British Airways Holidays packages British Airways flights with a hotel, car hire or sightseeing into a single ATOL-protected booking, covering everywhere from a week in Barbados to a ski trip in the Alps. Like Virgin Holidays, it specialises in long-haul: Europe, North America, the Caribbean and the Middle East, mostly flown on its own aircraft rather than resold from other airlines. This guide covers what’s actually included, whether it’s any good, how it compares with Virgin Holidays and TUI, and how to get the best price.
If you’re ready to browse, search British Airways Holidays packages to see current deals from your nearest UK airport.
What does a British Airways Holidays package include?
A British Airways Holidays package bundles return flights, mostly on British Airways’ own aircraft, with a hotel chosen from more than 10,500 properties across 600 locations in 100 countries. Car hire is available through Avis and Budget, and sightseeing tours, attraction tickets and airport transfers can all be added at the same time. Checked baggage is built into every fare: Economy includes one 23kg hold bag, Premium Economy includes two bags, Business includes two bags up to 32kg each, and First includes three bags, though the exact allowance can vary slightly on flights operated by a partner airline rather than British Airways itself.
Members of The British Airways Club earn one Avios point for every £1 spent on flight and hotel or flight and car packages, and it’s free to join. You can then redeem Avios towards your deposit or the remaining balance on a future booking, which is a genuine perk none of the short-haul operators in this comparison series offer in the same way.
| What you get | British Airways Holidays | DIY booking |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | ✓ Mostly British Airways metal | Book separately |
| Hotel | ✓ From 10,500+ properties | Book separately |
| Checked baggage | 23kg-32kg per person, by cabin | Long-haul add-on fees, higher than short-haul |
| ATOL and ABTA | ✓ ATOL 5985 only, no ABTA | No (unless credit card) |
| Price guarantee | ✓ Price locked once booked | N/A |
ATOL protects your money if British Airways Holidays stopped trading before or during your trip. There’s a genuine gap here worth knowing about: British Airways Holidays’ own booking conditions don’t mention ABTA membership anywhere, so unlike TUI, Jet2holidays, Thomas Cook and On the Beach, it appears to rely on ATOL alone rather than the ATOL-plus-ABTA combination that gives you access to an independent arbitration scheme if a complaint can’t be resolved directly.
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Where can you go with British Airways Holidays?
British Airways Holidays covers Europe, North America, the Caribbean and the Middle East, a wider geographic spread than Virgin Holidays’ USA-and-Caribbean focus, thanks to British Airways’ own route network out of Heathrow and Gatwick. It also runs a well-regarded ski programme, mostly to the Alps, and a separate cruise and touring offering through its Experiences add-ons. That range is the clearest edge it has over Virgin Holidays on paper, even though the two operators are otherwise the closest match in this comparison series.
Departures run mainly from Heathrow, with a smaller Gatwick programme on some routes. Trip lengths vary from a week’s beach break to a fortnight touring further afield, plus shorter city-break style stays in destinations like New York or Dubai.
Is British Airways Holidays actually any good?
Which?’s 2026 holiday research, based on nearly 21,000 holidays, gives British Airways Holidays a mixed report card. Ski holidays and all-inclusive holidays both scored 82%, and it’s a genuinely strong all-inclusive and solo holiday provider, ranking 5th and 3rd out of the providers Which? tracks in those two categories. City breaks scored 79%, beach/resort and solo holidays 78%, and tailor-made holidays only 78%, where it ranked 12th out of 23 providers. Family holidays were the weakest at 76%. None of these scores earn it Which? Recommended Provider status in any category.
Which? is also blunt about the underlying risk: British Airways itself ranks near the bottom of Which?’s tables for both short-haul and long-haul airlines, with a higher than average last-minute cancellation rate based on Civil Aviation Authority data. That’s a genuine trade-off worth weighing, since a holiday package is only as reliable as the airline flying it. On the plus side, British Airways Holidays scored four out of five stars for its holidays matching their description across beach/resort, city break, all-inclusive and family categories, and it holds a Feefo Trusted Service Award for 2026, with its own Feefo-moderated reviews running at 4.3 out of 5 for customer experience.
Book British Airways Holidays for an all-inclusive trip, a solo holiday or a ski week, where it performs well against the rest of the market.
Be more cautious for a family beach holiday or a tailor-made trip, where cheaper and better-reviewed alternatives, including Jet2Holidays, are available for the same money.
Who runs British Airways Holidays?
British Airways Holidays is part of the same family as British Airways itself, sitting inside International Airlines Group (IAG) alongside Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling. That matters less as corporate trivia and more for what it means booking one: you’re dealing with an established name backed by a major airline group, not a small operator that could disappear overnight, and it taps into the Avios loyalty scheme in a way none of the short-haul operators in this comparison can match.
Deposits, price guarantee and cancellation terms
British Airways Holidays doesn’t publish a fixed deposit figure the way Virgin Holidays (£175pp) or TUI (£60pp) do. Instead, the deposit is calculated from the value of your specific booking, and you can choose to pay more than the minimum, or the full balance, at any point before the balance due date. You can also split the remaining balance across as many instalments as you like, in whatever amounts suit you, provided it’s all settled by the due date. For most bookings, the full balance is required four weeks before departure on short-haul trips and seven weeks before departure on everything else.
Cancel more than 28 days before a short-haul departure (or 35 days for selected European ski resorts), or more than seven weeks before a long-haul trip, and you lose only your deposit. Inside that window down to 72 hours before travel, the charge rises to 60% of the total package price, and there’s no refund at all inside 72 hours. Bookings with a non-changeable or non-refundable hotel carry no refund regardless of timing. Changing a booking, rather than cancelling it, costs a flat £100 more than 14 days before travel or £500 inside 14 days.
Where British Airways Holidays does stand out is its “no price changes” promise: once you’ve booked, the price you’ve paid is locked in and won’t rise even if the underlying cost of your holiday increases later. That’s a different kind of guarantee to TUI’s or loveholidays’ price-match schemes, which refund the difference if you find the same holiday cheaper elsewhere. British Airways Holidays doesn’t offer that kind of downward protection, only the upward one.
British Airways Holidays vs Virgin Holidays vs TUI
| Company | Checked baggage | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| British Airways Holidays | 23kg-32kg per person, by cabin | Long-haul across Europe, North America, the Caribbean and the Middle East |
| Virgin Holidays | 23kg-32kg per person, by cabin | Long-haul USA, Caribbean and North America ski |
| TUI | 20kg per person (25kg on TUI BLUE and Sensatori) | European beach holidays with some long-haul reach |
The nearest peer to British Airways Holidays is Virgin Holidays, which runs the same model of packaging its own long-haul flights with hotels rather than reselling other airlines. TUI is the stronger short-haul option if you want a European beach holiday with a resort rep, something neither long-haul specialist offers, and Jet2holidays and easyJet Holidays compete on that same short-haul ground. If price matters more than flying with a national carrier, loveholidays, On the Beach and Thomas Cook all package third-party flights rather than running their own aircraft, usually at a lower headline price on short and mid-haul routes. For the fuller breakdown of deposits and cancellation terms across UK package operators, see our package holidays comparison.
British Airways Holidays vs booking separately
For a long-haul trip where you want checked baggage, ATOL cover and one point of contact if something goes wrong, the package usually beats piecing together flights and a hotel yourself, particularly once you’ve priced in the cost of adding hold luggage to a long-haul flight booked separately. For a lightly packed, flexible trip where you’re happy managing your own flights and accommodation, a DIY booking can work out cheaper, especially if you’re using Avios or a fare that already suits your dates. Because there’s no ABTA membership backing up the ATOL cover, it’s also worth paying by credit card where you can, for the extra Section 75 protection that gives you on purchases over £100.
How to get the best price on British Airways Holidays
Booking well ahead gives the best choice of dates, hotels and ski chalets, particularly for peak summer and winter departures. Because the deposit is based on your booking value rather than a fixed amount, it’s worth asking what the minimum actually is for your specific trip before assuming it matches a rival operator’s advertised figure. Our guide to British Airways sale dates covers the main promotional windows that also tend to apply to holiday packages, not just flight-only fares.
If you’re a member of The British Airways Club, redeeming Avios towards your deposit or balance is one of the more useful ways to bring the upfront cost down, and every package booking earns Avios on top, whether or not you redeem any. Browse current British Airways Holidays packages to see live prices from your preferred UK airport.
| Detail | British Airways Holidays |
|---|---|
| ATOL licence | 5985 |
| ABTA membership | None found in its own terms |
| Checked baggage | 23kg-32kg per person, by cabin |
| Balance due | 4 weeks (short-haul) or 7 weeks (long-haul) before travel |
| Cancellation charge | Loss of deposit beyond 28 days, 60% inside that, no refund inside 72 hours |
| Hotel portfolio | 10,500+ properties in 100 countries |
Practical guides for British Airways travellers
Flying with British Airways: the full hub of practical guides for BA passengers, from baggage to seat selection.
British Airways hand luggage size: cabin bag rules and dimensions by cabin class.
When does British Airways release flights? The booking window explained, which also governs when new holiday packages appear.
When is the next British Airways sale? The promotional calendar for flights and holiday packages.
Frequently asked questions
Is British Airways Holidays ATOL and ABTA protected?
Yes, but only through ATOL. British Airways Holidays Limited holds ATOL licence 5985, and its own terms and conditions make no mention of ABTA membership, so protection here comes from ATOL alone rather than the ATOL-plus-ABTA combination TUI, Jet2holidays and On the Beach offer.
Does British Airways Holidays fly its own aircraft?
Yes, on almost every route. Packages are built mainly around British Airways’ own flights, plus a small number of oneworld and codeshare partner services on specific routes.
How much luggage is included with British Airways Holidays?
It depends on your cabin. Economy includes one 23kg hold bag, Premium Economy includes two bags, Business includes two bags up to 32kg each, and First includes three bags, though allowances can differ slightly on flights operated by partner airlines.
How much deposit does British Airways Holidays need?
There’s no fixed figure. The deposit is calculated from your booking’s value rather than a flat rate like Virgin Holidays’ £175pp or TUI’s £60pp, and you can pay more than the minimum, or the balance in full, at any point before the balance due date.
What happens if you cancel a British Airways Holidays booking?
It depends how far ahead you cancel. More than 28 days before a short-haul trip, or seven weeks before long-haul, you lose only your deposit, that rises to 60% of the total price down to 72 hours before travel, and there’s no refund at all inside 72 hours.
Does British Airways Holidays have a price guarantee?
Yes, in a different form to most rivals. Rather than a price-match promise, it guarantees the price you’ve paid won’t change once you’ve booked, even if its own costs rise later, though it doesn’t refund the difference if a cheaper deal appears elsewhere.
Is British Airways Holidays actually any good?
It’s genuinely mixed. Which?’s 2026 research scored it well for ski (82%) and all-inclusive (82%) holidays, but only 76% for family holidays and 78% for tailor-made, where it ranked 12th of 23 providers, and flagged British Airways’ own higher-than-average last-minute cancellation rate as a real risk.
How does British Airways Holidays compare with Virgin Holidays and TUI?
British Airways Holidays and Virgin Holidays are the closest match, both packaging their own long-haul flights rather than reselling other airlines. TUI is the stronger choice for short-haul European beach holidays with a resort rep, something neither long-haul specialist offers.
Kate Acaster is Chief Editor at Flight Tribe. She writes about practical travel planning, budget airlines, baggage rules, city breaks, beach holidays and good hotels that do not cost daft money.
Kate has travelled through Europe, South America and beyond, usually with a notebook, a half-formed plan and a strong opinion on airport snacks. At Flight Tribe, her work focuses on helping UK travellers understand what is included, what costs extra, and whether a trip is worth booking at the price shown.
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Kate checks the details that can change the value of a trip, including cabin-bag rules, airline fees, hotel location, seasonality, travel dates and booking conditions. She is especially interested in offers that look useful on the surface but need a proper reader-first check before they are worth recommending.
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