Penny-wise, Pound-foolish stand-by policy
I am well versed in US Airway’s stand-by policy. As a United elite I’m not eligible for a free confirmed seat on an earlier flight (that’s $50) but I can stand-by for free. The caveat to this is that they can’t be able to confirm me to put me on stand-by.
I got to MCO at around 12:30 pm for a 5:15 pm flight. I went to the Star Alliance gold check in and requested to go stand-by on an earlier flight. They had a 1:30 and a 3:30, but apparently both had confirmable seats so she would have to charge me. Since my bag was expanded I didn’t want to hassle with it on board and I checked it meaning that I couldn’t play the “if you don’t like that answer ask again” with the gate agents. I also didn’t want to pay $50 to get home earlier.
By the time my flight came around they were oversold by 2 and were offering $125 in travel credit. Since that seemed very low compared to what they usually offer I didn’t bother. I just laughed that they could have waived my confirmed fee and put me on an earlier flight and avoided the need of 1 volunteer.
Yeah…and how about the time where your flight goes out with three empty seats? Is it still penny wise/pound foolish for them to put you on an earlier flight for free?
It doesn’t cost them anything. They do miss out of revenue if I intentionally book the cheapest flight and try to confirm onto an earlier one. I don’t keep the information handy, but I think my flight was more expensive than the earlier flights.
I am not sure what the policy is. However, I have used US Airways “Move Up” program twice. Both times I was not charged, and got a confirmed seat on an earlier flight. The first time I told the TA that I was willing to pay the $50. He informed me that due to my status they would not charge me the fee. I am a 1P on United, and my MP number was on the ticket both times.