Aer Lingus new 'Price Lock'

Yamanoto

AL have introduced a handy new Price Lock system, whereby you can reserve a booking at the fare quoted for 24hrs - for a €5 fee.

Need more time to confirm your travel itinerary? Now you can reserve and hold your flight and fare for a small fee, with Aer Lingus’ Pricelock service. Once you confirm the booking within 24 hours, the Pricelock fee is offset against your trip total.
How it works…
Select and reserve your flights for a fee of €5*. Once the booking is complete you will receive an email with your booking reference. You will then have 24 hours from the time of booking to complete your reservation.

http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/planandbook/pricelock/

I'm looking at a flight on July 12th & have taken the booking process as far as I can without actually hitting the purchase option. No sign of a Price Lock facility, is it live yet & if so, has anyone used it?

Victor

AFAIK, they always held prices for confirmation when booking on the phone.

zagmund

I saw the price lock option on a fare I was checking last week - Thursday or Friday - so it's active alright. Maybe it's only available on certain routes at the moment.

z

adamski8

Might be handy if your travelling to a sporting event but don't know if your team will be there. Maybe they will factor that in in future though

munchkin_utd

adamski8 wrote: »

Might be handy if your travelling to a sporting event but don't know if your team will be there. Maybe they will factor that in in future though

of course, heres one of the conditions :
Aer Lingus reserves the right to offer this service on certain flights/routes.


or translated, they reserve the right NOT to offer it on certain flights!!

lufthansa have a similar feature for free should anyone need a flight in a similar circumstance.
Do any other airlines offer this paid or for free?

Yamanoto

munchkin_utd wrote: »

Do any other airlines offer this paid or for free?

United Airlines do.

Seems EI are taking cognisance of US carriers initiatives and rolling out similar schemes on this side of the pond. They're now offering travellers to Orlando the opportunity to pay a 50% deposit followed by the balance at a later date.

Book NOW, Pay Balance LATER.
Planning your holiday just got easier with Aer Lingus’ new deposit service. You can pay 50% now and pay the balance later.
How it works…
This applies on direct Aer Lingus flights to and from Orlando and lets you pay a deposit of 50% of your trip total and pay the balance 120 days before you travel.
All passenger names must be included at time of booking along with deposit.
A confirmation email with a Booking Reference will be forwarded to you. When you wish to confirm your booking and pay the balance, simply log onto aerlingus .com and go to the “Manage booking” section, input your booking reference to access your reservation and complete your booking.
A reminder email will be sent to you indicating the due date of the final balance.
This service is available on Aer Lingus direct flights to and from Orlando.

http://www.aerlingus.com/travelinformation/planandbook/faredeposit/#d.en.8395

zagmund

Continental/United used to and probably still do allow you to book and cancel within 24 hours if you are a member of their frequent flyer scheme. This is effectively "price lock" for free. You can book it, pay for it, cancel it and get your money back with no issues.

z