Fare Lock on Indian Flights 2026: Is It Worth the Fee?
By Kabir Malhotra (Kabir Malhotra writes about how Indian travel buyers actually pay — UPI vs credit card vs forex card surcharges, reward-point math on the top travel credit cards, RBI tokenisation, EMI-on-flights and the small fees that compound across a year of bookings.) · Published · 9 min read
Fare lock (also called price hold) lets you freeze a flight fare for 24–72 hours while paying a small fee now. Air India charges from around ₹300 for this. MakeMyTrip has its own 'Price Lock' product. It saves money roughly when fares are climbing fast. It's wasted money when fares stay flat or drop. Here's how to tell the difference.
TL;DR — When Fare Lock Makes Sense (and When It Doesn't)
Fare lock products — where you pay a small upfront fee to freeze a flight price for 24–72 hours — are worth it in two situations: when you're unsure of a travel companion's schedule and can't book immediately, or when fares on your specific route are visibly climbing and you expect them to rise further before you can pay. In every other scenario, you're likely just donating ₹300–₹500 to the airline or OTA.
The math is simple: the fare lock fee should be less than the expected fare increase. The problem is you can rarely know the expected fare increase with any certainty.
What Fare Lock Actually Is (and What the Fine Print Usually Says)
A fare lock (or price hold) is an option contract on a flight ticket. You pay a fee — typically in the range of ₹200–₹600 per passenger on domestic routes, potentially more for international — and the airline or OTA guarantees that the fare won't rise for a defined window, usually 24 to 72 hours. You then have until that deadline to complete the booking at the locked fare.
If you don't book within the window, the fee is forfeited and the fare reverts to whatever the market price is. If the fare drops below your locked price, you're generally stuck at the locked price — you don't get the lower rate. That last point is important and airlines aren't always upfront about it.
Air India's Fare Lock is available at checkout on their official site, typically from around ₹300 for a 24-hour hold. The exact fee varies by route and fare class — always verify the current amount on airindia.com before assuming.
MakeMyTrip's 'Price Lock' works differently — it's a guarantee product tied to OTA-level pricing and sometimes includes a partial refund if the fare rises significantly after you book. Read the terms on the MMT app carefully because the mechanics and eligible routes change. Verify current terms at makemytrip.com.
The Real Math: When Does the Fee Pay Off?
Let's work through a realistic scenario. Say you're looking at a Delhi–Mumbai economy seat sitting at ₹4,800. You want 24 hours to confirm with a colleague before booking. Air India's fare lock costs ₹350 per passenger.
For the fare lock to be worth it, the fare would need to rise by more than ₹350 in 24 hours. On a high-frequency metro route with 20+ daily departures, that's actually plausible around peak demand periods — but rare on a random Tuesday. On a leisure route like Delhi–Goa 48 hours before a long weekend? Much more likely.
Here's a rough framework:
— Fares clearly climbing (you can see it across date options): fare lock probably justified.
— Fares flat or declining: skip the lock, just buy or wait.
— Confirming plans with someone else before booking: potentially worth it, especially if the fare is already high and you expect it to go higher.
— Just indecisive: not worth it. Make a decision.
The airlines know most people who buy fare lock would have booked anyway. The product exists partly to capture revenue from indecisive buyers — though it does have genuine utility in fast-moving pricing windows.
Air India Fare Lock: What the Product Actually Covers
Air India introduced its Fare Lock feature (sometimes branded as 'Hold My Fare') as part of its post-merger product refresh. As of 2026, it's available on most Air India domestic and select international routes, accessed at the payment stage on their direct site and app.
Key things to verify directly on the Air India site before buying:
— Does it apply to both legs of a round trip, or only outbound?
— Is the hold 24 hours or 48 hours at the fee you're being shown?
— What happens if the flight is cancelled or schedule-changed during the hold window?
— Is the fee refundable if you ultimately don't book?
Typically, the fare lock fee is non-refundable if you don't complete the booking. If you do book, the fee is usually absorbed into the total ticket price (i.e., you don't pay it on top of the fare — it becomes a payment toward the ticket). Confirm this is still the case at time of booking, as terms can change.
MakeMyTrip Price Lock vs. EaseMyTrip's Approach vs. Booking Direct
Indian OTAs have their own interpretations of price protection. MakeMyTrip has historically offered a product where you pay upfront to protect against fare increases after booking — different from a pure 'hold'. The MakeMyTrip version has sometimes included a cashback or coupon if the fare dropped after you bought, though these terms shift with promotions.
EaseMyTrip and Yatra have had their own variants of price-lock or fare-alert products. The honest summary: these OTA products are more complex than airline-direct fare holds and the value depends heavily on current promotional terms, which change frequently. Always read what you're actually buying before checking the box.
My general view: if you want to lock a fare, the airline-direct option (Air India's Fare Lock, or IndiGo's equivalent if they offer one — check goindigo.in) is cleaner because there's no middle layer. OTA price protection products can be useful but the terms are more convoluted.
One alternative that doesn't get enough attention: if you have a credit card with a 'purchase protection' or 'price drop' feature, check whether it covers flight bookings. Some premium travel cards issued by HDFC, Axis, or SBI have adjacent benefits, though they're more common on retail purchases than on travel.
Situations Where Fare Lock Is Genuinely Useful
I've paid for fare lock a handful of times and felt it was worth it in exactly two scenarios:
Group travel where one person holds the search but others need to confirm. If you're booking for 4–6 people and need 24 hours to get everyone's details and payment, locking the fare buys you time on a route where prices are clearly climbing. Without the lock, you might reload the page after 8 hours to find the fare has jumped.
Peak-season international travel where demand is spiking. I've seen Delhi–London economy fares move ₹5,000–₹8,000 in 48 hours during busy booking windows (March–April for summer travel, November for Christmas). If you've found a rare good fare on Air India's nonstop and need a few hours to sort out leave or visa documents, the lock fee is small relative to the potential loss.
Where I'd skip it: routine domestic travel, mid-week departures on high-frequency routes, off-peak travel dates. On those, fares are more stable and the expected value of the lock is negative — you're paying for insurance you almost certainly don't need.
Run a quick FlightGPT search across flexible dates first — seeing how fares vary by day gives you a sense of whether you're in a volatile pricing window or a stable one.
Bottom Line: A Decision Framework
Before paying for fare lock, ask yourself three questions:
1. Can I book right now? If yes, just book. Don't pay for a lock you don't need.
2. Is the fare on an active upward move? Check the flexible-date view — are dates near yours already higher? Is the flight filling up? If yes, lock it.
3. Is the lock fee small relative to what I'd lose if fares jump? On a ₹12,000 international ticket where fares have moved ₹3,000 in the last week, a ₹400 lock is probably fine. On a ₹3,500 domestic ticket that's been stable for days, it's not.
Fare lock is a niche tool that earns its fee maybe 30–40% of the time. The airlines price it to make money on the whole population of buyers — which means the average buyer loses slightly. Use it surgically and you'll come out ahead. Use it habitually and it's just another travel fee eroding your savings.
For related reading: when to buy flights in advance for the best price and group flight booking mistakes are worth pairing with this.
Frequently asked questions
Is Air India's Fare Lock fee refundable if I don't complete the booking?
Typically, no — if you don't book within the hold window (usually 24–48 hours), the fare lock fee is forfeited. If you do complete the booking, the fee is generally credited toward the ticket price rather than charged on top. Verify the current terms directly on airindia.com at time of booking, as these details can change.
Does IndiGo offer a fare lock or price hold feature?
IndiGo has experimented with hold features but they're not as prominently offered as Air India's Fare Lock as of 2026. Check the goindigo.in booking flow at time of purchase — availability and fees change. For group bookings with IndiGo, their group desk sometimes has different processes that indirectly give you more time.
What happens if the fare drops below my locked price?
You generally don't get the benefit of the lower fare — you're locked into the price you held. This is the main downside of fare lock products: they protect against increases but not against decreases. On routes where fares sometimes drop close to departure (thin routes, underselling flights), locking early can actually cost you.
Is MakeMyTrip's Price Lock worth it for international flights?
MMT's Price Lock terms vary by promotion and route. On international bookings above ₹20,000–₹30,000, even a moderate percentage protection can be worth the fee if you're in a period of active fare movement. Always read the specific coverage terms — some versions only pay out if fares rise by more than a threshold percentage, which limits how often they trigger.
Are there free alternatives to fare lock that achieve the same thing?
Yes, a few. Some credit cards allow you to initiate a booking and pay later via a saved-card pre-authorisation — though this is rare on Indian OTAs. Air India's website sometimes shows a countdown timer on prices, which is different from a formal lock. The most practical free alternative is to simply book a flexible/changeable fare — you pay a small premium upfront but can date-change if plans shift, which is often more useful than a 24-hour hold.