Well, it seems that some airlines are now fighting for sale fares as we enter the Christmas Season in the UK.

The big ones to look out for so far are:

• British Airways – Long Haul in World Traveller/World Traveller Plus Flight sale. All the usual destinations. Book by 22/01/13 with a nominal travel period of 25/12/12 to 31/03/13 (although good luck finding anything cheap in December). Some routes are showing much longer lead times to 31/09/13 (Far East and Middle East), 30/11/13 (Caribbean Routes)
• Virgin Atlantic -Flight sale with various destinations. Offer ends:22/01/13 Travel period, 25/12/12 – 31/03/13</

As usual, I’d expect codeshare partners, Joint Venture partners, and even other alliances to join up for a general fare war in the UK/Europe area which will last until 22/01/13 with travel to 31/03/13 (a quick glance shows AA are matching fares, with cheaper fares through the summer period).

Whilst not mileage run material, it could be worth considering if you need a break to get away from things.

With one year gone since the word “Avios” formally became part of the frequent flyer list of words, it seems Avios.com, British Airways and Iberia are having a bit of a party.

The skinny: 25% off redemptions using Avios or Avios+Money bookings (Avios part only).

Bookings must be made between for travel between 14/11/12 & 19/11/12 for departures from 14/11/12 & 31/05/13.

And it seems to be available in ALL classes of travel.

Now, this is to Zone 4 of travel and beyond. For those who need that spelt out for them in a list of destinations…

Abuja, Cairo, Jeddah, Kuwait, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, Accra, Bahrain, Baltimore, Bermuda, Boston, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Lagos, Montreal, Muscat, New York, Philadelphia, Riyadh, Toronto, Washington, Antigua, Atlanta, Barbados, Beijing, Bangalore, Calgary, Cancun, Cape Town, Chennai, Dallas, Dar Es Salaam, Delhi, Denver, Entebbe, Grand Cayman, Grenada, Houston, Hyderabad, Johannesburg, Kingston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Luanda, Lusaka, Male, Mexico City, Miami, Montego Bay, Mumbai, Nairobi, Nassau, Orlando, Phoenix, Port Of Spain, Providenciales, Punta Cana, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St Kitts, St Lucia, Tampa, Tobago, Trinidad, Vancouver, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Sydney.

Now for the nitty gritty:

• The 25% discount does not apply to: 25% discount does not apply to the taxes, fees and charges which are payable in full on all bookings.
• Exculdes Zone 1,2,3 flights from the offer, Zone 4-9 flights are good though
• Flights depart London.
• Flights are subject to Avios/BA/Iberia terms and conditions.
• Bookings must be made between for travel between Some flights may have no availability or have very limited availability, particularly during peak periods and periods of high demand.
• The 25% Avios discount on reward flights is only available on British Airways and Iberia operated flights and codeshare flights.

It’s one hell of an attractive offer, even when having to stomach the taxes and fees… and if your travel need requires BA or Iberia and you have the Avios, I’d be looking very carefully at this…

Bookable at:
- https://www.britishairways.com/main/spend-avios/?source=MNVEXC2_spend_avios British Airways
- http://www.avios.com/spend/cp/6day-birthday-sale - Avios.com

Just a quick reminder that a lot of the current economy class/premium economy class fare sales are coming to an end shortly.

There seems to be a fair amount of availability on the Trans-Atlantic runs with SkyTeam, Oneworld and Star Alliance, saving around £50-£75 per ticket (Some London to Chicago fares are as low as £437)

Most sales end at 23:59 25th September (although check with your airline you’re booking with for exact pricing) , so this is the time tiger those discounted tickets in… Before prices shoot up…..