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Standby Flights?

A

AntiFreze

Golden Member
I've heard that people use to go to the airport and just ask to be put on the next flight that had empty seats for bargain prices. Is this just a myth?

I'd love to fly from phoenix->chicago this upcoming weekend. would be me and my fiance... is this even a reasonable thing to do-just go to the airport and ask to be put on the next available flight?

I guess I would need the same luck on sunday to come back to phoenix. any advice?
 
My wife and I fly standby fairly regularly. Her uncle works for Delta, and gets us "buddy passes" - nearly free tickets, but they are standby.

Your success at flying standby depends on a lot of things: your flying dates, destination, etc. Generally speaking, if you are a patient person flying standby can save you some money. We've rarely had any trouble getting flights, although it is pretty common to not get the flight that is your first choice. Make sure you have several backup plans in case your first flight(s) don't work out.

The worst case scenario is that you get to your destination, but then can't get a flight back home. This happened to us once. We got stuck in Seattle trying to get back to Tennessee on a busy holiday weekend. All flights were full, and we were in the airport for something like 30+ hours desperately trying to get home.
 
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
All flights were full, and we were in the airport for something like 30+ hours desperately trying to get home.
Click to expand...

That alone would be a reason I wouldn't want to fly standby. 30 hours in an airport, *shudder*
 
Flying standby on major business use segments can be friggin hopeless. If you show up early at Boston Logan and hope to get on an early flight home to Newark Liberty on a Friday afternoon, you will be SOL. On Monday afternoon, you would have better luck. If the weather sucks and the flights are delayed, it is a lost cause.

Another no luck situation is when there is one direct flight a day to a location. Chances are low you can fly standby on that flight on busy days. For example, if you want to fly standby to Sarasota from Newark, you are going to do it via Tampa.

The best bet for standy by flights is from Hub to Hub as there are tons of flights everyday. If you want to travel between Newark and Houston on Continental, no worries.

My examples are all based on my (extensive) travel on Continental out of Newark. YMMV based on airline and location, but the generals rules will apply.
 
One thing I did that helped when I flew standby (delta buddy pass) was I looked at the flights and saw which ones had a lot of empty seats and which ones were full. Saved a lot of time.
 
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
One thing I did that helped when I flew standby (delta buddy pass) was I looked at the flights and saw which ones had a lot of empty seats and which ones were full. Saved a lot of time.
Click to expand...

FYI - the info Demon-Xanth is talking about is available on the Delta website.
 
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
Originally posted by: Demon-Xanth
One thing I did that helped when I flew standby (delta buddy pass) was I looked at the flights and saw which ones had a lot of empty seats and which ones were full. Saved a lot of time.
Click to expand...

FYI - the info Demon-Xanth is talking about is available on the Delta website.
Click to expand...

I think almost all web sites have this. Just go in to their website like you're buying a ticket, and get to the seat selection page. Then see how many available seats there are.

However, United (and I don't know if this is intentional or if there's just a lot of last minute cancellations) a lot of the times shows the flight as a full flight several days before the flight is set to depart. I'll check it as the date gets nearer and usually the night before, you'll see a few more seats pop up. I've been on flights though where it says it's full on the ticketing system but the plane is only half full...
 
these days standby is all but dead unless you are a high-level or long-time airline employee, and even then it can be tricky.

Airlines no longer fly numerous empty aircraft, and those that are empty don't get filled with standy because airlines have decided the draw of cheap airfare is not worth it if it detracts from full-fare customers. They would rather save fuel and fly an empty plane.
 
Originally posted by: BeauJangles
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
All flights were full, and we were in the airport for something like 30+ hours desperately trying to get home.
Click to expand...

That alone would be a reason I wouldn't want to fly standby. 30 hours in an airport, *shudder*
Click to expand...

LOL...all the food consumed probably came to the price of a ticket anyways...
 
Originally posted by: Mwilding
Flying standby on major business use segments can be friggin hopeless. If you show up early at Boston Logan and hope to get on an early flight home to Newark Liberty on a Friday afternoon, you will be SOL. On Monday afternoon, you would have better luck. If the weather sucks and the flights are delayed, it is a lost cause.

Another no luck situation is when there is one direct flight a day to a location. Chances are low you can fly standby on that flight on busy days. For example, if you want to fly standby to Sarasota from Newark, you are going to do it via Tampa.

The best bet for standy by flights is from Hub to Hub as there are tons of flights everyday. If you want to travel between Newark and Houston on Continental, no worries.

My examples are all based on my (extensive) travel on Continental out of Newark. YMMV based on airline and location, but the generals rules will apply.
Click to expand...

yeah...flying stand by at logan is hard....also, the value jet airlines (jetblue, airtran) no longer do stand by.
 
Originally posted by: NuclearNed
My wife and I fly standby fairly regularly. Her uncle works for Delta, and gets us "buddy passes" - nearly free tickets, but they are standby.

Your success at flying standby depends on a lot of things: your flying dates, destination, etc. Generally speaking, if you are a patient person flying standby can save you some money. We've rarely had any trouble getting flights, although it is pretty common to not get the flight that is your first choice. Make sure you have several backup plans in case your first flight(s) don't work out.

The worst case scenario is that you get to your destination, but then can't get a flight back home. This happened to us once. We got stuck in Seattle trying to get back to Tennessee on a busy holiday weekend. All flights were full, and we were in the airport for something like 30+ hours desperately trying to get home.
Click to expand...

1/10

Very poor by your standards Ned.
 
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