Originally Posted by
STS-134
I have *G status at UA, so I don't pay standby fees, but I'd be pissed if they did charge me. Prioritize by status? Okay sure. But outright charging for it is just a pure money grab, as it frees up seats on those later flights that someone else can then book.
Of course it's a money grab. The whole thing is a money grab. It's called a for-profit business. Why is that so surprising to so many people?
If they know they will NEED the seats later in the day (because of some IRROPs or pending weather or whatever), there's a good chance they will waive the standby fees. But they're not going to do it because YOU think someone else will book your vacated seat at a last-minute sky-high fare (which by the way, isn't even a given these days).