Questions of trying to fly stand-by on earlier flight?

[rascalmom]

We have a flight booked on AirTran for next week. Our schedule has opened up slightly & we could leave earlier than we originally thought. Our booked flight leaves about 5 p.m., but AirTran's website says that they allow passengers to fly standby on other flights the same day to the same city pairs for no additional fee.

How does this work? Do we just show up at the airport & hope for a space? There are 2 flights that we could take in the morning about 45 minutes apart - one is non-stop, the other has a short lay-over in Atlanta. The non-stop leaves later of the two. When/how will I know they can take us? What happens to our checked luggage?

Sorry for all the random questions - but this is obviously new to me! I sure would appreciate any & all info you have!

 

[DebbieB]

I would call Air Tran and ask them how many seats are open on the earlier flights. If there are lots, then take the chance. I believe they put a tag on your checked luggage so the handlers will check if you got on or not. Ask them about it when you call.

 

[safetymom]

I agree with DebbieB. Call the night before or early in the morning and ask how full the flight is. Then you can decide if you should go to the airport earlier and go standby.

 

[rascalmom]

Thanks - I will definitely plan on calling. I just was wondering about arrival at the ticket counter - will they give me a "confirmation" to one of the flights at that point assuming there is space available, or do I have to go to the gate for that flight?

At check-in, do they put my luggage on the earliest possible flight I could take, or do they put it on our reserved flight?

 

[DebbieB]

It depends on how full the flight is. If it's close to full, they will make you go to the gate and wait to see if there are empty seats. If there are alot of seats, they may give you a confirmation at the counter. The only time I ever did standby was on USAir when I was done with a business trip early and it was a flight with alot of seats, they gave me a seat at the counter. I just had carryon, so I'm not sure how checked luggage works.

 

[cbrfan]

I've wondered about how this works, also. Could you please report back when you find out? TIA

 

[seashoreCM]

A call in advance is helpful to get an idea of your chances, but unless the call indicates the flight is really full, show up at the airport early anyway.

Also show up at the airport early anyway if storms threaten to cancel your original flight and there is an earlier flight you might be interested in.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Uncle Buck]

From my experience flying stand-by in and out of MCO, the number of open seats is extremely fluid. I've watched seat availability on Alaska go from dozens to a few and back again in the 48 hours leading up to departure. Even with oversold fights, I've never failed to make an earlier flight. Once I even got bumped to First Class on United.

Your bags don't have to fly with you domestically now, so they may fly the earlier intinerary if the counter person puts you on stand-by, which if it is a non-stop, you theoretically have less risk of getting your bags lost (and won't have to wait as long to claim them).

Good luck. Always nice to have a few extra magic hours.

 

[Chicago526]

In my experiance, at leat from Chicago to Orlando on United, the flights are always full. But it never hurts to try, I agree you should call ahead and see how full the flights are.

When you get to the ticket counter, just tell them you want to standby for an earlier flight. If there are empty seats, they'll most likely just go ahead and confirm you and you can then check your bags for that flight, and proceed as normal. If the flight is full, they will put your name on a waiting list, and you still check your bag. You then go to the gate and wait, if there are seats, you board (they'll call your name and give you a boading pass at the gate). If not, you go on your orriginal flight.

YOUR BAG WILL GO ON THE EARILER FLIGHT EVEN IF YOU DON'T. This is legal, as you bag only needs to travel on the same plane as you IF the bag isn't x-rayed or hand searched. Since all airports now scan the bags, it can go on a differant flight.

If you don't make it on standby, your bag will be waiting for you at the baggage office in Orlando. Make sure to hang on to your bag claim check. This isn't as bad as it sounds, in fact it tends to save time (usually) since you don't have to wait for your bag to come off the belt at baggage claim. Just make sure not to check anything you ever want to see again, like valuables, cameras, medication, and the like.

 

[rascalmom]

When you get to the ticket counter, just tell them you want to standby for an earlier flight. If there are empty seats, they'll most likely just go ahead and confirm you and you can then check your bags for that flight, and proceed as normal. If the flight is full, they will put your name on a waiting list, and you still check your bag. You then go to the gate and wait, if there are seats, you board (they'll call your name and give you a boading pass at the gate). If not, you go on your orriginal flight.

YOUR BAG WILL GO ON THE EARILER FLIGHT EVEN IF YOU DON'T. This is legal, as you bag only needs to travel on the same plane as you IF the bag isn't x-rayed or hand searched. Since all airports now scan the bags, it can go on a differant flight.

If you don't make it on standby, your bag will be waiting for you at the baggage office in Orlando. Make sure to hang on to your bag claim check. This isn't as bad as it sounds, in fact it tends to save time (usually) since you don't have to wait for your bag to come off the belt at baggage claim. Just make sure not to check anything you ever want to see again, like valuables, cameras, medication, and the like.

Thanks Chicago!!! This is exactly the information I needed. Will be trying it on Sunday, after a call on Saturday evening to see what availability looks like.

 

[TeresaMc]

I just flew standby on AirTran a couple of months ago....

I got done with a business meeting early and was moseying through the airport and up to the gate, when the attendant asked if I was going to Atlanta. My reply...yes, but not for over an hour, she said come on get on now if you want. So I inquired about my possibility of checking through to Moline early, which she stated "pretty good" so I went for it. She marked my baggage claim with a VS(vouluntary separation) and said my bags may not arrive with me, which was fine since I am only about 15 min from the airport. I managed to return home about 2 hours early and my bags DID arrive with me.