Hi Sussex Downs,
I know what you are saying and infact you can loose up to 4 days of the advertised holiday.
My flight out of Heathrow was day 1 of the holiday, infact our Qantas flight did not take off from Heathrow till 2300hrs of day 1. We arrived at Singapore in the evening of day 2. If our "add on" Singapore leg had not been included arrival in Perth, Australia would have been the early hours of day 3.
Return flight from Christchurch, New Zealand was on day 39 of the holiday and return to heathrow was early morning of day 40.
So our 40day holiday was infact 36/37 days only.
I am not including the internal flights we had in Australia as consider them part of the holiday intinery.
Do not see why holiday companies include outward / inward flying days as holidays. Although the excitement of actual going on holiday is part of the thrill in one taking a holiday and flying out somewhere.
Eric