I have the option to book standby flights for very cheap through a friend using ZED.
I however have a hard time understanding how to book to make sure I don't get bumped for days.

Let's say NYC - Vegas has 2 direct flights,
And NYC - DFW - Vegas has 8 flights a day.
Would it be better to book direct with 1 chance of getting bumped OR
Book with more legs and if bumped, more changes to catch the next flight?

Hope I make sense.

Thanks for your help!

unfortunately there's no way of knowing in the abstract. look to see how many seats are available on the day you are trying to fly.
Also note you wouldn't be "bumped". One has to have a confirmed seat to be bumped. You have to accept the risk of getting no flight for days if you are going to do this, and your friend should explain that to you.

One thing about flying standby on a friend's pass is that making connections kind of defeats the purpose in many cases. While you'll have more options for flights that way, it's also doubling your cost(to the point at which the allure of cost savings is often negated). You also run the risk of being stuck somewhere other than your home or actual destination.

That said, when it comes to a place like Vegas, flight loads will depend heavily on what day of the week you're trying to fly. If you're expecting to leave Friday morning/afternoon and come back Sunday or Monday...good chance you'll run into problems. During the week you'd probably be alright.

First of all, there is no such thing as a "Buddy Pass" ZED (Zonal Employees Discount). Your friend must work for the airline for which he or she is providing you with a pass. ZED is only available to employees and retirees, and their dependents.

Secondly, your chances of getting on a DFW-LAS flight using a ZED ticket are slim to none. Those flights tend to be very full and your boarding priority will be after employees and retirees, and their dependents and "buddy pass" guests who are travelling on stand-by tickets.

Depends on the days you are flying too. I overheard some people talking and they did not make 6 flights from Vegas to Seattle flying standby. They had been in the airport since the day before. These were airline employees by the way. I just shook my head. Popular destinations it is very difficult to catch flights on standby.
They were all FINALLY deciding to buy tickets home, but even then, the flights were still full and they were "stuck" in Vegas for another 2 days before they could all get out.
Truthfully, I think I would have rented a car and driven by then.

Not quite accurate. The master ZED agreement makes provision for ZED to be issued by mutual concurrence between airlines to a generic "travel partner" who does not otherwise qualify under any family member or dependent definitions.

You got me. I neglected to specify registered companions. I thought that "dependents" covered those as the term encompasses spouses, children and sometimes parents for pass purposes. There is still no such thing as a ZED Buddy Pass.

This always seems crazy to me. Obviously depends on what airline you're flying, where you're flying from, and how many different possible routes there are...but still. If nonstop flights don't look good and you keep missing, fly somewhere else and try from there. In all the times I've flown standby in my life, I've never been "stuck" anywhere for days. Never even been delayed by more than 12 or so hours. I guess maybe I've just been lucky, though.

For instance around Christmas/New Years I was trying to get back to LA from NY. Was planning on leaving Sunday evening straight to LAX, but the two late flights were full. After missing the first one I decided just to go to SFO instead because there were seats there. Got in too late to catch the last LAX flight, so spent the night in the airport and was going to take the first flight in the morning. Come morning that flight wasn't looking too good and later flights were iffy, so decided not to chance it and went to SAN instead. Got in by about 7:30 am and just rented a car to go the last couple hours north. Was a bit dicey and had to take a crazy route to get there, but in the end it was less than 12 hours later by the time I got where I wanted to be, and didn't cost anywhere near as much as buying a last minute plane ticket for a transcon during the holidays. Or a hotel room for multiple days. Even the one way rental was just little over $100.

The most important things you need if you're going to fly standby are time, patience, flexibility. Also, don't fly standby if you're going somewhere you absolutely have to be. If its just a last minute weekend trip for fun, go for it. Sometimes the craziness and uncertainty can even add to that.

We had a guy who posted here a few weeks ago who was stuck in Europe for over a week with his wife and children because he had flown over on buddy passes and couldn't get back because flights were full. He was hopping all over the place to try and get back to DC, spending loads on hotels and probably coming close to a divorce. We never did hear how/if he got back, but in the end it probably would have been cheaper for him to have bought economy tickets outright! Just beware!

Do you have a link or recommended search terms?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/infor...uddy-pass.html

[Unduly personalized comment deleted by Moderator per FT Rules.]

I'll rephrase...I don't think his wife was too impressed with his holiday planning skills after the fiasco they had coming back home!

Much appreciated.