Money | airline passengers Continental Debuts New 'Fare Holding' Fee Customers can pay to lock in prices By Nick McMaster Posted Dec 14, 2010 5:15 PM CST Copied Snow blows around Continental Express jets gated at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan) Continental Airlines has come up with yet another new fee that's likely to become an industry standard. "FareLock" allows customers to lock into low airfares they find for up to a week with no obligation to buy a ticket, the Houston Chronicle reports. It costs at least $5 to lock the fare for 72 hours and at least $9 for a week. The idea is to draw customers who aren't quite ready to book a flight but don't want to miss out on a bargain. "It's cheap revenue" for Continental, says the CEO of Bestfares.com "If they don't get on the plane, who cares, I made $5 or $9." Read These Next 11 people hurt in a "brutal act of violence" in Michigan. We knew Letterman would pipe up about Colbert eventually. A parent's nightmare, in a white cardboard box. The humans survived this flight; the deer on the ground didn't. Report an error