British Airways is celebrating its first anniversary since the introduction of 'dynamic packaging' on ba.com. Online holiday bookings since the launch of the new technology are up 56% compared to last year as a result.
The new technology, which allows customers to buy flight+hotel or flight+car packages in one booking, provides BA with a strong proposition in the increasingly sophisticated and price conscious leisure travel market. With an increased choice of product, guaranteed price savings and greater flexibility in their holiday planning, more customers than ever before are choosing to book their holiday on ba.com.
Claire Bentley, managing director BA Holidays, said: "Our simple, easy-to-use dynamic packaging feature has been a huge success with sales up a fantastic 56% on last year thanks to the great value we now offer.
"We have tailored our expanded range of 3, 4 and 5 star hotels to meet all our customers' needs as well as increasing our range of all-inclusive properties by 70% to meet demand.
"Although there is still strong early booking demand for peak holiday periods such as Easter, half term and Christmas, the new technology has enabled us to meet increasing demand for late deals with a considerable shift to customers booking a break less than seven days before departure."
The exclusive partnership with Avis, BA's car rental provider, has led to a surge in fly drive holidays to locations with holidays in Florida, Tuscany, the South of France and flights to New York all proving popular.
Since the new technology was launched a year ago the number of hotels and resorts available has increased to more than 6,000, including major global brands such as Accor, Best Western, Fairmont, Hilton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Marriott, and Starwood as well as small independent hotels. A wide range of all-inclusive hotels have been added to accommodate all budgets and this has helped some of the new leisure destinations that BA introduced last year such as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Montego Bay and Sharm el Sheikh.
The range of sightseeing on ba.com has also increased, from more traditional city tours to unique experiences such as the private Citroen 2CV tour of secret Paris.
Claire Bentley added: "While dynamic packaging has been a great success we plan to make it even more inspiring with improved destination guides, enhancements to our product range including boutique and character hotel options and calendar selling - enabling customers to find the best deals by offering alternative travel dates."
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About British Airways:
British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide destinations - flights, holidays, hotels, car rental 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.
Katja Cooper, Astral Towers, Betts Way, London Road, Crawley, RH10 9XA, 01293 722513, www.ba.com
