Originally Posted by last2board
It is important to remember that if you get stuck, buying a tkt home and/or paying for hotels/meals while you wait out a backlog could cost you more than buying a tkt in advance. My son's sister-in-law once had to buy a full Y tkt home from Japan because she had to get back to work. You have to weigh your risk tolerance before you leave home.
Good points.
Employees have it a bit easier because they are allowed to purchase backup tickets for standby travel on other airlines. Therefore, it is not at all uncommon for someone travelling to FRA to buy backup standby tickets on any combination of carriers that can get them home. They pre-pay for them, but are permitted to get 100% refunds if the tickets go unused.
Companions don't have that luxury, so as
last2board mentioned, you would have to buy a walk-up full fare ticket to get home for that important meeting on Monday...