Flying standby is a great way to bump up your schedule and catch an earlier flight at the last minute, but the process is not usually easy. With airlines continuously improving their scheduling systems, the days of multiple standby seats suddenly opening up are a thing from the past. Luckily, there are still a few ways you can increase your chances. Just follow these 7 tips to know how to fly standby flights!
Get to the Airport Early
It’s much easier to land a standby seat if you arrive at the airport very early. Getting to the ticket counter first time in the morning allows you to be one of the top names on the standby list. You can’t expect to have any success if you arrive only a few minutes before your desired flight is scheduled to leave. You also want to get to the airport early because these flights tend to have more no-shows due to people oversleeping!
Do Not Check a Bag
Standby flights are virtually impossible to get if you’re traveling with a checked bag because, once you check a bag at the counter, it’s immediately sent to the baggage handlers packing your plane. Changing your scheduled flight at the last minute will force the airline to hunt down your checked luggage and move it to your new plane. Since this is a lot of extra work that can potentially delay flights, the airline will generally only give standby seats to passengers that haven’t already checked a bag. Time to pack light and travel with a carry-on only!
Travel By Yourself
Since there are a limited amount of standby seats opening on every flight, it only makes sense that your odds of landing one of these increases if you are flying alone. Therefore, standby flights are only worth attempting to grab when you fly solo instead of with a bunch of people.
Fly at the Right Time
You can dramatically increase your odds of getting a standby flight by nailing your timing. Your goal should be to travel at a time and date when there are very few people at the airport. Flights are usually completely full on weekends and holidays, so it will be extremely difficult to succeed in those days. It is best, therefore, to try on weekday mornings to increase your chances.
Travel to Popular Destinations
In addition to the time of your flight, the destination also has a big role to play when landing standby flights. More specifically, your odds are greatly improved when flying to a popular destination. The airlines usually send their largest aircraft to touristy locations, widening the opportunities of finding a seat to open up. If an airline is only flying to your destination two or three times a day, then you’ll likely not have any luck!
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Sign Up for Airline Rewards Programs
Since there are so many choices when browsing cheap flights these days, airlines value loyalty more than ever before. This makes it extremely difficult to fly standby without being a member of the airline’s loyalty rewards program. The passengers that are part of these clubs are immediately put at the top of the standby list. All of these loyalty programs are completely free, so there is no excuse for not signing up for them!
Avoid Unnecessary Distractions
Sitting at the bar, browsing the gift shops, and watching a movie on your phone are very common ways to kill time at the airport…but all of them should be avoided when learning how to fly standby flights! The airline will call the names of anyone that landed a standby seat shortly before the flight leaves. If you don’t immediately claim this ticket, then you can be sure it’s going to the next person on the list. So, avoid distractions and sit quietly at the gate until your desired flight leaves!
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