The perfect time for a couple's first holiday

A relationship survey released by leading airline Virgin Atlantic states that the perfect time to take a first holiday with a new partner is after precisely six months, two weeks and one day into a relationship.

However, as exciting as it sounds, 33% of UK travellers stated that in a first romantic trip away either made or broke their relationship.

The report suggests that a first holiday is where the character of a new loved one is really discovered as 67% of respondents admitted to seeing ‘another side’ to their partner and 42% of men realised that they had picked the wrong partner as soon as they had boarded the plane for departure.

Apart from getting to know a new partner, newly formed couples also fret about their own hang ups when travelling abroad. Forty three per cent worry about spending all day together, 17% worry about revealing their physique on the beach and 34% worry about getting ill whilst nearly half those surveyed said sharing a toilet in such close proximity would be what worried them the most.

Thirty five percent admitted to a longing for singleton holiday when away with their new partner whilst 15% said one of the partners went home early because the whole experience was such a nightmare. Of those that survived the full duration, 55% said they ‘needed space’ after their holiday.

Looking back, 60% think couples make the mistake of going away too early in a relationship and 66% think couples get carried away and commit to a holiday too early.

On asked what would be the perfect first holiday, 30% said a city break to somewhere like New York and 25% saying somewhere exotic like the Caribbean.

Dee Cooper, Director of Product and Service, commented:

"We have lots of couples who take their first flight together on us to our great cities or more exotic destinations. Of course they are excited but they may also be a little nervous jetting off to a faraway country with somebody new, so we do our best to help them relax and enjoy their trip,

"A complimentary drink always helps our customers settle. But if the conversation dries up we have over 300 hours of interactive in flight entertainment to enjoy whilst on board. We’ve even recently introduced Love Heart Sweets on board to try and get those couples in the mood for nostalgia and romance."

Virgin Atlantic flies to 30 destinations worldwide including New York, Boston, Washington DC, Miami, San Francisco & Los Angeles, Delhi, Shanghai, Tokyo, Dubai, Lagos and Nairobi as well as many Caribbean destinations.

To book a flight with Virgin Atlantic, log onto: virginatlantic.com