American Now Allowing Passengers to Lock in Fares Up to a Week Before Purchase
Jeff Edwards November 04, 2015
A new American Airlines option will allow flyers to hold select bookings for as long as seven days without a cancellation penalty.
A brand new feature from American Airlines is giving passengers the option of freezing a booking for as long as seven days, before finalizing travel plans. The feature is currently available only on select flights and the optional service costs between $8 to $12 depending on the length of the hold. Passengers now have the option of locking in reservations with an option to cancel within three, five or even seven days on certain flights.
US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations currently require airlines to allow penalty-free cancellations for the first 24-hours after a travel itinerary is purchased. American is testing the idea that flyers might be willing to pay a small fee to extend that 24-hour window.
According to a USA Today report, the feature allowing customers to lock in fares already appears as a clickable option when booking tickets online between certain American Airlines destinations. Once the nonrefundable fee is paid, the reservation is held and the fare freezes until the three to seven day grace period expires, at which time the airline will send an email giving flyers a last chance to back out of the reservation penalty-free.
“American Airlines customers have long enjoyed the option to hold a fare for 24 hours without payment. Now, in select markets we’re adding options to hold fares on aa.com for three, five, or seven days for a nominal charge,” an American Airlines spokesperson told USA Today. “American plans to offer this option on all routes in the continental U.S. over the next several months.”
Although the new option from American Airlines offers flyers a bit more flexibility when booking, there are still a few restrictions. Flights purchased with frequent flyer miles or credit card rewards and tickets bought through third party sites like Orbitz or Travelocity will not be eligible for an extended hold period.
[Photo: American Airlines]
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But it's not actually a "hold" or a "lock in". You have the reservation, you're just extending the grace period for penalty free cancellation. Isn't United's feature the other way around?
Actually this is surprisingly a catchup feature for AA. UA had this ever since the merger and before hat CO had it for a very long time.
Hire date of whom? I can't make sense of DEN's comment. There is not a single named person in this article, so whose hire date???
It’s not about performance It’s not about attitude It’s not about education It’s not about job satisfaction It’s not about which airline It’s all about hire date…..