Welcome to FlyerTalk!!
Originally Posted by
Hartmann
It is free to be added to a regular unconfirmed standby list, but you will be charged $50 if you clear the list ($25 for Continental Gold and Platinum elites.) At least, this is how I understand it.
Sortof. You actually have to "pay" in advance now in the form of giving your CC# to them, even if they cannot confirm a seat for you. They only charge you if you are confirmed on the flight. So either way you don't pay if you don't get on the earlier flight, but you do have to give them the ability to charge you in advance so it isn't being dealt with at the gate.
Originally Posted by
COpltASgldPHX
Same-day confirmed change would work in this case, but the choices are limited. The OP didn't post details but let's assume the original flight is scheduled to depart @ 7:05 PM Friday night. The "same-day" change cannot be confirmed until 7:06 PM Thursday night and only for flights departing between 7:06 PM Thu. and 7:06 AM Friday. This leaves the OP with only 1 departure option Thu. night - the 8:45 PM. This would have to be done at the airport since it only leaves a 1 hour 45 min window between the SDC and the departure time.
Again, sortof.
The OP can actually start calling at 12 hours prior to the new flight time, and the new flight time has to be within 24 hours of the original flight. What I'm not certain about is whether the OP can take the same flight the day before or whether they have to take a flight after that one. Assuming that the same flight is actually OK, the OP could start calling at 7:06am on Thursday morning. They don't have to wait until the time of the actual departure.