Originally Posted by
JDiver
Did I mention the word “headcount” anywhere? I’ve been flying AA for decades, nearly two as EP. Though there’s one consistent thing with AA, inconsistency, I’ve certainly been there at T-15 for last minute upgrades abd seating as a standby. Or watched as they began to shut things down for departure - and early departures are not uncommon, even when someone originally booked failed to show.
You specifically said, "If you’re not at the gate by T-15 (referencing the original time of departure), you can and most likely will be dropped from the manifest and standbys ..."
Who here makes sure to be at the gate at T-15 of a delayed flight for fear of being offloaded? No one.
Originally Posted by
Often1
Nobody gets "randomly booted." Where exactly is it that you think that standby seats become available at the last minute from full or even overbooked flights? No shows just like OP.
Nobody gets booted because they "no showed" at T-15 of the originally scheduled departure time of a delayed flight. You're conflating two different scenarios.