I have been placed on S3 standby. Can someone please explain to me what S2, S3, and S4 standby are and their difference?

Thanks,
Jwhuffman

When my son worked for Comair and we flew standby a few times, S1 were the employees and their designated companion. S2 was the parent or if the employee did not want to use up their limited S1 points, S3 was the Buddy Pass--the free flight passes that each employee was given for friends and family. Don't know about S4. They were boarded in that priority--1,2,3. As 2s we got on every time--but mostly had to sit in the coach. I flew to Spain once in Biz.

Actually, S1 is a priority pass for DL employees, S2 is a slightly lower priority pass also for DL employees (these come in limited numbers for each year) S3 is regular non-revenue and S4 is buddy passes and other airline employees. S3B which is between s3 and S4 is for DL retirees. There are a few other variations in the mix but in general this is how it works.

Are you an employee or traveling with one? I can't think of any reason for anyone other than an employee to be an S3. Buddy passes are S4's, as mizzou miles said.

Non-employees flying to an interview or similar company business often fly S3.

The tier is very simple:

s1=highest priority standby (for emergencies and the like -- employees get these on merit and they are few and far between. I think they also apply if you need to head home due to a death in the family, but I'm not 100% sure one that.)
s2=priority standby (only for employee, companion, and dependent children -- They get something like 5 of these a year to put them above other non-revs that they would otherwise fall behind. These are useful when you need to get back to work and the flight is iffy.)
s3=regular employee standby
s3b=retiree & parents of employees standby
s4=buddy pass
s5=employees of other airlines on id90 tickets

All standby is determined by date of hire. So if there are 2 s1's on the flight, the one with the earlier hire date has first priority.

I hope this clears everything up.

I'm pretty sure this isn't true. They have to be there, so they aren't going to be flying standby.

Ted, is correct... I am going for an interview.

Thank you for all of your answers.

Jwhuffman

No he's not...he didn't phrase it in the form of a question.

"Alex, I'll take Delta potpourri for $300, please"

These are free? I know with TWA and then AA (only for a brief time) we had a fee to be paid for these. It ended up being like half the rt ticket price on transcon.

No, they're not free. Buddy pass holders must purchase a yield fare. It is something like 1 or 2 cents per mile plus taxes. I think it's 2 cents continental US (and maybe Canada) and 1 cent per mile if you go over water. Hence, it's not much more to fly to HNL than to LAX from the East Coast.

For DL, the yield fare on an ATL-LAX is something like $75 each way. That's especially good if you're going last-minute.

My mom always told me it was 10% of the walk up fare.

Good luck on the interview!

No, thats an ID90. That's for employees of other airlines. Buddy passes are on a yield fare.

Actually, it's immediate family. Parents & Kids.

->ComAirKid