Great Western Coffee Shop

My turn to ask a fares question...

I'm going to be arriving back at Heathrow T5 for Christmas at stupid-o'clock on 24 Dec. From there I'm travelling on to darkest west Wales. After an overnight flight (which I strongly suspect will be rammed, so no room to stretch out or get any proper sleep) I'm going to be feeling pretty grotty. So, I was going to have a look-see to check if there are any First class advance fares going.

So far, only walk-up tickets for sale on that date. The questions are...

1. Have Advance fares for 24 Dec been released yet?
2. Am I correct in assuming that, given that it's Christmas Eve, if/when they are they'll be as rare as rocking-horse sh*t?
3. Is there still a degree of leniency allowed with Advance tickets if my flight is late (BA's timekeeping on these flights in my experience has been pretty shoddy so far)? I know there has been in the past, but does it still apply?

Thanks muchly!

Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin
Virgin

There's more than one way of reading that... I'm guessing it's a reference to Mr Branson's airline and not a tirade of abuse ;)  ;D

Keep an eye on this page:-

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/booking_horizons.html

As you can see FGW only up to Sat 12th Dec at the mo....so at least 12 more days to wait for the AP tickets if travelling to darkest Wales with them. I fear that yield management will mean very few AP tickets, even in 1st, for that day and bearing in mind the day you've picked to travel I'd suggest giving yourself the flexibility of a SVR fare. Restrictions on peak travel are usually lifted from 24/12-02/01 so you should be able to bag a reasonably priced Super Off Peak.