US Airways Dividend Miles (Pre-FlightFund Merger) - Standby travel w/ checked bags - okay?

I'm a Delta flyer, trying to get some standby travel information for family members scheduled to fly USAirways PHL-MCO nonstop on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Booked flight departs 5:35pm, arrives 8:15p. I suggested they try to fly standby, so they don't lose the entire day.
Some questions:

1. Are the any problems flying standby on USAirways? I've read some previous posts that same certain fares make exclude standby travel (I don't know what they have).

2. Are there routing issues? Again, some posts said if you are booked nonstop, you can only fly nonstop. That may not be an issue, as there are 7 scheduled nonstop flights before theres.

3. How is baggage handled? For Delta, when you check in, you tell the agent you are trying to fly standby on flight XXX, and they supposedly send your bags down on that flight (which means they could end up down there before you, if you don't clear the standby list). I'm not sure if there are any changes to this because of 9/11 (they won't put luggage on a plane unless the owner is flying on it).

4. How is travel typically on that day? I figure the heavy travel days are probably the Tues & Wed before Thanksgiving, and the Sat & Sun afterwards, with that Thur & Fri being light.

Thanks in advance.

Jeff

1. There should be no problem flying standby. I believe that the only fares for which US does not allow standby are E-Savers, which your family members obviously are not booked on since they haven't come out for that weekend yet. You can call US Airways or check availability online (itn.net) to get an idea of your chances, but I am guessing that most of the flights on that day will have pretty light loads.

2. I am sure routing will not be a problem since there are so many earlier nonstop PHL-MCO flights.

3. I don't know how baggage is handled post-9/11. In the past when I have flown standby, and the agent said my bags would make it on the standby flight even if I didn't. I'm really not sure if they're doing positive ID-checking with bags now on domestic flights.

4. Travel on the Friday after Thanksgiving should be very light.

I flew standby on a flight IND-PIT a few weeks ago. When I checked my bag at the front desk -- they put the pink standby tags on it and gave me a pink standby check in addition to the claim check. They told me when I cleared the flight, to give the pink check to the gate agent and they would put the bags on the flight. If I wasn't cleared after the flight took off, I would have to go down to baggage claim, get my bags, and recheck them (which means standing in lines at the front and security again). I'm CP, so I was the first to clear, but that was the process....

1. I don't think any fares disallow same day standby (not ESavers), except for some time restricted Shuttle fares, but even then a kind agent will sometimes overlook that.

2. That's always a problem, because what happens if you get to the intermediate city and something happens to the flights or you don't clear, you don't have a confirmed seat to your destination. I would never ever recommend standing by on a different routing (the only smart way to change the routing is to get the agent to confirm a change, no stand by).

3. My experience with Delta is that your flights always go on the next flight, even if you don't (even if you're not standing by for that flight). One time I was connecting through ATL and I walk off my flight and right across the hall was an earlier flight to my destination (Delta would not have let me booked it because the connection time would have been way too short). I stood by and got on that earlier flight, and sure enough my bags went on that flight also, because it was the next flight to my destination. I've had that happen more than once ...

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Beckles:
3. My experience with Delta is that your flights always go on the next flight, even if you don't (even if you're not standing by for that flight).</font>Hopefully you mean, "your bags always go on the next flight..."

Listen to what I mean, not what I say ...

Yes, that's what I meant. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by HokieWaldo:
I flew standby on a flight IND-PIT a few weeks ago. When I checked my bag at the front desk -- they put the pink standby tags on it and gave me a pink standby check in addition to the claim check. They told me when I cleared the flight, to give the pink check to the gate agent and they would put the bags on the flight. If I wasn't cleared after the flight took off, I would have to go down to baggage claim, get my bags, and recheck them (which means standing in lines at the front and security again). I'm CP, so I was the first to clear, but that was the process....</font>

Welcome to Flyertalk HokieWaldo!

How long you been lurking before you finally decided to post?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jwhite4:
1. Are the any problems flying standby on USAirways? I've read some previous posts that same certain fares make exclude standby travel (I don't know what they have).
</font>

Perhaps you're remembering posts about trying to switch from MetroJet to US? They won't let you do that (but they're perfectly happy to allow the reverse if you're crazy enough to want to). That won't be a problem in Philly though -- no MJ service.

In theory Priceline fares do not allow standby, but in practice USAirways does allow this (as opposed to United or Delta AFAIK, which specifically forbids allowing Priceline fliers to standby) .

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by pitflyer:
In theory Priceline fares do not allow standby, but in practice USAirways does allow this (as opposed to United or Delta AFAIK, which specifically forbids allowing Priceline fliers to standby) .</font>

That is not true. UA's rules specifically *allow* Priceline passengers to standy by last I heard (when they fairly recently published some new stand by rules) and I know DL has allowed me to standby on several occasions in the past.

Northwest I believe specifically disallows Priceline passengers to standby however.

Flew PIT-PHL-AMS-PHL-PIT this week, and on the way back my wife and I tried to rush for the 3:30 PHL-PIT flight instead of the 6:50 we had been re-booked on (when they cut PHL-PIT frequency last month)..

When we got to the connection desk after customs, we asked to do this, and the agent asked us twice whether we had checked bags, and we were traveling light with only a carry-on. He got us seats on the earlier flight..

However, a colleague and his son did the same itinerary, coming back a day earlier, and they would NOT allow him to switch flights and specifically told him it was because he had checked bags, and that they could not transfer them.

So perhaps doing an international part causes a problem effectively flying 'standby' with checked bags?? Anyone with more knowledge?

I think international arrivals would make it easier. The main problem is making sure that the bags get on the earlier flight with the passenger (if positive passenger baggage matching is in effect). But when you arrive internationally, you claim your bags, then go to a recheck desk with a US Airways agent to verify your baggage tags and throw them on the belt. So if you wanted to switch, the agent could just rip off the old tag, add a new one with the new flight -- problem solved.

As others have mentioned, it is okay to stand by for flights if you have bags checked for another flight. I did that last weekend. Unfortunately, my bags didn't make it on the earlier flight, so I had to return to the airport to pick them up after they came in as originally scheduled. No problem though, since I live next to the airport. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

hscottm, you cannot standby for earlier flights with checked bags on any international itinerary, unless the airline can be sure that your bags make it on the flight for which you standby. This is because international itineraries do require bags to be matched with passengers on each plane. Baggage matching doesn't apply to domestic travel in the US--the FAA has argued for it a couple times, but it's always been beaten down by the airlines. Anyway, this regulation is probably what allowed you to standby, but caused your colleague to be denied standby. SO, yeah...you're spot on that international itineries prevent travelling standby with checked bags. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif