Thomas Hudson

Furthermore, if you do not know the source of the buddy pass, you may find that you were scammed... Anyone who sells a buddy pass to a stranger is up to no good...

PainCorp

FYI he posted the same thing in the US, and WN forums. He's also asked about UA and AA passes....something sketchy is going on here.

brocklee9000

I agree. I had a roommate who was once scammed by a buddy pass offer. The scammer was good, sending his phone number, calling to confirm and explain how the pass worked, drafting up documents and scanning/emailing them. I'm not privy to all the details because I didn't want to dig into his wounds, but basically he lost $1200.

Panam Clipper

If you are thinking of buying a buddy pass from ebay I recommend you forget it. You may end up stranded far from home. If you have a buddy who works for Delta you can ask her these questions.

dtreece2

Hello,

NEW QUESTION:
(or maybe not...buddy pass thread was too long to catch all of the many posts)

SCENARIO:
Looking to travel to Harare and Nairobi for launch of a humanitarian aid partnership. We live in Europe, are easily accessible to Paris, Rome, or Amsterdam, but willing also to connect through Atlanta in order to make the savings. Wife is an adult dependent and I will be traveling on buddy pass.

QUESTION #1: Which is the best way to accomplish this in order to end up back in Europe, considering "delta metal", hubs, etc.?
[FCO/CDG/ATL/AMS>HRE>NBO>ATL/CDG/AMS/FCO]

QUESTION #2: We see a Delta flight should accomplish our goal, but are unable to select in TravelNet. Why is this and is there any way to book manually (ie. at desk or by phone/email)?

Dates are:
pre-8/1 (flexible by 3 days): FCO/CDG/ATL/AMS>HRE
8/10 (or 11): HRE>NBO
8/14: NBO to FCO/CDG/ATL/AMS

Thanks guys in advance for your help. This is greatly important.

-dtreece2

MSPeconomist

IIRC buddy passes must be used on DL operated flights, not partners and codeshares. I think the flights between Europe and Africa are all operated by AF or KLM, versus the DL flights nonstop/direct to Africa from ATL.

There can also be buddy pass embargoes on certain routes that are difficult, perhaps due to weather related weight restrictions. This might explain DL flights that cannot be selected.

Ask the giver of the buddy passes for help with this. In fact, shouldn't that person be using TravelNet?

cybershot

I'm aware employees receive 8 buddy passes per year.

For each of those 8 buddy authorizations, can each buddy use their pass as many times as they want?

Or is it 8 passes (i.e. 8 one-way flights) yearly distributed among 8 buddies in total?

I'm trying to fly family over here and I'm a bit confused.

Thanks

djk7

Welcome to FT!

Someone here might have the answer, but you might have better luck at a forum that is aimed at airline employees rather than customers.

http://www.airlinecrew.net/vbulletin...-Skyteam-Forum
http://www.cabincrew.com
http://www.pprune.org

WidgetKid

Simply put, no. A buddy pass is typically valid for 1 round trip or 1 one way trip. After that they disappear from the account and are no longer usable.

Also, Welcome to FT!

As a side note, some people on here get pretty fired up when questions about NRSA travel get discussed so if that happens, feel free to PM me with questions you may have.

us2

This is the correct answer, in all respects.

Welcome to FT! If I can be of any help at all, please feel free to PM me as well.

mikehillwig

I've flown as a nonrev before (on another airline) and it's not all it's cracked up to be.

You're on standby, meaning you might get there today, or you get there next week. More importantly, if the gate agent doesn't like the wrinkle in your socks, you may not be permitted to fly in the front of the plane.

After my first experience, I decided it was cheaper and easier to just buy the damn ticket.

Vuelos

very true, from what I've heard. When I was in college and flying on a buddy pass, I was told by a ticket agent that I had to have leather shoes to fly. I bought some in the airport.

PainCorp

I would suggest asking whoever gave you the buddy pass.

Fly So Free

Would advise you to check advance purchase fares if this trip is several weeks out, confirmed space is often not that much more than what one pays for a buddy pass these days....

PRWeezer

After my first buddy pass experience, he decided it was cheaper and easier to put a ring on it.

ETA: Trying to be helpful...OP do a search for buddy pass/passes & you'll find a wealth of information...some of it good, some of it completely incorrect. Of course, as said, your first point of contact should be the employee providing the passes. But if you're trying to learn the general ins and outs you might find some productive information here. You'll also find disdain for pass riders and many conspiracy theories related to said pax...don't let it get you down.

Welcome to FT, and Godspeed.