aceszhigh

Im AA plat and have a flight booked Wednesday at 4pm. I can't take that flight anymore. The Platinum desk rep told me a I can do standby for a LATER flight that evening free of charge, and then if I miss that flight Id be able to be rebooked on one the next morning. The rep didnt sound too confident in this though...

I thought same day standby was only for earlier flights. And I was surprised that rebooking would be free if I just miss my original flight and do standby on a later flight

Is this accurate??

aschuett

I thought so too, but apparently not:
http://www.aa.com/i18n/utility/sameDayTravel.jsp

Not so sure on the free rebooking, though. Interested to hear myself.

JDiver

Standby (allowed domestically) and Same Day Flight Change on AA are applicable to AA flights; AA and US are still operating as separate airlines with separate fleets and policies until October 17, so we will move this query to the proper forum for more views and greater likelihood of assistance.

/Moderator

flyingeph12

As a PLT, you can standby for earlier or later flights (non-elites can only standby for earlier flights). You have to call reservations and let them know you will not be making your original flight, otherwise your itinerary will be canceled. Also, note that standbys are prioritized by check-in time within elite status groups.

I don't know of any official policy that you automatically get rebooked on a flight the next morning if you do not clear same day. I have heard that you may be rolled over to the standby list for the first flight the next morning if you do not clear the last flight, but I have not had any firsthand experience of this happening.

jona970318

Not sure how the web function is working. In theory you could use the option on AA.com to stby for a later flight within 24hours of that flight

JDiver

Rather than standby, another option is to pay for a Same Day Flight Change and have a confirmed seat, rather than having to submit to the vagaries of standing by in these days of reduced capacity.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html

lrdpenn

I've done standby for a later flight a few times. I nearly failed to clear on the last flight of the day once. The agent said he suspected I would be rolled over to the first flight in the morning with the other standbys that don't clear (never mentioned being rebooked; I wouldn't expect that since your maneuver is all voluntary.) I can't confirm this would've actually happened though. If you can SDC online to the later flight you want but don't want to pay the fee, standing by comes with considerably less risk (as long as there are no ops issues for earlier flights.)

flyingeph12's advice matches my experience - It's very important to call ahead to let AA know you intend to standby for a later flight. The agent does some work to cancel your ticket but makes it easier for the check-in agent to pull it back up and put you on standby when you arrive at the airport. Sometimes phone agents aren't familiar with the later flight standby rules and say this can only be done at the airport. You may want to consider calling again in these cases so that nothing goes wrong, or you can also request your standby flight online. Also make sure to check-in exactly 24 hours before your original flight so you can be at the top of the voluntary standby list at your respective status level for the later flight.

ThreeJulietTango

If you didn't make it on the later flight, I think you would be rolled over onto the first flight of the next day as a standby, not confirmed.

As mentioned by other posters, you should definitely call to let AA know that you plan for standby for a later flight.