport could mean the difference between cheap and expensive flights.
Jack, explained, “If I was in Edinburgh and limited to this I would definitely be looking at late June/early July departures from Newcastle, Manchester or Leeds, as those will be much cheaper – even with an extra train ticket.
“The same goes for English travellers flying in August – don’t rule out flying from Scottish airports.”
As well as this, flying from an alternative airport may mean less traffic, cheaper car rentals and shorter queues in airport security.
Don’t be fooled by airline ‘sales’
Lastly, Jack advises bargain hunters to be aware of airline ‘sales’. Instead, you should always track your fares on the online flight booking website, Google Flights, to confirm that the sale is in fact real.
Seasonal sales are a firm fixture in airlines calendars. For example, British Airways has at least four a year.
But, according to Jack “it is important to be cautious and not blindly book during the sale”.
He said: “While it’s true some routes and dates will offer substantially reduced fares during a sale, many destinations won’t drop in price at all and peak season dates often won’t fall in price at all.”
So, by all means have a root for the sale but make sure to keep track of dates and fares to see if the price has actually changed for your flight.
If it hasn’t, it might be better to wait and book that flight during a standard price drop later on, Jack advises.
