Ski weekends the new trend

[March 13th 2008]

The popularity of ski weekends has snowballed this year according to new figures from low fares airline easyJet.

The newly released figures show that the number of passengers flying from the UK to airports in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps for the weekend have increased by more than 16 per cent this season.

The increase in the number of Brits taking short skiing holidays has been helped by the exceptional snowfall in Europe this winter. Budget airline easyJet believes that cash-strapped Brits are choosing to cut their winter holidays short and slope off on ski weekends, rather than miss out on the best snowboarding and skiing conditions in many years.

“Early last year as the credit crunch began we noticed that ski weekends became popular, even though the snowfall wasn’t as good. This year we’ve really seen a jump in weekend flights with people wanting to hit the slopes quickly and cheaply,” comments easyJet UK general manager, Paul Simmons.

Flights to certain airports around Europe are getting busy as enthusiasts look for skiing holidays to suit their budget. “Airports like Innsbruck, Grenoble and Geneva are proving particularly popular for ski weekends. They have a short flight time from most UK airports, and some of Europe’s best ski resorts within an hour’s drive, so people don’t have to waste time on airport transfers,” explains Simmons.

“You can set off from the UK and be on the piste in one of Europe’s top ski resorts like Chamonix and Flaine in under four hours, making them perfect for those who want to get a quick ‘ski-fix’ for a weekend,” Simmons adds.

In order to help people searching for a skiing or snowboarding holiday to find the best weekend resorts, easyJet has launched an interactive map at easyjet4ski.com.

The new ski-focused website shows the best airports to fly to for all the major resorts with transfer times and prices, snow reports and ski accommodation.

easyJet offers ski flights from a large number of UK airports including Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, East Midlands airport, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Gatwick, Luton, Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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