Originally Posted by v1rok
We could get a few UA standby companion tix soon. My wife and I were planning to fly to Europe for a week or so this summer. Are we crazy even thinking about doing it on standby companion tix? Anybody has done this? We don't really care much about destination: London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam are all good. (Once we are there we can either get a car or take trains.) We are not far away from IAD, so there should be a bunch of non-stops across Atlantic. This should make it easier, right? What is the best city to try to fly stanby to in July or August? Also, my wife has a lowly Premier status on UA. Would this help?
In general, yes, unless you have lots of time and can be flexible. Travelling mid-week can be easier than on Fri/Sat/Sun. While the weak dollar might cause some US travelers to avoid Europe, the strong British and Euro will definitely entice people on the other side of the Atlantic to visit in droves. August can be even worse because many people in places like Spain and Germany take weeks of vacation and travel.
Still, nothing beats buying a seat early and not having to worry about getting on. And this is huge coming from an employee who stands by. I have been stranded before, and I know of fellow co-workers who have been stranded for days on end. It only gets worse before it gets better because once the standby list grows due to people not getting on on previous days, it just gets longer and longer until revenue passenger demand falls off.
Oh, and you don't get miles for flying standby.
