meFIRST

What rubbish. Farelock?

This is right up there with the extended warranty rubbish that gets sold to me at best buy.

I'm buying my Continental tickets on .bomb now.

This is Smisek "unbundling" gone crazy in the most tasteless way.

mht_flyer

Farelock appears to be online now...

MORE Importantly:

giggy

Yeah, seams like something a bunch of 21yo kids thought up in a brainstorming session. After 8 hrs of non stop Bong hits they introduce Farelock "Dudes, if we put the right spin on this and sell it right, we can sell nothing for $49".......whoa dude brilliant

Centurion

With US Airways Scott Kirby actually going on the record a few days ago and saying 100% of US air profits coming from extra fees you can expect all the airlines to add this enhanced fare lock feature to generate more revenue

giggy

you can make a pizza so cheap, no one will eat it gb

Rus925

Hey, don't be hating on 21 year olds. Not sure what the problem is with it, anyway; if you don't need a week of time to think, you won't buy it. Many people do need that time, though, and this provides a good option. Of course, I think KLM's 14-day for €10 "Time to Think" option is much better of a deal, but if people buy it, obviously they're getting real benefit from it. It's not like CO's getting rid of something free to offer this.

okrogius

If an airline is able to come out with better ways to increase their revenue without negatively impacting me - all the merrier.

I'd imagine paying a fee for a 7-day hold could be potentially worthwhile. The primary interesting point is how liberally they would make this available. While I'm sure there's almost zero-variation two months before a flight, there's a lot more ambiguity closer to departure. One week before? (presumably then it's an expensive price, and 7dayFee+cheaperPriceVs0Day might be semi-comparable to a 3-day out price or the like) One and a half week before the flight? Etc.

Many variables which could make this entirely meaningful, or potentially quite helpful at times. (And given there's a few relatively few would take advantage of this. So effectively minimal/no-impact on others.)

giggy

think it through. everything they do impacts all of us. what may seem one way at first blush, usually turns out a little different in hindsight

MrAndy1369

Wow, they also changed the booking process considerably. It looks much more "streamlined" and has new graphics, etc. More upsells (to either full-fare or FC)... but otherwise looks really good, IMHO. Seat maps are also slightly tweaked.

When testing EWR-HNL (round-trip) from Jan. 19-22, they offered a 72-hour fare lock for $15, and 7-day hold for $29. EWR-LAS on the same dates, RT, began from $9 for the 72-hour hold, and $19 for the 7-day hold... so there does seem to be a variation of the "farelock" fees, based on route and fare class.

Interesting. Let's see how this plays out, and if anyone will actually do the fare lock. As of right now, I don't see any negative impacts (as the 24 hour policy still exists) but I can't really imagine anyone would want to pay extra for this. *shrugs*

PHLGovFlyer

As compared to what you had before they introduced it? What have you lost exactly???

So UA/CO gets more revenue, the customer gains a feature at a price, and the customer loses what exactly???

There have been times when I would have jumped at the chance to put a 72 hour hold on a fare, especially for "tens of dollars"!

So long as the free 24 hour hold is retained (which it appears to be) the customer hasn't lost anything. I know there will be cries about heading down a "slippery slope", but I really don't see the free 24 hour hold going away so long as congress and the regulators are around.

thepla

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US...romoCode=A9405

RNE

I'm looking at a $6000 itinerary with a hotel stay and travel by planes, trains and a ship (and, possibly a helicopter tour). CO wants just $37 to hold the flight portion for me. That's helpful and it's a pittance! I don't understand the basis for complaining about this new option. What's not to like about options?

RNE, raining rare praise on Jeff Baby, "Keep up the good work and you might get back on my Christmas card list, Bucko."

TWA Fan 1

I agree this is a useful enhancement, but it would be great to keep the free 24-hour hold...

Also, while I'm glad Jeff is back on your x-mas list, don't go crazy buying him any goodies, I think he's going to have a tough time spending all that extra money he gave himself as his first act as UA CEO...

RNE

What makes you think we can't have both? I still see "All customers booking at continental.com have the opportunity to request 100% refund within 24 hours of ticketing." In fact, didn't that benefit used to apply solely to Logged-in OnePass members? Now it says "all" customers. ^ I wouldn't even mind if elites were given free holds; what I object to is an elite benefit that cannot be purchased by a non-elite. Thankfully, such elite-only business absurdities are going the way of the dodo.

RNE, adding a case in point, "I recently purchased E+ to and from OGG for a song!" ^

TWA Fan 1

Keeping both would be beautiful, indeed. For a long time I have been hoping that the geniuses at Smith Street (now Michigan Avenue) find ways to monetize by adding value instead of removing it.

If they keep the free 24-hour change, this is perfect example of that...