Provisional and held slots
How a provisional hold keeps a slot while the details are settled, so two people are never quietly booking the same aircraft, and how a hold becomes a confirmed booking.
Last reviewed
Not every booking is settled the moment you start it. A provisional hold lets you claim a slot while the details are still being worked out, without pretending it is confirmed.
A hold reserves the slot
When you place a provisional hold on an aircraft and time, that slot is reserved. Anyone else looking at the board sees it is taken, so two people cannot quietly book the same aircraft for the same time while one of them is still on the phone.
It is honest about its state
A held slot is shown as provisional, not confirmed. It has not passed every check the way a confirmed booking has, and the board does not dress it up as if it had. Everyone can see the difference at a glance.
Turning a hold into a booking
When the details are settled, the hold is confirmed, and at that point the full checks run, the aircraft is free, the instructor is current, the student is eligible, before it becomes a real booking on the board. A hold that is no longer needed is released and the slot returns to available.