WHAT "airport standby list"??? I've seen several occasions where the person must go to the service center (or counter) and give a CC# to pay the SDC fee, and if cleared, (same class or not), the card is charged. A person whose flight gets in earlier or gets through Customs early cannot go on an earlier flight, and must wait. Only if one's flight is delayed does it seem that one may grudgingly get an agent to allow a change without a fee. There really is no such thing as an airport standby list anymore in the minds of most gate agents. I've even heard them tell elite passengers that. I hope they weren't Plats, who do have some benefit in that matter! It's pay-to-change only, it appears.

On a similar vein, the old "two hour standby rule" if one misses a flight, even mentioned in the SDC page on continental.com, has been vehemently denied by gate agents. I've seen them demand the full $150 change fee, or the $25 SDC fee from the passenger, and if the next flight is the next morning / next day, even tell the passenger to go buy a whole new ticket -- no 12 hours grace overnight! And if they confirm them, "as there is no domestic standby, sir", then the fee is charged. Bad PR!

If one tries to cancel a last-minute flight booked within 24 hours (should be fully refundable by the 24-hour ticketing cancellation policy...72 international) and rebook to the flight one wantsso so as to not have to pay the SDC or something like a $150 change fee if "non-refundable", and get blank stares or silence from the agent. You'll have to do it online.

IMHO, CO has an agent consistency and education issue, both on the phone and at the airports. Or is it just we who are confused? I've seen several folks request clarification at the HOU DO IV, and I hope it gets addressed.