[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by S. Saha

I was trying to book 5 tickets today and my time on aircanada.ca apparently expired. So I logged back in SECONDS LATER and guess what? the price had gone up by $150 each way!!!! After I called air canada they stated that yes this was possible. Are you kidding me? So that two minutes of me logging back in made a difference of $1200!! Well it would have if I had actually purchased the tickets, which I will not and will refuse to buy from an airline which operates like a slot machine!!

Airline reservations agents and some travel agents are still able to put a "courtesy hold" on seats without actually issuing a ticket. These holds take those seats out of availability and therefore are no longer reflected in the airline's "inventory" for that particular flight. If the seats in question were the last available in a lower fare category then the next price quote will default to the next higher fare bracket.

Courtesy holds will expire if not ticketed - usually at midnight the following day. If while you are shopping for flights the fare increases, just check back after midnight (usually local time to where the airline is headquartered) when those un-sold seats are released back into inventory and you may be able to get the lower price again.