Is there a cut-off time before departure to be put on a stand-by list?
I am flying out tomorrow SEA to BJX. ( Mexico)
I have a 3 hour layover @ IAH before my departure to Leon.
There is an earlier flight that leaves an hour after my arrival in IAH. Right now it is showing " full".
Would the right strategy be to make my way after landing in IAH to the earlier departing flight gate and see if I can be wait-listed? Or is there something I should do now?
Not sure if there is a cut-off time for being wait-listed on an international flight.
I don't want to give up my later connection just in case we are late departing SEA.
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There is a cutoff time for getting on the standby list -- or at least I've been told once when arriving at a half-empty flight that they couldn't put me on the standby list because it was too close to departure (although they told me to wait around and would put me on the flight after they cleared the people already on the list). This was domestic, and I don't remember exactly what the cutoff was. The cutoff for international may be more, but I suspect if you have an hour you'll make it in time.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by david4455
I am flying out tomorrow SEA to BJX. ( Mexico)
I have a 3 hour layover @ IAH before my departure to Leon.
There is an earlier flight that leaves an hour after my arrival in IAH. Right now it is showing " full".
Would the right strategy be to make my way after landing in IAH to the earlier departing flight gate and see if I can be wait-listed? Or is there something I should do now?
Not sure if there is a cut-off time for being wait-listed on an international flight.
I don't want to give up my later connection just in case we are late departing SEA.
Yes. Go to the gate. You can get wait listed now over the net for $75. Not worth it and not very effective. Got to the gate. If you have status, most likely the first seat that opens will be yours. Seats might open in Y because of upgrades among other reasons. The other reason that you really do not want to waitlist over the net is that because of the 1 hr layover for the earlier flight, if you have a bit of a delay you might be in trouble...
Yes. Go to the gate. You can get wait listed now over the net for $75. Not worth it and not very effective. Got to the gate. If you have status, most likely the first seat that opens will be yours. Seats might open in Y because of upgrades among other reasons. The other reason that you really do not want to waitlist over the net is that because of the 1 hr layover for the earlier flight, if you have a bit of a delay you might be in trouble...
Do I have to go to the gate...or can I head to the first UA customer service desk I pass? ( on the way to the gate)....
I walked up to a gate for an ERJ145 ~25 minutes before the scheduled departure for an international flight. Boarding had completed. The agent was able to put me on the flight after a bit of initial pleading. I was very lucky.
YMMV depending on the agent and busy he or she is.
Do I have to go to the gate...or can I head to the first UA customer service desk I pass? ( on the way to the gate)....
If there is absolutely no one in line at the CS desk, go there. However, if there is even one person in line, I would go straight to the gate.
IME, the CS desk appears to have access to the same information as the GA, and if they take pity on you, can print you a boarding pass, without even hassling with the middleman of being put on the standby list first. Being a 1K might have helped, but I might have just got an accommadating agent...
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Duke777
I walked up to a gate for an ERJ145 ~25 minutes before the scheduled departure for an international flight. Boarding had completed. The agent was able to put me on the flight after a bit of initial pleading. I was very lucky.
YMMV depending on the agent and busy he or she is.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by david4455
Do I have to go to the gate...or can I head to the first UA customer service desk I pass? ( on the way to the gate)....
I think it's something of crapshoot. In my relatively recent attempt to be added to a standby list it took two agents at the UC two attempts and MUCH typing to actually make it happen:
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If I were you, I would forget the standby.
Who knows what will happen? Beside a "full" flight means limited choice of seat. Unless I am in IRROPS, I will not standby a flight without E+ at the least.
International flights are restricted to the departure gate 60 min prior to departure time. Domestic flights are restricted at -30. What this means is only the GAs at the departure gate can perform any type check-in activities. Being placed on the stand-by list is a check-in activity. But you can be put on stand-by in SEA for the IAH-BJX flight. Just make the agent puts the stand-by flight at the end of the itinerary and places an ARUNK after your confirmed IAH-BJX segment otherwise you risk SHARES cancelling you entire itinerary.
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I've been told by several CS agents that once the flight is under gate control that they can no longer add folks to the upgrade list. I'd go to the gate.
My experience flying from Vegas would be to checkin at the counter at the airport. Let them know you want to standby on the earlier flight and that you want your luggage checked on that one. They should be able to list you on standby then and get your bags on that flight (that way agents don't claim you need 2 hour to switch bags).
