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 |
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 |
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