Six top destinations:

Los Angeles: £299

Air New Zealand from Heathrow. Valid for departures until April 30,and then November 1 - December 19 and December 25 - March 21 next year. Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum three months. Quest Worldwide Travel (0870 442 3513, questtravel.com).

New York: £171

Icelandair from Heathrow via Reykjavik. Must be booked by April 15.Valid for departures April 14 - 30..Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum 30 days. Thomas Cook Flights Direct (08701 111 111, thomascook.com).

Sydney: £511

Qantas/British Airways from Heathrow. Must be booked by May 31.Valid for departures April 16 - June 30..Stopovers permitted Bangkok, Singapore, Bali or Kota Kinabalu (Borneo) eastbound; New York or Los Angeles westbound. No minimum stay, maximum one year. (08457 747767, qantas.co.uk or 0870 850 9850, ba.com)

Hong Kong: £380

Lufthansa from Heathrow via Munich. Valid for departures until June 30.Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Ebookers (0870 814 6024, ebookers.com).

Paris: £51.60

BMI British Midland from Heathrow. Must be booked online (£10 supplement if booked by telephone).Valid for departures indefinitely. No minimum stay, maximum one year. BMI British Midland (flybmi.com, 0870 607 0555).

Amsterdam: £88.90

British Airways from Gatwick. Must be booked online by April 5 ( £15 supplement if booked by telephone).Valid for departures April 15 - October 30 (excluding July 15 - September 1).British Airways (ba.com, 0870 850 9850).

The pick of the rest:

Alicante: £49

Monarch Airlines charter from Gatwick. Departs April 17 for 14 nights. Avro (0870 458 2847, avro.co.uk).

Orlando: £223

Thomson Flights charter from Manchester. Departs May 7 for 14 nights. Thomsonflights (0800 000747, thomsonflights.co.uk).

Mumbai: £368

Alitalia from Heathrow via Milan. Must be booked by May 30. Valid for departures April 11 -May 31.Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Bridge the World (0870 4441716, bridgetheworld.com).

Cape Town: £489

KLM from Manchester via Amsterdam. Valid for departures until September 30.Minimum stay one Saturday night, maximum one month. Thomas Cook Flights Direct (08701 111111, thomascook.com).

And the rail alternative:

Paris/Brussels: £59. Lille: £55

Eurostar from Waterloo or Ashford. Tickets must be booked at least 21 days before departure. No advance booking required for Saturday or Sunday same day returns or trips including a Saturday night stay. Eurostar (08705 186186, eurostar.com).

· NB Fares can change rapidly. These were available in reasonable quantities at the time of writing, but they can sell out in a sudden rush.