It is possible but it all depends on so many factors such as...
Are you staff or relative? Do you or your relative work for Lufthansa or another airline? Is the flight overbooked? Is there a lot of cargo load between these destinations?
All these factors give you more or less chance to be stuck with a stand-by ticket.
Personally, I've never had issues in the summer months to travel long haul. Only the touristy destinations on short haul in Europe are risky to take with staff travel. I've only been stuck once to Africa during Christmas time and from Athens to Brussels during summer time.