American Airlines will no longer let travellers hold flight reservations for 24 hours

Starting Friday, American Airlines will get rid of a feature that let customers lock in airfare for 24 hours without having to put any money down. Instead, it will switch to the model most other airlines follow: Travellers will now have the ability to cancel a flight and receive a full refund as long as they cancel within 24 hours of booking. Under federal law, airlines have to offer travellers the option to cancel a reservation and receive a refund within 24 hours or to put a flight on hold at the current price for 24 hours. American said it is switching to the model that most other airlines use to minimise confusion for travellers. Under the outgoing system, some customers who booked flights with American and then called to cancel their trips within 24 hours were upset to learn that a refund was not an option, said an American Airlines spokesman. <br/>