<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by terenz:
[b]AS's standby policy, at least in March, was free on day of travel (for earlier or[/i] later flights), $50 charge if you want it confirmed. It's even confirmed free in advance if you're lucky.</font>
The only exception to this are time restricted fares - ie. travel after noon, you cannot as of right standby in the am. I suspect this is waved regularly at the airport, especially to tier members.
AS truly has very fine customer service and service recovery initiative.