Here is the situation...

I am ticketed on a fare connecting through EWR that states in the rules that stopovers are not permitted.

Can I use same-day standby to leave my origin earlier in the day so I can spend about 8 hours in EWR, giving me the chance to head into the city to meet friends for lunch. Example - I am ticketed on a 4p flight which connects with a 6p, but I want to take the 9a as a standby and still leave on my original 6p flight.

I am concerned that either the agent at my origin station who clears the standby segment is going to insist on clearing or listing me for an earlier connection home, or I might have boarding problems on my final segment if the system detects I actually stopped over for well over 4 hours.

Or...am I worrying over nothing, and can just take the early flight and not worry about it.

Should be fine. They may try to clear you on the second segment thinking they're doing you a favor, but just insist you want to be cleared on the first one only.

Thanks Channa! Looks like brunch at Norma's this weekend

I have done this out of ALB on a RJ many times.

generally works just fine.

Just a word of caution: Sunday is mothers day and bruch reservations have been booked for weeks. I dont remember if Norma's takes reservations or not, but if they do you might be in trouble. If you do manage to eat there, make sure you get the Normas eggs bennedict special. They substitute the english muffin for a pancake and its out of this world...

Yikes!! I forgot it was mother's day (which is big trouble for another reason, thank you 1800flowers). I tried Norma's on a mother's day a couple years back and they basically said (at noon), don't bother coming, as they will be full till closing. I have waited anywhere from 30 to 90 mins for a table, and that was a normal sunday. The benedict is awesome, and so is the oatmeal with sliced fruit and the scramble egg quesadilla and the macademia pancakes and the....well...everything there is awesome

I guess I will find someplace else...maybe sushi Who takes their mom for sushi? Should be fairly quiet.

Thanks to everyone for the advise on the stopover... I will try it out.

Too we dont have a Pappa Deaux here in NYC...

good thing 1800 flowers gives miles, one of my friends was ordering flowers, and wasn't doing so through the miles program... I told him he was wasting money!!!!

Not only is it doable, it put me into my own bed. how so, glad you asked.

I has a res for the red-eye LAS-EWR and then connecting to another flight down the East Coast Seaboard. I ended up standing-by and getting on a 7am flight to EWR where I was picked up went home took a shower caught up on my mail had left to LAX a few days B4, went to sleep in my own bed got up the next morn drove myself to EWR parked and caught my flight as I was suppose to had I done the red-eye. This trip was a MR nested into my EWR-LAX trip.

So if they allowed that I cant see them not allowing the OP do as he wants to. NOTE; some fares do not allow any standing-by or any type of change, I was on a very cheap fare to boot

This is straying off topic, but those miles ain't free. Many web links to flower sites give 10%-20% off if you don't use a mileage portal. American Express's Offer Zone, for example, gives 15% off 1-800-FLOWERS. I'll take the cash over the miles...