Released on = August 24, 2007, 4:29 am

Press Release Author = Jenny Simpson / Web Certain for Holidays-Direct

Industry = Retail

Press Release Summary = A survey of customers who have booked holidays through
www.holidays-direct.co.uk has revealed that although cost is the most important
factor when choosing to book a flight, the option to fly from a local airport is
almost as important.

Press Release Body = A survey of customers who have booked holidays through
www.holidays-direct.co.uk has revealed that although cost is the most important
factor when choosing to book a flight, the option to fly from a local airport is
almost as important.

Customers were asked to pick what they consider to be the most important factor when
booking flights from a list of options.

Cost was the choice of nearly half of respondents to the survey (44%), but over one
third of people stated that the location of the departure airport was the most
important factor for them.

Despite a lot of recent hype by airline companies, the option to check-in via the
internet is not a feature desired by air travellers. None of the survey respondents
claimed this was a major influence when booking a flight.

The full survey results are as follows:

Question: When you book a flight, which of the following is the most important factor?

Cost - 44%
Location of departure airport - 37%
Time of flight - 11%
Option to choose seat - 4%
Reputation of airline - 4%
Option to check-in on the internet - 0%

Paul Reeve of www.holidays-direct.co.uk said: "When we carried out the survey we
fully expected cost to be the defining factor, but we have noticed a change in the
behaviour of our customers over the last few years, following the mass expansion of
local airports in the UK."

"People are now very used to being able to fly to their favourite holiday
destinations from their nearest airport."

"The days when holidaymakers from the north of England were willing to waste a day
of their annual leave just to get to Heathrow Airport are long gone."

The notion that local airports support a limited number of destinations is
out-of-date. For example, within less than two hours there are flights from
Manchester to Toronto, Hamburg, Dublin, Venice, Ibiza, Istanbul and Bratislava, as
well as other destinations.

There are 20 main local airports across the UK offering travellers regular flights
to the most popular holiday destinations.

The local UK airports continue to expand, with Doncaster-Sheffield Robin Hood
Airport the most recent of the non-London airports to report record passenger
numbers.

Paul continues: The option to cut down travelling time by flying from an airport
near to home is especially important to people taking family holidays with small
children. Many people will simply choose another holiday destination rather than
have to travel from a less convenient airport."

The survey was featured in the www.holidays-direct.co.uk newsletter "Dash" which is
distributed monthly to 20,000 subscribers. "Dash" holiday newsletter offers readers
holiday tips, resort guides, updates on the tourism sector and special offers
exclusive to readers.

Go to the homepage at www.holidays-direct.co.uk to sign up for the "Dash" holiday
newsletter.

Holidays-Direct is part of the Midlands Co-op Travel Group and is an online
resources for researching and booking holiday flights and accommodation for
destinations all around the world.

www.holidays-direct.co.uk is just one of a network of specialist holiday websites.
The others are -

www.citybreaks-direct.co.uk - advice on choosing and booking citybreaks in New York
and cities across Europe.

www.ski-direct.co.uk - the ski team have over 100 years ski travel experience
between them and share their expertise in booking family and group ski holidays.

www.cruise-bargains.co.uk - a portal with information and great rates for worldwide
cruise holidays.


Web Site = http://www.holidays-direct.co.uk

Contact Details = Jenny Simpson
Web Certain
Northminster Business Park
York
YO26 6QW
44 1904 780030