So here is the sample scenerio. I am booked on a 6PM domestic flight. I finish work early, but they can not confirm a seat on the 4PM flight, even with the $25-50 fee. However, I am at the gate at 3:55 PM and there are empty seats. Am I expected to pay the $25 (I am a Plat) to get on that flight? If so, how, since the gate agents at EWR send you to a customer service area, far from the gate, usually with a crowded line, and no way of paying and getting back to the gate before the doors close?

Besides, this is crazy for CO in my opinion. By freeing up a seat on the later flight and taking an empty seat on an earlier flight, CO has the opportunity to sell that seat at the walk up, same day, rate. Who gains by sending out planes with empty seats?

1- actually CO does win, I know a large number of people (myself included) that would book the cheapest flight which alot of times are the late flights, then simply get to the Airport and do SBY for the flights we really wanted to fly on, sure we werent able to chose our favorite seats but for 100s of $$$ in savings it was worth it.

A GA told me last week that she doesnt handle any $$ fees at the Gate, if you werent on the SBY list via a kiosk or agent check-in or CS center , then no way will you be getting onto the flight as a SBY, that is unless youre a non-rev that doesnt have to pay. seems some non-revs have to pay and they too would have had to have paid before they hit the gate as well

To get on the list for standby you have to pay the fee. I do not know if the GAs will be able to process it or if you'll have to go to a service center. But if you show up 5 before departure and haven't paid the fee officially they aren't supposed to put you on the flight.

Any reason for a new thread instead of tagging this question on to the original thread discussing all the various permutations of the rule?

Another scenario is one that I occasionally find myself in. I'm returning home and my inbound to IAH gets in early, so by hoofing it I can get to the gate for an about-to-depart IAH-AUS -- they run pretty frequently -- instead of waiting for my later confirmed connection. Anyone have any recent experience with something like this?

Does getting in early count as "irregular operations"?

I've done this on numerous occasions on CO on IAH-AUS, or UA on ORD-EWR on longer-haul connections, just going up to the gate and asking and, almost always, accommodated no problem. If F is available, even the upgrade comes through but if not, hey I'm getting there earlier. Once in a while, flight is full or too busy to take me on, so I don't rant and rave or insist, but if they're not busy, they're usually more than happy to accommodate.

But have you done using a ticket purchased after the policy change? In the past it was a piece of cake, but I would imagine that it will be much harder these days, even on the "shuttle" flights that CO operates in some markets.

Have you tried doing this with a tkt purchased AFTER the SBY fees were put into effect. So say CO said fees apply with tkts purchased from 7/1 onwards (dont remember offhand the exact date). Before that it was just as you posted walk up and go SBY, after that date you arent suppose to be able to SBY unless you alreday paid the fee $25 or $50, which can Not be paid at the Gate

dont lnow how UA is handling things with SBY and if you have to pay for it or not

When we pay for flights it is withdrawn directly out of our paychecks. So for non-revs there is not an exchange of funds at the time of the flight, it comes out of our check the following month.

all the GA told me was that certain employees with 10 yrs+ dont have to pay, while the others do. So I assumed Wrongly that those who had to pay would have to endure the same procedure as we do. Thanks for clearing that up.

BTW what would be the case for someone who is looking to hitch a ride? say an employee of another carrier that either has to SBY at the Gate or had a confirmed seat say on a 6pm but wants to SBY and see if there will be any no-shows on the 4:30pm, either way being a non-rev?

I'm not sure exactly, but I believe when pilots and f/a's from other airlines non-rev on us they purchase a standby ticket from YYY-ZZZ. It is not a ticket for a particular flight, just particular city pairs. I also think it is not even date specific. Basically if a pilot or f/a uses us to commute to work (say a NW f/a living in NJ who commutes to DTW) and they have to go back and forth 3 times that month, they would purchase 6 standby tickets at the beginning of the month. 3 for EWR-DTW and 3 for DTW-EWR. Hope that makes sense.

A few things that come into play here:

1. Whats your OnePass Elite status? (Being a CO Platinum and CO*)

My experience has been that I have not ever been denied being able to stand by at the gate...(even after the new rules). I fly some busy routes...EWR to BOS & BOS to EWR and there are always lots of folks who arrive early and the gate agents always get people on earlier flights.

2. Do you belong to the Presidents Club?

The folks in the Presidents Club are 10x better, smarter, and nicer than CO folks working tickets counters and gate agents. There have been times that I have asked at the counter about standby on earlier flights and they tell me to go to the gate...well I just stop into the Presidents Club and they will take care of the request of either getting me confirmed on an earlier flight or placing me on the standby list.

I have only paid once for a standby fee of $25.00 (BOS to EWR)...

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'll try this out and report my experience if my upcoming inbounds arrive early.

are you talking about since CO recently changed the way they are handling SBYs or the old way from a month ago? Also any tkt that was purchsed by a certain date gets a free ride even if the actual flight date is after the system was changed. The new way even Plats have to pay but only $25 not the $50 that it went up to, the old way was $25 for a confirmed SBY and nothing if you rolled the dice at the gate, this was for everyone.

Yea I used to have both of my flights confirmed at the check-in counter when really only 1 for that airports departure should have been done and at the gate to boot. I dont expect to see that a happin any longer, again as CO starts to let its employees go those remaining will start to do everything by the book least they find themselves on he top of the list for the next round of lay-offs

The employees should be doing everything by the books regardless.