Standby Flights

[jessiangel]

I was wondering if someone could give me advice on standby flights. We are booked over Memorial weekend from Chicago to Orlando with a really great rate ($300 for 3 of us). The problem is, we are booked through AirTran and they changed our flight times. We were originally supposed to leave at 1:50, I believe, and its been switched to 2:44 p.m. I called to try to get an earlier flight, but with the change fee and higher prices, it will cost us $400 more, which I really do not want to pay. The agent suggested trying to fly standby. I will say I have only flown once, and it was a horrible flight with bad turbulence and I vowed never to fly again. Now I've decided to brave my fear for Disney. Has anyone flown standby before? Is it usually possible to get seats on earlier flights? If we go with the original flight, we won't get to our condo until close to 8:00 p.m. Is it worth the risk to get to the airport early (earliest non-stop we can get is 7:15) and wait? Is there a way to find out beforehand if flights are available over the holiday weekend? Thanks for any help.

 

[We_Love_Disney]

As you point out it is a holiday weekend. AirTran can't give you an earlier flight at no cost as they are the ones that bumped you? I would put up a minor stink about that, the squeeky wheel and all that.

Spending the day at the airport, especially considering your fear of flying, it may prove to be too much for you.

What you could do is check the earlier flights, I don't know if AirTran shows the seat availability or not, but if it does I would check periodically and see how much space is available. You may have to go thru the process of nearly buying a tix, but if there is considerable vacancy, then definately I would go with stand-by. If however, there is a full plane, then I think I would forgo the stand-by and take the plane that you are scheduled on. It really only turns out to be an hour later than what you had booked.

So it depends on where you want to do your waiting. If I were you, I think I would stick with the booked flight, (if AirTran won't budge on an earlier flight) and get the condo at 8 pm. You don't want to be overly anxious for your trip to the happiest place on earth!

Good luck!

 

[helenk]

I would call Airtran back, I have always had good experiences with them regarding getting a better flight than the one that they have re-assigned for me.
Let them know that they made the change and this flight time is not good for you and you want to be placed on an earlier flght, without any charges.

 

[missmun52]

I know that by law if the the carrier changes your flight time by a certain amount, cant recall what, they must refund your ticket even on a non-refundable, or change your flight at no cost to you! Its the law so I would call back and tell them this just to see what they say though I an not sure if 54 min is enough, never hurts to try though!

 

[bradk]

i'd like to know what law that is, because it's my understanding, there most likely isn't any since the airlines have been regulated. many often suggest invoking rule 240 which *gave* you certain rights when things happened to your flight at the fault of the carrier (but that was in the case of cancelation or delay, not flight changes), but right now that's purely voluntary. i've never read airtran's contract for purchasing tickets, but i have seen delta's and they make it very clear that when you purchase nonrefundable tickets, they make NO guarantees on time of departure.

in any case, as to OP's question...

it really depends on the airline (as some may charge for flying standby), but if you don't mind showing up early for earlier flights, it's possible they'll get you in standby. but remember standby can only be offered when there are empty seats and is available on a first come first serve basis.

i have flown united once (who offers a same day standby at no cost policy) and was in fact able to get on an earlier flight.

ETA: AirTran's terms are here: http://www.airtran.com/common/PDF/AirTran_Contract_of_Carriage.pdf .. schedule changes are covered on page 17, but it's all pretty blanket stuff, in AirTran's favor.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Has anyone flown standby before? Is it usually possible to get seats on earlier flights?

Yes, I have flown stand-by to get on an earlier flight. Once on Northwest on a trip from Boston to Anchorage, where I was able to get an earlier flight with less stops. I had only carry-on luggage, which simplified things and I did not have to pay any fees.

I have also done this on the US Air shuttle from Boston to Washington, DC, switching to an earlier flight, a number of times. Usually they have done this for free, but the last time I did this, I had to pay a fee (think it was $25.00).

Be warned that many airlines will charge stand-by fees. Also, I would not attempt to fly stand-by with a group larger than 2.

Personally, I think it would be an enormous hassle for a flight change of less than an hour, ESPECIALLY on Memorial day weekend!

 

[bradk]

just for the record, I did check AirTran's standby policy and it does let you fly standby the entire day of your booked flight for no fee.

 

[cbrfan]

We just flew standby in Feb. We were scheduled to fly out of Miami on AirTran at 6:38 pm after our cruise. Got to the airport around 10:30 a.m. and they allowed us to bump to a 1:15 p.m. flight at no charge. If they have availability they'll let you do it.

 

[jessiangel]

Thanks so much for the insight. I had spoken with AirTran and the woman told me there was no charge to fly standby as long as it was the same day and before our scheduled flight. She did tell me that since our flight time had changed, we were entitled to get stand-by updates by phone, so we could call the morning of and find out how much availability was on each flight before we drove all the way to the airport. Guess we will have to think a bit longer about stand-by.

 

[Blondiex46]

I did it in 05 I wanted to leave earlier then my flight and the person at Air Tran said the best one for me to get on would be the first flight which happened to be a 6:00 am flight which meant I had to be there at 4 but that was fine with me and I was walking through my hotel in DW by 9:00 am and I can't tell you how thrilled I was.

 

[missmun52]

i'd like to know what law that is, because it's my understanding, there most likely isn't any since the airlines have been regulated. many often suggest invoking rule 240 which *gave* you certain rights when things happened to your flight at the fault of the carrier (but that was in the case of cancelation or delay, not flight changes), but right now that's purely voluntary. i've never read airtran's contract for purchasing tickets, but i have seen delta's and they make it very clear that when you purchase nonrefundable tickets, they make NO guarantees on time of departure.

in any case, as to OP's question...

it really depends on the airline (as some may charge for flying standby), but if you don't mind showing up early for earlier flights, it's possible they'll get you in standby. but remember standby can only be offered when there are empty seats and is available on a first come first serve basis.

i have flown united once (who offers a same day standby at no cost policy) and was in fact able to get on an earlier flight.

ETA: AirTran's terms are here: http://www.airtran.com/common/PDF/AirTran_Contract_of_Carriage.pdf .. schedule changes are covered on page 17, but it's all pretty blanket stuff, in AirTran's favor.

Cant remember the law, but I read about it last year when the whole delta thing happened. I bought non refundable tickets and was afraid If they went out of business I would lose all my money. Well they ended up changing my flight time but only by 7 min, desperate I called expedia (I booked with them) and asked, and they said that they could not refund me because 7 min was not a significant enough for the law to apply. I was desperate as there are no laws protecting the consumer when the airline becomes bankrupt. All thier money goes to a bunch of stuff (fees, ect) then whatever is left goes to the buyer and that usually give a person pennies on the dollar if any.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Cant remember the law, but I read about it last year when the whole delta thing happened. I bought non refundable tickets and was afraid If they went out of business I would lose all my money. Well they ended up changing my flight time but only by 7 min, desperate I called expedia (I booked with them) and asked, and they said that they could not refund me because 7 min was not a significant enough for the law to apply. I was desperate as there are no laws protecting the consumer when the airline becomes bankrupt.

You would not have a problem if you purchased your tickets using a credit card. I am speaking from personal experience, having purchased 2 RT tickets on Independence Air about 5 months before they went out of business (which they did 4 days before the flight on which I was ticketed). Up until the day before they went out of business, they insisted that the flight would be going.

I filed a charge back with AMEX and while it was a huge pain and took a while, I got a complete refund. I'm sure it would have been a lot more complicated if I had purchased my tickets through Expedia rather than directly with the airline.