British Airways prepares for the big 2012 Christmas getaway

With just three weeks to go until Christmas, over 1.9 million people are already booked to travel across British Airways' network of over 175 destinations over the festive and new-year period (Saturday, December 15, 2012 to Monday, January 7, 2013).

Friday, December 21 is the peak as nearly 102,000 customers will travel across the airline's network on that day alone.

Even on Christmas Day, over 27,000 people will travel with British Airways.

January 2, 2013 sees most people travelling after the Christmas break, with over 91,000 people flying with the airline that day.

Top long-haul destinations from London with British Airways over Christmas and New Year include holidays in New York, where visitors can experience bright Christmas window displays, go skating in Central Park or see the gigantic tree at Rockefeller Center.

Other long haul favourites include warmer destinations such as Miami, Cape Town and Dubai as well as holidays in Hong Kong.

Top short-haul destinations with British Airways include city breaks in Edinburgh, which will allow travellers to sample one of the UK's top Christmas markets, visit Edinburgh Castle, or hit the shops in Princes Street. Geneva is another top destination, popular for ski holidays at the resorts of Chamonix and Brides les Bains, The Dutch capital, Amsterdam is also proving to be popular with the opening of the much hyped, five-star Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht, a Hyatt Hotel. British Airways offers a variety of top class hotels in Amsterdam as well as the Andaz, including the new five-star Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam, a design led property set in the heart of the city which was converted from a grand post office building originally built at the end of the 19th Century.

Richard Tams, British Airways' head of UK&I sales, said: "We're looking forward to flying nearly two million customers over the festive period around our network.

"In past years we've seen a couple of peaks in travel, but this year it's really concentrated around December 21.

"We'll be getting into the festive spirit serving mince pies and roast turkey on board and on Christmas day 845 pilots and 2,473 cabin crew will be doing their best to give our customers the very best service."

Ends

About British Airways:
British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide destinations, including London flights, as well as holidays, hotels, car rental with Avis and experiences. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday packages, ATOL number is 5985. Passengers are offered added peace of mind to their holiday plans and the security of travelling with British Airways. British Airways plc constantly seeks to exceed customers' expectations, both in terms of the value for money and quality of the service provided.

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