I am wondering how to get cheap plane tickets. I think it is called standby, where you wait and just take an extra seat if they have one available.

How does this work, anyone ever done this? What are the odds that you get a seat? How often do you not get a seat?

I want to try to get to Las Vegas from Charlotte sometime in May-ish.

3/24/2006 12:03:31 PM

works well on not-so-frequently travelled places

somewhere like vegas not so much

3/24/2006 12:05:40 PM

i flew standby to Cincinnati

3/24/2006 12:17:43 PM

my grandad was a pilot for american airlines so wed get standby tickets all the time. it can be a bitch if you didnt directly work for them, cause theres different levels .. ie, if you work/worked for them you are first, if youre family, then youre second, and if your friends of family, then youre last in line to get them.

standby can be a bitch .. i dont know if you can actually buy a standby ticket though. but if you get one, you could be on the first flight, or you could be waiting for hours. theres also the possibility of getting first class as well. make sure you are in shirt and tie and look nice.

3/24/2006 12:24:38 PM

looking nice has no bearing on getting on a plane

3/24/2006 12:55:40 PM

I know there's some thing where you can get a free/discount ticket if you agree to carry some package or something on the plane. Okay, that was really vague, and I'm not talking about sketch packages of drugs, it's some legit thing for the airline.

3/24/2006 1:04:38 PM

^^actually, it does.

IF you are flying standby, and a seat opens up in first/business class, and you are not wearing first/business class attire, they will not let you board. This is a fact, I have family that work for United.

Also, flying standby sucks if you have a limited number of days for travel. Like everyone has said, you could get on the first flight available (usually VERY early morning flights are best) or you could sit in the airport all night. If you don't have 1-2 extra travel days I would go ahead and buy a ticket.

Oh- and if you do decide to fly standby only take carry-on baggage. Chances are you will not get on the original flight you want but your checked baggage will.

3/24/2006 1:35:41 PM

Just wanted to state something. Someone told me that Southwest flys into/out of Raleigh or Charlotte in another thread like this a few weeks ago.

To whoever said that. You, sir, are a fucking liar!

3/24/2006 1:55:06 PM

huh? I flew out of RDU on Southwest just a few months ago..

3/24/2006 2:02:09 PM

my girlfriend flies SW pretty much exclusively between orlando and raleigh. couple times a year.

3/24/2006 2:08:26 PM

Southwest does fly out of RDU

3/24/2006 2:08:36 PM

just hope that there's no snakes

3/24/2006 2:54:39 PM

southwest flys out of/into rdu

Quote :

"^^actually, it does. IF you are flying standby, and a seat opens up in first/business class, and you are not wearing first/business class attire, they will not let you board. This is a fact, I have family that work for United. "

i've flown first class a lot (and fly ~45 weeks of the year) and typically only 1/3 of the people are dressed in something that resembles business attire

saying you have to dress appropriately to get a seat in first class is just fucking retarded - there are no dress codes on plane (minus you can't be naked or something ridiculous)

furthermore - if you are flying standby and first doesn't check-in full for some reason - they will typically (employees/family of employees are maybe an exception) upgrade someone with status on the plane instead of someone waiting as standby

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 3:10 PM. Reason : .]

3/24/2006 3:06:25 PM

saying you have to dress appropriately to get a seat in first class is just fucking retarded - there are no dress codes on plane (minus you can't be naked or something ridiculous)

3/24/2006 3:18:49 PM

^I'm telling you, it only applies if you are flying standby (I believe I said that). If you do not pay for first-class passenger benefits, you cannot sit in first class dressed down. Again, this is only if you are flying standby. If you are a paying customer they don't really care. They do it in respect for the other people in business class; so that they do not know someone who didn't pay a shitload of money is getting to enjoy the luxury that they themselves had to pay for.

My boyfriend has been turned down for wearing khaki's with cargo pockets, my mom's fiancee works for United and has for 15 some years and he has always told me I had to dress up just in case. This was for employee standby.

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 4:31 PM. Reason : pockets]

3/24/2006 4:30:43 PM

half of the people in first class are upgraded to it rather than paying customers

3/24/2006 4:37:51 PM

I know...but I think the main thing they are trying to do is say if you are going to KNOW you might be upgraded, look nice as to not piss off the paying customers.

These are just the experiences I've had with standby.

3/24/2006 4:42:01 PM

Quote :

"i've flown first class a lot (and fly ~45 weeks of the year) and typically only 1/3 of the people are dressed in something that resembles business attire"

What the fuck are you flying so much for?

If you say a woman, I'm going to remove your right to balls.

3/24/2006 4:44:18 PM

i'm a consultant - currently i work in chicago - fly out monday morning - fly back to raleigh thursday night

3/24/2006 5:27:49 PM

Quote :

"Just wanted to state something. Someone told me that Southwest flys into/out of Raleigh or Charlotte in another thread like this a few weeks ago. To whoever said that. You, sir, are a fucking liar! "

hey man,

i don't think it flies into/out of NYC though, if that's what you meant, since you'd be coming from here (NYC)

-ZiP!-

3/24/2006 6:02:11 PM

southwest services laguardia

3/24/2006 6:05:51 PM

SWA flies out of Macarthur/Islip, LI

3/24/2006 7:31:48 PM

nm.

-ZiP!-

[Edited on March 24, 2006 at 9:53 PM. Reason : ]

3/24/2006 9:53:29 PM

Quote :

"just hope that there's no snakes"

3/25/2006 12:25:31 PM

Quote :

"To whoever said that. You, sir, are a fucking liar!"

What the fuck are you talking about? I fly out of RDU all the time on southwest.

3/25/2006 12:30:29 PM