Standing by awaiting flights

No, there has not been a decline in the stand by status of flights. It is still very common practice, especially among airline employees and retirees. The problem with most stand by flights now is that airlines are consistently overbooking their flights as it is in the hopes that they can still achieve a full load after accounting for no shows. Plus, as more and more airlines face financial difficulties, less popular flights are being cancelled or re-routed, leaving less available flights for those that want to stand by. Your best chance for stand by is to choose less popular flights at less popular times, not be tied to any time frame for arrival at your destination and look at multiple city stops on your way to your desired location. Arrive early (first come, first called) and be prepared to wait.

Stand by has been common on United on the west coast, as far as I know, for quite a while...

Thank you, osso...I really should have mentioned United by name. That is the one I am most familiar with and really can't say all that much about the practices of other airlines.

Lucky you in Trinity....

Thanks!

So, what do you do, go register your name at United (for example) and then sit and wait? Do they issue you a document? In Boston, you can't get to the terminals without a ticket.

Are the tickets usually significantly cheaper for stand-by seats?

I haven't done it in a while, so I'm not much help. Seems to me I remember signing up for it at the check in counter, but I am having trouble remembering exactly why I've flown standby...possibly when a flight schedule was changed, with the words "we'' put you on standby for..."

mmmm, well, maybe my housemate can call united from home before booking her next flight.

Gee, I usually book online now..

I've finally caught on to looking for deals. My roundtrip flight between Seattle and New York last year, nonstop, was $300. plus tax. - I'm guessing the total was about 313.
It took me a few hours to find that exact flight with good timing for my needs and that low price.

And my trip to the SF a2k meeting was about $350. for both flight (united) and my good hotel (Adagio), 4 overnights. The flight itself can be nearly that much if booked through the airline by phone.

She usually books online too, but would that work with a stand-by?

I dunno....

hehehe, we keep going back and forward.... thanks for the help. I'll tell the housemate what I've learned when she returns from Tucson.

Googling found:

http://users.pandora.be/cheap_airline_tickets/166.htm

Evidently some airlines allow bargains for last minute travellers and others charge extra.

Oh, yeah, Noddy. Some do. I tried to reschedule my last flight from Orlando to Albuquerque, and United wanted something like $1,000.00 for the change. Compare this to the total round trip fare of around $330.00. I declined.