That's a pretty clever idea. Have you tried that before? You might run into the fact that the airport ticketing or gate agents won't let you fly standby since it's not on the same day of travel.
I am pretty sure that if I would have pulled that with AA at the ticketing counter that it wouldn't have gone off too well. I can see them selling me a full fare ticket for the next day, but they probably wouldn't be willing to let me fly standby on anything for that evening.
Originally Posted by
Steve M
This is just a matter of semantics. WN no doubt sold you a full-fare ticket, since you were a walk-up customer and would not qualify for any advance purchase discount. To do the same on any other carrier, just by a full-fare ticket for the next flight that does have availability on the route that you want to fly, even if it's a future date. Once you have that ticket issued, have yourself added to the standby list for the flight you want - no charge since you have a full-fare ticket. If you don't make it, then refund the ticket - again, no charge since you're full-fare. Also, depending on the airline, you may find that your full-fare ticket moves you to the front of the standby line for similarly-situated passengers.