British Airways is offering customers looking for the best airline deals to hold their flight for up to 72 hours for as low as GBP5 through ba.com.
The facility offers customers the time to ensure that they get the best fares and are content with their flight choices before paying for them. If within 72 hours customers want to pay for their flights, the hold deposit is refunded and the ticket can be bought.
Drew Crawley, British Airways’ chief commercial officer, said: ‘There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a great flight price but not being able to book it straight away, either because you may need to get the time off work or check it’s ok with family or friends – then coming back and finding there are no seats left or the price has changed.
‘Now customers can see the price, hold their seats and be sure that’s all they’ll pay, up to three days later.
‘Feedback from customers means we are confident that this reassurance will prove very popular and give them the time to book the flights they want and give certainty they have a great deal.’
The hold fees for the UK and Europe are £5 and EUR5 respectively for short-haul flights and £10, $10 (for those booked in the US) and EUR10 for long-haul flights. For all other currencies, the hold fee is converted from the pound sterling figure.
A joint project between British Airways and Iberia, both owned by IAG, the new hold option applies to reservations for all flights operated by British Airways, including code-sharing flights, Iberia, Iberia Express, and Air Nostrum, including any combinations of flights of British Airways and Iberia, if they are on the same ticket.
Only one person’s name is needed to hold the flights. The names of all passengers can be added within 72 hours of the booking being held.
Under the facility, seats can be held up to 21 days before departure, as according to the airlines prices will generally change most within 21 days of departure and hence would be most useful.
