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Standby Flights

Rules for standing by
Plus tips for maximizing your chances

Here you'll find general rules for standby travel—plus the secrets of maximizing your chances of getting on a standby flight.

Although you can no longer buy cheap "standby fares" for travel in the U.S. (with one exception for young adults, covered below), you can still stand by for more convenient flights.

That means you can book the cheapest fare possible for the days you wish to travel and then often stand by for a better flight on your airline, especially if it departs before your reserved flight.

Types of standby flights

You'll encounter several types of standby situations, which are explained in detail on this page. With one exception, you will already have a reservation for a confirmed flight (which you will hold in case you are unable to get on your standby flight).

• Standing by to change your flight without paying a fee.
  
  AirTran, American Airlines, and United Airlines offer this type of standby. In certain situations, US Airways does too.
  
  We'll cover—
  
  • Maximizing your chances for being confirmed on your standby flight,
  • Typical rules for standing by without extra charge,
  • How to register for standby status, and
  • Your chances of success.
  
  Almost always, you won't know if you are confirmed on your standby flight until the last minute.
  
  
• Paying a fee—typically $25 to 50.00—to be confirmed on an alternate flight without waiting until the last minute.
  
  Being confirmed ahead of time saves the stress of waiting around the airport to find out if you are able to travel at a new time.
  
  You'll learn the policies of the major airlines that offer this option.

A few airlines, such as American, offer a choice of last-minute standby without your having to pay pay a fee to fly standby or to be confirmed ahead of time on an alternative flight.

AirTran's young adult standby and Southwest Airlines have different standby policies. You'll find out what you need to know about them at the end of this page.

Standing by without a fee:

Tips for standby success—maximizing your chances

If you plan to stand by without paying a fee, it's greatly to your advantage to:

• Pack lightly and don’t check any luggage. This gives you a better chance of getting on the flight.
  
  The way this works is that the airline's decision about which standby passenger/s will get on the plane is usually made at the last minute. Very often, there is not time to transfer your checked bags to your standby flight. Thus, those without checked luggage are given priority.
  
  
• Stand by for earlier flights only. Thus, if you fail to get on, you can always use your confirmed reservation—you won't lose your confirmed booking until you're told you can board the standby flight.
  
  
• Check online for empty seats, but do this only on your airline’s website. Don't check for this info on Expedia, Travelocity, and other third-party vendors, because they usually don’t have access to last-minute availability of flights within four to six hours or so of departure.
  
  Online, input your origin, destination, and date, and then check if multiple seats are available on your desired flight. Do not complete the booking.
  
  Or, call the airline before going to the airport to check standby chances. It’ll tell you if flights are already overbooked (have more reservations than seats) and possibly suggest alternatives.
  
  
• If you’re traveling via a connecting airport, be sure there are lots of alternatives for your connecting standby flight.
  
  Connecting hubs at Chicago, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Denver, Houston, Cleveland, New York/JFK, and Dallas are often great places to stand by because they offer so many flights to each destination, but Sacramento and Austin probably aren't.
  
  
• Unless you're traveling with United and have gotten on the list for a standby flight on United's website, you should arrive at the airport as early as you can before the flight you want to stand by for.
  
  The sooner you're on the standby list, the better your chances.
  
  Online with United, you can get on the standby list up to 24 hours prior to your confirmed flight. Do so! Try to be first on the standby list.
  
  
• Don’t wander away from the gate area. If you are not there to hear your name called, someone else may get your seat.
  
  If you need to use the washroom, tell the gate agent that you’ll be out of touch for a moment.
  
  
• If you don’t hear your name as departure time approaches, reconfirm that you’re on the list. Departure time is a stressful period for gate agents, and they may accidentally overlook you. Here again, practice patience and your winning personality with these pressured agents.
  
  At some airports, you'll see a screen in the gate area that displays the abbreviated names of those on the standby list who have now received confirmed seats and those who are still waiting.
  

Standing by without a fee:
Standby rules

Standby flight rules vary by airline, but the following used by United Airlines are the most common if you want to stand by without paying a fee:

• You must stand by for flights on the same airline (or sometimes its partner).
  
  
• You must stand by on the same dates as your reserved flights.
  
  
• You must travel either via the same connection point as on your ticket, or nonstop between your origin and destination.
  
  For example, that United Airlines ticket you got from priceline.com has you leaving Orlando for Los Angeles via Chicago/O’Hare in the early afternoon, but you’d rather arrive in L.A. earlier.
  
  You can stand by for earlier United flights via Chicago without paying a fee, but you cannot stand by for flights from Orlando to Los Angeles via Denver.
  
  Very importantly, you can stand by for non-stop flights on United from Orlando to Los Angeles. In this case, the airline does not have to reissue your electronic ticket. It allows you to substitute the two legs of your reserved booking for the standby, non-stop flight. The airline does have to issue you a new boarding pass for the new flight.
  

Standing by without a fee:
How to register for standby status

There are several ways to register for standby status. The sooner you’re on the list, the better your chances.

• With United Airlines, you can go online to check in and print out your boarding pass up to 24 hours prior to your current reservation. At that time, United shows you a selection of flights available for standby. Choose one. (See "Tips for standby success" above for help deciding which flight to choose.)
  
  If you don't have the information needed to check in online, call United reservations for your booking number ("record locator") and then go online.
  
  
• If you are not traveling with United or don’t have online access, register for standby status either with an agent at the airline's check-in counter, or faster through a check-in kiosk (easy, computerized self-check in). You will need this boarding pass to go through security.

If you've arrived at an airport hub to make a connecting flight and realize that you have time to get on an even earlier connecting flight, go to the appropriate gate and ask to be put on the standby list.

Or, if the flight's gate agents are not at the gate yet, go to any customer service desk or other gate agent of your airline who is not busy, and ask to be put on the standby list for the flight.

Standing by without a fee:
What are your chances?

Usually good, if you check ahead as suggested.

I nearly always get on standby flights, which is a major reason why I don’t mind using super cheap Priceline.com Air "Name your own price" tickets, which don’t allow me to pick the departure times.

However, you have to consider a few factors, such as the weather, season, day of the week, and the number of people traveling with you.

Dramatic weather conditions can affect travel all over the country. (We've seen this with Hurricane Katrina, but also with blizzards and ice.)

Specific days matter, too. For example, you are less likely to succeed on standby on the first and last days of major school holidays. And getting out of Orlando or Las Vegas on any Sunday can be tough.

And, sadly, as airlines reduce the number of flights due to the high cost of fuel, there may be fewer seats available for standby in the future.

Standing by with a fee:

AirTran

These are NOT the same rules as used in AirTran's young adult standby ("AirTran U") explained at the bottom of this page.

With AirTran, you have a choice.

If a seat is available and you already have a confirmed ticket, you can reserve a seat on an earlier flight on the same day for a charge of $49 per flight. In other words, if you are connecting that day, you'll pay $98. This transaction must be done at the airport.

Or, you can standby for a flight on the same day without paying a fee. You will find out at the last minute if you can get on.

Standing by with a fee:
American Airlines

On the same day as your current reservation, American Airlines also gives you a choice.

You can standby without paying a fee using basically the same standby rules as United Airlines described above. Just register for standby status when you arrive at the airport at one of the self-service check in machines. You can choose any flight within the next 12 hours.

Or, if you want to eliminate the uncertainty of standby, American will also let you immediately confirm a new flight for a $50 fee, if a seat in your fare class is available. However, there is no charge to confirm a new flight for travelers using full fare tickets or frequent flyer award tickets.

You can confirm a new flight by telephone with American reservations (1-800-433-7300) or at one of American's self-service check-in kiosks at the airport. This machine will then display the flights available for standby within the next 12 hours.

Standing by with a fee:
Continental Airlines

With Continental, you can request alternate flights within 24 hours of your original departure time. This new flight must depart within 12 hours of when your request is made. (As you can see, this new flight could be on the day before or day after your original reservation.)

For this change, Continental charges you $50 ($25 for high-ranking frequent flyer members).

If Continental cannot confirm you on an alternate flight, you can still stand by for the flight you want at the airport, but have to pay the $50 fee if you get on.

Standing by with a fee:
Delta Airlines

On Delta, you can confirm a new flight on the same day as your original reservation for a fee of $50. Passengers who have top tier status in Delta's SkyMiles frequent flyer program don't have to pay.

You must make your request no earlier than 3 hours ahead of the scheduled departure time of the new flight.

You can change to nonstop flights or to any routing or flight allowed by your fare, as long as you travel to the original destination you booked to Canada, the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.

Standing by with a fee:
Northwest Airlines

At the check in counter or at a self-service kiosk anytime on the same day as your original reservation, Northwest will confirm you on another flight or connection, as long as the routing is the same and a seat is available.

If seats are not available, you can always stand by and hope for a last-minute confirmation.

In either case, the fee is $25.

Standing by with a fee:
US Airways

US Airways allows you to standby for earlier flights than your confirm reservation on the same day, except for those to Europe and Hawaii.

If US Airways can confirm you on your desired flight at the time of your request, the charge is $50.

If it cannot confirm until the last minute, there is no fee for standby.

What about Southwest Airlines standby?

Southwest Airlines (which is not used by Hotwire or Priceline) uses a different standby procedure.

On Southwest, if there is a fare difference between what you paid for your booked flight and your desired new flight, you’ll nearly always have to pay the difference.

If you booked a cheap ticket in advance, changing your flights at the last minute can cost significantly more than the other prices mentioned on this page.

On the other hand, unlike other airlines, Southwest never charges penalties for canceling a trip. The full value of your cancelled Southwest ticket applies toward a new ticket within one year of date of purchase, as long as you let Southwest know in advance that you are not traveling, and you save your original confirmation number.

In summary, Southwest is not so good for standby, unless you’re traveling on a higher fare ticket, but good for other changes.

AirTran's "AirTran U" standby

If you're age 18 through 22, you qualify for AirTran U standby tickets.

With AirTran U, you won't have a confirmed reservation, but vouchers for each standby flight instead.

Be sure to read "Tips for standby success" above. Most of these apply to you.

Four cautions especially for "AirTran U" standby flights:

• Because you pay for each connecting flight separately, advanced purchase fares may be cheaper if your route requires connecting flights, rather than being non-stop.
  
  
• You can take carry-on luggage only. See the AirTran link above for maximum amount and size permitted.
  
  
• With no confirmed reservation to fall back on if you can't fly standby, you may not wish to try AirTran standby at peak travel times.
  
  
• In fact, you may not even be allowed to standby on certain dates. Because these change, check online for AirTran standby blackout dates. As of this writing, all travel must be completed by December 15, 2008.
  

Good luck! And, please remember that airline rules are changing rapidly in the current environment. Double check before you stand by.

See also Priceline Airfare Savings Strategies.

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