Dubai’s Emirates airline is now making it easier for customers in select markets and the UAE to book and lock in fares while they simultaneously plan their travel itineraries for their business trips, family holidays or weekend getaways.

The first of its kind, ‘Hold My Fare’ is a new feature on emirates.com that offers customers the opportunity to hold their reservations and lock in competitive Emirates fares for up to 48 hours for a nominal fee, which is calculated based on the booked route or destination and applies to every passenger except infants.

To lock in the best fare and preferred flight, customers are asked to authorise the reservation, which will then be held on their credit card. The fee is released back to customer’s credit card if tickets are paid for within 48 hours.

Thierry Antinori, executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Emirates said: “Emirates is committed to finding innovative ways to make the online booking experience even more convenient. With ‘Hold My Fare’, we are providing our customers added flexibility to firm up their travel plans at their own pace. Customers can finalise the details of their journey, organise accommodation with their travel companions or family with the peace of mind that their preferred flights won’t sell out and that they are guaranteed that their fares will not be affected.”

Customers can choose the ‘Hold My Fare’ option on the payment page of emirates.com. Customers also receive a booking confirmation email after they have used ‘Hold My Fare’, with information on when the booking will be held until, as well as instructions and links to the ‘Manage a booking’ page on emirates.com when they decide to pay for their flights. Once they choose ‘Pay Now’, more services like travel insurance, hotel stays and car rentals can be added to their journey, the airline said in a statement. – TradeArabia News Service