Times, dates and numbers

Find out how we write times, dates and numbers in our product.

Times and dates are key deciding factors when it comes to booking a trip. It's vital we're clear and easy to understand for our travellers.


Time

When writing times in longer-form copy, use the 12-hour clock and relevant abbreviation.

  • 10am
  • 5.30pm

When writing journey times, use the relevant abbreviation.

  • 2 hr 24 min

 

When writing times in smaller spaces, you can use the 24-hour clock.

  • 23.44

 

Midnight is the first minute of the day, not the last.

  • 00.00 for midnight
  • 12pm for midday

 

Always be explicitly clear if you have screen space.

  • Book by 11.59pm on Sunday 5 June 2023

 

If announcing a date or time range in the same month or morning/afternoon, we don’t need to repeat the metric.

  • From 10 to 11.30am

 

Use a full stop to punctuate time, not a colon, as this is better for screen readers.

  • 11.30am

Dates

Use these formats when writing dates for the product to be clear, simple and consistent.

How to write dates for small spaces

These formats are available for content in small user interfaces such as search controls and input fields.

Search controls dates

Available format

Example

Day DD Mon YYYY

Tue 24 Sept 2024

Day D Mon YYYY

Tue 2 Sept 2024

Day DD Mon

Tue 24 Sept

Day D Mon

Tue 2 Sept

DD Mon

24 Sept

D Mon

2 Sept

Date and time 1

Dates over multiple months/years

Available format

Example

Day DD Mon YYYY – 

Day DD Mon YYYY

Tue 25 Dec 2024 – Wed 1 Jan 2025

Day DD Mon – Day DD Mon

Tue 25 Nov – Wed 26 Dec

DD Mon YYYY – DD Mon YYYY

25 Dec 2024 – 1 Jan 2025

Month search

Available format

Example

Month YYYY

September 2024

Month

September

Mon

Sept

Months over multiple years

Available format

Example

Month YYYY – Month YYYY

September 2024 – October 2025

Mon YYYY – Mon YYYY

Sept 2024 – Oct 2025

How to write dates in running sentences

When there’s enough space, such as in a running sentence, dates should be written out in full.

Long-form copy

Available format

Example

Day DD Month YYYY

Tuesday 24 September 2024

Day D Month YYYY

Tuesday 2 September 2024

Day DD Month

Tuesday 24 September

Day D Month

Tuesday 2 September

DD Month

24 September

D Month

2 September

Date and time 2

How to abbreviate days and months

Aim to use the whole word where possible. Use the abbreviation of the day or month if it makes the interface easier to read.

  • Mon 11 February
  • Mon 11 Feb
  • Mon 11 to Wed 13 Feb

You can abbreviate day names as Mon, Tue, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat and Sun.

March, April, May, June and July are never abbreviated, but the remaining months are when followed by a date (11 Feb), and are correctly abbreviated as: Jan, Feb, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov and Dec.

 

Always use the numeric value with no “st”, “nd” or “th” suffix.

  • 11 February
  • Travel between 11 and 15 February

 

Use years and months, not just months.

  • '1 year and 6 months' instead of '18 months'

 

Don't use a comma to separate any of the elements of the date.

  • July 4, 1996

Don’t use the numerical format for dates.

  • 12/03/2023

Separating dates and times

Use en dashes (–) with spaces either side for:

Dates

Times

From 11 – 13 February

4.50 – 7am


Organising by date and time

When describing dates or times, follow these conventions:

Date/timeframe

Description

Example

Today

If something took place 'today' refer to it in this term

Added today

Yesterday

If something took place 'yesterday' refer to it in this term

Added yesterday

Same week

If something took place in the same week refer to it by day

Added Monday, Added Tuesday, Added Wednesday

Week before

If something took place in the previous week refer to it by the date it happened

Added 15 April

Same year

If something took place in the same year refer to it by the date it happened

Added 1 April

Previous year

If something took place last year refer to it by the date it happened with the year

Added 27 Dec 2020


Numbers

As with dates, we never use ordinal numbers. Write the word or phrase out in full instead.

Before

After

This is the 1st choice

This is the first choice

You're booking with a 3rd party

You're booking with a third party

In headings and body copy, always write out numbers one to ten. Above that, we normally use numerical.

  • Ten
  • 11

 

Write ‘one thousand’ using numerics

  • Over 1,000 people

 

When referring to ‘thousands’ generally, we can use the numerals too.

  • Search 1,000s of flights

 

Write ‘million’ and ‘billion’ when referring to these round numbers specifically or generally.

  • You are the millionth traveller
  • 1 million travellers have chosen us
  • We help millions of travellers every year
  • The population of India is in the billions

 

For any non-round number bigger than 999, use numerics with a comma to split every third digit from the right.

  • 1,999
  • 199,999
  • 1,999,999

For any number bigger than 999, use numerics with a comma to split every third digit from the right.

  • 1,000
  • 100,000
  • 1,000,000

Telephone numbers

Add a plus and international code

  • +44 XXXX XXX XXX

The spacing in phone numbers varies in different countries. Always use the recognised format in that country.

Don’t put brackets around area codes.

+(44) XXXX XXX XXX


Measurements

Distance/length

Write the measurement in full where possible, followed by its abbreviation in brackets:

  • Centimetres (cm)
  • Metres (m)
  • Kilometres (km)
  • Miles (mi)

 

On small screens and in tight spaces we can use the abbreviation with a numerical value:

  • 90cm
  • 3m
  • 6km
  • 10mi

 

If the measurement is part of a group or range, write it after the final instance:

  • 90 x 90 x 90 centimetres (cm)
  • 90 x 90 x 90cm
  • 80 to 90 centimetres (cm)
  • 80 to 90cm

Temperatures

We always write temperatures in degrees Celsius, using only the abbreviation and no space between the value and abbreviation:

  • 35°C

 

If the measurement is part of a group or range, write it after the final instance:

  • 30 – 35°C

Weight

We always write weight in kilograms, using only the abbreviation:

  • 23kg
  • 0.1kg

 

If the measurement is part of a group or range, write it after the final instance:

  • 23 to 25kg