29 people on standby and i was last..
 

I was on a flight from phx to den the other day on monday....there were 29 people standing by and i was last on the standby list. I was a list and i was a revenue passenger. About an hour or so before the flight they started to clear people and everyone was cleared except for me. I was the only one not cleared until everyone got on the plane and then I got the last seat. How come people were cleared gradually and not all at once after everyone has boarded? And what is the standby order for standby passengers? I checked in pretty early and was at the gate 2 hrs before the flight. I was using the a list standby option.

Delayed/canceled passengers from IRROPs can take priority on the standby list over a-list passengers at the discretion of WN or the gate agent. Non-rev employees needing to reposition can also jump the line as well. It's not as black and white as it sounds.

29 has the sound of IRROPS in it. Those people are displaced and get the first positive space before voluntary SB's.

Although slightly off topic, I observed that there was no standby list displayed on the monitors at LAX on Memorial Day. My wife and I were on on the standby list and I received widely different answers about our positions on the list (I am A list preferred, she my companion). The list length was described as any number from four to fifteen. And our positions on the list were described as from first to eighth. As it turned out, we both cleared the list along with three other passengers.

Here are a few other observations about this experience:

(1) there were some passengers being paged throughout the terminal for re-accommodations for, I presume, missed connections. This could explain a dynamic wait list. It might also explain the missing public display of the list.

(2) I told the gate agent that my wife and I would split up, if necessary. The agent was unsure if it were OK for a companion to fly without their partner. The gate agents had different opinions on this, so they called someone who confirmed that this was OK. Of course I do not know if this was simply a temporary waiver of the "companion must fly with partner" rule, or if this is policy.

Check in time for standby is irrelevant. A higher status A -Lister or reassignment can bump your position literally at the last second. I have been both the bump-er and bump-ee.

As mentioned, there is whole hierarchy to who gets those seats and it is not linear based on chronological check in.

If there are seats open they will start clearing a batch of standbys even prior to boarding, then if there are a lot of booked passengers but not checked in or known they will miss the connection they can clear another batch, then they will clear the rest with the 10 min rule rule and bumping those that no show checked in or not.

You can see the entire standby list and your position on the SW app if you are on the list.

There are 7 or 8 standby categories and A list is nowhere near the top.

Good info if that is true. I am long time A List Preferred traveling on BS fare and rarely need to fly stand by but was dismayed when I attempted top do so on a flight from Omaha to MDW. I was at the airport four hours before my scheduled flight and decided to chance getting on an earlier sold out flight. The complete lack of info and communication frosted me. ' We will let you know' was the only info shared. Not a list or any discussion of how many were on the list or any clue as to where my standing was. I waited around diligently and names started to be called after boarding. Yes four or five were called and I stood near gate thinking I was next. After the last passenger count I was told 'sorry out of luck'. All of this required my active questioning of the gate attendant who seemed indifferent to my situation. The boarders before me seemed to be business people so I did not get the impression (perhaps wrong) that these were passenger who missed flights or were re routed. When I saw I was SOL I went to the gate and asked politely if all of the allowed stand by's were A List Preferred and the agent did a double take and sheepishly said yes they were.

In short while I was not happy missing the flight I was really upset at how WN handled it, Maybe they need to make a priority option for people with BS? A published list and better communication should be SOP IMHO.

Anyway thanks for letting me vent.

If you were on a BS fare, did you check into just doing a full flight change? Often worth it rather than gamble on standby.

Because the standby list is so dynamic till the last second depending on who shows up when, that is about all the info they can offer...however if you have a cooperative gate agent you can ask the question to get an idea if there is a chance of standby:

Are there currently any open seats?
Anyone else on standby?
Where am I currently on the standby list?
...and the one most don't ask...are there any passengers for this flight NOT currently checked in?

I was one spot out of luck prior to boarding but one booked passenger had not yet checked in. The second they hit the 10 min no show window the GA bumped them and gave me the seat.

The early flight was sold out or I would have made the change of course. When I got my boarding pass at ticketing area the agent was optimistic about my chances but that is all they could offer.

I asked all of the above questions- in fact I was fairly insistent in trying to get info. The signal I clearly received was indifference ie. 'we will let you know'. If someone would have given me some info I could have made a more informed decision about whether it was worth hanging around or going to have lunch or kill time in a more enjoyable venue.

Again, this is one of the few times I had to fly standby and I was completely disappointed in how WN handled this. I frankly am becoming less and less of a WN booster over the decades I have been flying them, I am closer to MDW and love the point payoff of company paid BS flying but see less and less value/pleasure attached to travelling WN.. I forgo them when the WN BS fare is so exorbitant that I can often fly first class to destinations on legacy carriers at 1/2 the price which does seem a bit out of whack. Hoping to stock up my WN points for retirement travel but no longer am that guy extolling the WN virtues.