Amadeus invests in airfare locking tool

Amadeus has invested in a tool that allows bookers to lock in the price of their flight prior to purchase.

A common complaint of travellers is that the price of their desired flight increases between the time they search for it and when they eventually book. A start-up company, FLYR, has now introduced a service called “FareKeep”, which allows travellers to lock in their fare at the time of search, for a small fee.

FLYR is now helping OTAs, metasearch sites and airlines to introduce the service, and to dynamically price the holding fee based on the likelihood of price fluctuations. FLYR claims that out of 100 fare locks, up to 30% are converted into a booking.

Amadeus has invested in FLYR through its start-up fund, Amadeus Ventures, and will also now work with the company on new product developments.

“Simple and consumer-focused shopping experiences are borne from innovative breakthroughs like FareKeep. As an online traveller, being able to lock a given fare reduces uncertainty and buys travellers time to think. For airlines, this ultimately translates into a higher probability of the consumer purchasing the flight with that specific airline, at no extra cost,” says Gianni Pisanello, Amadeus’ strategic marketing director for airline distribution marketing.

Amadeus Ventures launched in 2014 and has since invested in companies including Bluesmart, BookingPal, Yapta, Olset and Evature.