There always was an exception for red-eye flights (12am-3am departures).

And, under the new rules you actually can catch the 11:55 the night before your scheduled departure. If you are booked on the 11:37am and want to fly out on the 11:55pm the night before you are within 24 hours of your scheduled original departure. The tricky part is that technically you cannot confirm it until you are within 12 hours of your original departure time, which would be 11:37pm the night before. That puts you in a tough position of trying to get the GA or the Elite desk to process the change 18 minutes prior to departure. Of course, this will all stop being a problem in a couple months when RNO-IAH shuts down.

OK, I have some questions and gripes. I just tried to change my flight tomorrow afternoon to a slightly earlier one. Here's what I found:

1) No offer to do that at online checkin. "Starting June 24th, the ability to request same-day flight changes will be available when checking in at continental.com. " Bah, humbug.

2) Scott, you said "You’ll be able to confirm same-day flight changes within 24 hours of your original scheduled departure. Within this 24-hour “same-day” window, you’ll be able to change to any flight up to 12 hours before its departure for the discounted fee."

I was just told by an Elite agent that their guidelines preclude me getting the earlier flight because my original class of service is not available. NOWHERE in either your statement or the explanation of this and associated FAQs on Continental.com is this mentioned. What's up with that?

I am not a happy camper.

Yes, Totoro, in a scenario like this it would be considered “involuntary standby,” and would therefore be exempt from this fee.

To clarify, our policy for when you’ve missed the check-in cut-off for your flight hasn’t changed with this introduction of this new policy. Our same-day change option is available only until your original flight is closed for check-in. After that, beyond our two-hour rule, the normal change fees associated with your fare will apply.

Yes, SAT Lawyer, that’s correct.

Hi jjgollum, at 7am. While you can confirm same-day changes within the 24 hour "same-day" window, you can only choose from flights that depart within 12 hours of when the request is made.

You’ll automatically be added to the upgrade standby list on your new flight when making your change via kiosk or online check-in. If making the change over the phone, you’ll be added to the upgrade standby list when you check in for your flight. If you're making the change with one of our airport personnel, be sure to ask to be added to the upgrade standby list on the new flight (upgrade requests aren't automatic in these cases).

Hi FT Lurker, sorry for the confusion. You shouldn’t have been charged to stand by in this case. Please send contact our Customer Care department at 800-WE-CARE-2 to request a refund. If you have any problems, please send me a PM.

Hi gary_nj, since you purchased your ticket before this policy went into effect, you should be permitted to stand by for free. Our kiosk and online check-in systems have been programmed to recognize this automatically. If you're requesting to stand by with our airport personnel, you may need to point out to them the date of your ticket purchase.

Hi Bonehead, as of a few minutes ago, this is now available via continental.com check-in (a day behind schedule). Our kiosks have also been updated, and of course, you can also handle same-day changes over the phone by calling your local Continental reservations number.

Hi Bonehead, please remember that you may only switch to flights departing within 12 hours of when you're making the request (I say this because I see that you're booked well over 12 hours from now). Within 12 hours we automatically open up all main cabin classes of service for any flights that are still booked below capacity. That means a flight that's outside of the 12-hour window may not be available in your fare class now, but will be opened up at the 12-hour mark if it's indeed booked below capacity in the main cabin.

Questions:

1. If I am on a connecting flight and request the 12 hour change from my original departure flight, does this also apply to my 2nd segment at the same time that the 1st segment is confirmed? The second segment may then be more than 12 hours from the time for the original second segment? If you are able to confirm the 1st segment but not the second then it does not make sense to pay the $50/25, since you may have to wait at the connecting city for the original second flight?

2. What I read is that you can request the change at 24 hours before original departure time, but it will not be confirmed until 12 hours before the new flight time - true? Then if confirmed you would need to go back online 12 hours before new flight and select your seat for the new flight?

I chose my handle for a reason...

This is great news, I was afraid CO was going to start charging me for just doing my best to navigate EWR and all of its associated fun.

Bump - may want to merge with the new thread started.

^^^to the 12hr window.

BOOOOOOOOO to the 25$ for gold (me) and Plats to stand-by. Seriously CO just became more draconian than DL.

Scott please express my displeasure to the powers that be.

I phrased my question poorly. I meant to ask about the new SDC fee if we've OLCI for our flight and miss it (due to TSA, traffic, running on a bum leg, etc). I've run up to the jetway door, boarding pass in hand, with scant minutes to spare and could just as easily have missed my flight.

Hi cova, the fees apply to the entire trip, including connections (even if the connection is more than 12 hours out).

This one was definitely a tough one to word. The 24-hour mark refers to the earliest point before your original departure that you can make a same-day change. Inside of this 24-hour "same-day" timeframe, you can confirm changes to any available flight departing within a 12 hour radius. I hope this clarifies.

Hi Totoro, whether you've missed the check-in cut-off or the boarding cut-off, the same 2-hour rule is supposed to apply. As I mentioned before, we haven't made any changes to our policies regarding missed flights.

hi,
But what about this case: If i know ahead of time that my original flight is delayed (awaiting inbound aircraft or w/e) and there is an earlier flight. I need to reach my destination in time in order to make a connecting flight. Would continental still charge the $50 to be on stand by for the earlier flight or would this also be an "involuntary standby"? If the $50 still applies , would'nt it cost continental WAYY more in hotel fees/transportation since it was their fault that i missed my connecting flight and not weather/ ATC? (this is taken that i refuse to pay the 50$ )

I now see the option with OLCI. However, it says $50 rather than $25. What gives?

Not that I would ever do this. I refuse to pay for something that should be free.

The same-day flight change option will be available within 24 hours before your original scheduled flight. Inside of this timeframe, you can try to take an alternate flight so long as it departs no more than 12 hours from when you are making the request.

So if I understand this correctly: If I have a flight tomorrow at 8AM and want to go today at noon, I can by just paying 25 bucks?

This is a brand new fee in the industry and totally changes the rules. I'm sure others will follow...

I just wish they would exempt Plats.

It is not a new fee. They increased the fee (from $25 across the board for confirmed standby, now raised to $25 Plat/Gold, $50 Silver/Non) and increased the window of opportunity (used to be same calendar day flight with request made within x hours of flight).

In doing so they took away the free same day standby (note that the new fee is not for standby, but rather for getting a seat... you standby for free, but the second they confirm a seat for you, they ding you for the $25/50) that pretty much nobody else in the industry offered.

I don't expect to see a lot of airlines follow because they didn't follow the $25 confirmed standby prior to the change and this is, in reality, not that big a change from before. ETA: Plus, while it's a fee increase and kind of a wash regarding less restrictive/more restrictive policies for CO, adopting such a structure would be a fee decrease and a less restrictive set of policies for pretty much all other airlines, and therefore not the direction the airlines are going.