A pressing question for seasoned air travelers

[Angry Eyes]

I have not flown for several years and I am scheduled to fly out tomorrow
(1/5/10) morning on Delta to address a family emergency in Dallas TX. My return flight was originally scheduled to return to Cincinnati 1/12/10. Now, my DMIL is on a ventilator in the hospital here in Cincinnati. If I fly to DFW tomorrow, is it possible to fly back standy-by to CVG sooner (i.e. Friday)? What fees may be involved? I have a non-refundable ticket. I have tried calling Delta but it is impossible to get through today. I imagine it may be fall-out from the NJ airport situation but whatever it is from, I can't reach them by phone. TIA

 

[plutolovr]

Unfortunately, you can only fly stand-by on a flight the same day as your original flight. If you need to change the day you will incur change fees and any additional change in fare. The change fees can be anywhere from $100 to $150 on legacy airlines.

 

[backyardponder]

I'm really sorry to hear about your situation. You might want to talk to one of the ticket agents at the airport. I doubt there's anything they can do to help you, but you can try.

 

[crashbb]

It should say somewhere on your e-ticket but, according to the Delta site the change fee is $150 (within the US). Plus (most likely) the fee difference.

When did you book your ticket? You say you are dealing with a family emergency in Dallas. Any chance you just bought your ticket? You can cancel without penalty within 24 hours (and then buy a new ticket for the right date).

I also second the suggestion to try to call and plead your case (it may not do any good, but it might).

 

[Angry Eyes]

Thanks to all who responded. I may have some leverage in Dallas because my family emergency is a direct result of an incident that received a lot of previous media attention. If not, then I will pay the fees. In the whole scheme of things I guess that this is not even on my top ten list of biggest problems I just didn't know how stand-by works these days. Thank you again for your advice.