Flying Standby...

[cheshirekitty]

Has anyone ever tried to fly standby to get a different flight?

My flight leaves at 9am but there is an earlier, 7am flight.
I called Delta and they said it is almost full but to try the night
before and ask them if standby is possible.

Should I even attempt this??

 

[ducklite]

Cheshire--I've had luck and bad luck with it. If they tell you it's almost full, chances are you won't get on, unless you are a single traveller. You will be second to last in boarding preference, last being non-revs.

Furthermore, if it's CO, be careful We tried it last year, and they gave us standby tickets, but then gave away our seats for the flight we were booked on!! We ended up almost not getting there at all. I haven't flown CO since, I'm STILL pissed about the way I was treated and the utter incompetence I dealt with that day.

Also, if you get on standby, make absolutely sure they reticket you the entire way through. Had another time taht we flew on an earlier flight, ad they didn't rebook the entire trip, so on the return they told us we didn't show for the outbound leg so they cancelled us. Duh! How did we get here then?!?!

I have flown standby with great results though. In July I got on an earlier flight so I would have an hour rather than 31 minutes to make a connection in ORD. All legs were fine.

Anne

 

[Lewisc]

If you're traveling with a family, keep in mind you probably won't be able to sit together.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

heck I flew SB for 15 yrs. if the flight has at least 10 open seats I say go for it. you never know how many standbys there will be. they board them by first check in.