Originally Posted by Calchas

You are correct in the respect of it being a bit crazy. A regular “hold” (an unticketed PNR) will be set up to auto expire at the ticketing deadline when the fare quote is stored. i.e., you cannot “hold” beyond the ticketing deadline, which is exactly what you would expect; and that should be advised to the customer.

I had assumed BA’s online holds work in the same way, but I haven’t used them.