I flew as a non-rever from birth until I was in college.. (1970-1992) Dad worked for an airline (American) owned catering company..

Ws *always* flew standby. When the flight was wide open, we got boarding passes and boarded with everyone else.. We *did* have to do the business atire (jacket and tie for me and my brothers, and my dad). However, since then,they have relaxed this rule. We always got meals, and we were certainly able to check bags.

But it was standby, so there were times were we jsut could not fly on the day we wanted to, or sometimes had to fly to/from a diffrent airport than normal.. We spent *lots* of time sittign in airports, and always go there very early. I think it wasn't until I was in high school that I flew on confirmed, paid ticket.

I'm surprised many people here say the benefits suck.. For us, it worked out OK. Sure, we had to wait a lot and to some inconvenient things, but for a family of 5, it was OK.. I've also talekd to a few people who used to work for AA, and they would tell me storeis about hoping on a plane to Vegas for a day just to gamble, or whatever.