Stand-by on Airtran

[LeslieG]

Anyone have experience flying stand-by on Airtran for a LATER flight? Do you have to call and tell them you're not going to make the earlier flight so they don't void you out of the system? Will they put you on any later flight that is available? I know it's a little risky, and I may not have to do it, but I just wondered if anyone had any experience with it.

 

[Missytara]

I had an experience like this several years ago, traveling on US Air; actually my first trip to Disney in 2000. There was a huge accident in my area that took the power out for the entire west side of town, about fifteen minutes before my alarm was to go off at 2:45 am. I woke up at 3:05 am....

I called the Airlines main number, as instructed by my TA (I used one at the time) immediately, gave them my name and confirmation number and told them what happened. She told me to proceed to the airport as quickly as I could possibly get there, but safely and not to worry.

When I got to the airport, I used the skycap and told them what happened. He immediately took me to the front of the line and inquired if the flight had been delayed. Sadly, it left on time and I literally missed it by five minutes.

They booked me on a later flight, that did not leave for almost 2-1/2 hours, so be prepared to wait. Also, I was third in line on stand-by, and that flight was booked solid, so I was only going to get on if three people didn't show up.

Two people didn't show up and the two people ahead of me got on, and we waited another two minutes for last call - and someone did not show up and I gladly got on - the next flight was not for another three hours.......

I got down the gangway and around the corner just as the guy was literally hurling my luggage into the baggage hold below and slamming the door shut - I didn't think it was going to survive the trip - but it did. And my luggage was the first one out the baggage claim and it had a couple of extra tags on it, just in case I got bumped again.

Believe me, it isn't fun.... but I made it there in one piece so I was grateful.

 

[Missytara]

Now it gets better. The second year I went down, they were diverting flights from Cleveland, Ohio to Charlotte, NC, which was the hub for US Airways, due to a snow storm just west of us.

We ended up with a family of 2 adults and 7 children doing stand-by on our flight, from Cleveland - they were spread out all over the plane. We insisted on starting to change seats so they could all sit together. The kids ranged in ages of 4 to 16 or so. Since I go alone, I offered to move anywhere, but the mother insisted her kids were all seasoned fliers and she had them paired accordingly. The sixteen year old sat next to the nine year old and the six year old ended up right on the other side of the aisle next to me..... she was the most well-behaved child I have ever sat next to and we had a wonderful time - it turned out to be a wonderful trip for me and got me in the mood for Disney.

 

[LeslieG]

I was just thinking of a scenario where my plans change and I can no longer go on my scheduled morning flight and want to try to go stand-by for an evening flight. Will they do it so long as a seat is available on the flight I want to go on?

 

[Lewisc]

Many airlines have a "flat tire" policy. Passengers who arrive at the airport shortly after their flight departed (2 hours) get accommodated on a later flight on a standby basis. You don't have to literally prove you had a flat tire. The purpose is to accommodate passengers who didn't allow enough time to get to the airport. The purpose isn't to accommodate passengers who want to change a morning flight to an evening flight.

Call airtran. Many airlines let you change your flight to a different flight (same day) if you call the day before (or the day of) your flight. It may be worth paying a change fee (if applicable) for a confirmed reservation.

 

[ScubaCat]

Rather than paying the change fee, a better bet with Airtran is to pay $25 for a confirmed seat on a later flight on the same day.

EDIT: ... if they still offer it. I haven't checked on this in about a year.

 

[LeslieG]

Rather than paying the change fee, a better bet with Airtran is to pay $25 for a confirmed seat on a later flight on the same day.

EDIT: ... if they still offer it. I haven't checked on this in about a year.[/QUOTE


I just checked. It's $49 now, and they say it has to be done at the airport. You can't do it over the phone. And I'm 2 hours away from the airport, so that is a bit of a problem.

 

[seashoreCM]

I was just thinking of a scenario where my plans change and I can no longer go on my scheduled morning flight and want to try to go stand-by for an evening flight. Will they do it so long as a seat is available on the flight I want to go on?

Generally no on this one, although a few airlines may handle this on a case by case basis when you call in advance.

If the airline does apply a flat-tire rule, you have to stagger in the airport within 2 hours or so of the departure of your flight and have a ground transportation related sob story to tell.