Originally Posted by
PAX62
If you were on a BS fare, did you check into just doing a full flight change? Often worth it rather than gamble on standby.
Because the standby list is so dynamic till the last second depending on who shows up when, that is about all the info they can offer...however if you have a cooperative gate agent you can ask the question to get an idea if there is a chance of standby:
Are there currently any open seats?
Anyone else on standby?
Where am I currently on the standby list?
...and the one most don't ask...are there any passengers for this flight NOT currently checked in?
I was one spot out of luck prior to boarding but one booked passenger had not yet checked in. The second they hit the 10 min no show window the GA bumped them and gave me the seat.
The early flight was sold out or I would have made the change of course. When I got my boarding pass at ticketing area the agent was optimistic about my chances but that is all they could offer.
I asked all of the above questions- in fact I was fairly insistent in trying to get info. The signal I clearly received was indifference ie. 'we will let you know'. If someone would have given me some info I could have made a more informed decision about whether it was worth hanging around or going to have lunch or kill time in a more enjoyable venue.
Again, this is one of the few times I had to fly standby and I was completely disappointed in how WN handled this. I frankly am becoming less and less of a WN booster over the decades I have been flying them, I am closer to MDW and love the point payoff of company paid BS flying but see less and less value/pleasure attached to travelling WN.. I forgo them when the WN BS fare is so exorbitant that I can often fly first class to destinations on legacy carriers at 1/2 the price which does seem a bit out of whack. Hoping to stock up my WN points for retirement travel but no longer am that guy extolling the WN virtues.