Holidays Cut Short by 2 Days due to Poor Flight Time Choice

Our latest survey has revealed that the average 7 day family holiday is actually being cut down to just 5 days, the majority of the time, due to poorly planned flights by holidaymakers.

It would appear that many of you are being forced to cut your holiday short unnecessarily, as our latest poll has found that the majority of Brits 'don't even consider' their flight departure and arrival times when booking a holiday; meaning they often lose two days either side of their trip.

We wanted to carry out the study as part of ongoing research into the holiday habits and preferences of UK holidaymakers. 1,992 Britons aged 18 and over took part in the study, each of whom had been on holiday in the past 2 years for 7 days.

78% of those polled admitted that they didn't consider departure and arrival times when they booked their holiday

All respondents were asked 'When you booked your last holiday, did you consider departure and arrival times to get the most time abroad?' to which 78% said 'no', potentially suggesting that many people had their holidays cut short by badly timed flights.

To investigate the matter further, we asked respondents what times they had arrived at their holiday destination (local time) and what time they had had to leave (again, local time). The average respondent landed at their holiday destination between 5pm and 7pm local time and departed after their holiday between 8am and 10am local time.

Our findings suggested that the average 7 day holiday was only providing 5 days of actual 'holiday'

With such late arrival times and earlier departure times, our study suggested that the average 7 day holiday was actually providing only 5 days of actual 'holiday'; with the 2 days at either end drastically cut short because of flights.

The majority of respondents thought their last holiday could have been better if they had opted for earlier flight departures

All respondents were asked whether or not they felt that their last holiday could have been better if they had opted for earlier flight departures from the UK and later departures back from their destination, to which the majority, 61%, said 'yes'.

It can be painful having to get up at 4am to catch your flight, but it's definitely worth it when you get there at around lunchtime and you can spend the rest of the day sunning yourself by the pool!

If all you have time to do when you get to your hotel is check in and have a drink before the bar shuts, it does feel like you have wasted an entire day. Flight times are certainly something to consider when you book your holiday, especially as the time of your flight can often save you money as well.

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