Ok, be gentle. I am a fairly experienced traveler but have never - ever - in my life - done standby and am a bit confused on how it works.

After some "interesting" threads about UX/Mesa (which I have also never used) I am getting a bit concerned about a connection on a MR next week. I go from ATL to IAD on Mesa with about a 45 minute window to connect onward to LAX on mainline. I assume that Mesa uses the infamous Terminal G and I would have to "people-move" over to C/D. I see an earlier Mesa flight ATL-IAD that would give me a couple of hours cushion for my next flight and am wondering about standing by for that earlier flight.

How does one get on "stand by" for an earlier flight? Can I call the 1P line or must it be done at the airport? I understand that I can "confirm" a standby by phone for a $25.00 fee, but that would impact my $/mile. On the other hand, at 6'5" I wouldn't mind actually locking in one of the 3 or 4 seats I can actually sit in on a CRJ. I have done that on my ticketed flight.

So. How does this stuff actually work? I figure it can't really be all that difficult - after all, look at all you guys who do it all the time.

JR