Ok, be gentle. I am a fairly experienced traveler but have never - ever - in my life - done standby and am a bit confused on how it works.

After some "interesting" threads about UX/Mesa (which I have also never used) I am getting a bit concerned about a connection on a MR next week. I go from ATL to IAD on Mesa with about a 45 minute window to connect onward to LAX on mainline. I assume that Mesa uses the infamous Terminal G and I would have to "people-move" over to C/D. I see an earlier Mesa flight ATL-IAD that would give me a couple of hours cushion for my next flight and am wondering about standing by for that earlier flight.

How does one get on "stand by" for an earlier flight? Can I call the 1P line or must it be done at the airport? I understand that I can "confirm" a standby by phone for a $25.00 fee, but that would impact my $/mile. On the other hand, at 6'5" I wouldn't mind actually locking in one of the 3 or 4 seats I can actually sit in on a CRJ. I have done that on my ticketed flight.

So. How does this stuff actually work? I figure it can't really be all that difficult - after all, look at all you guys who do it all the time.

JR

In general, it must be done at the airport (some phone agents can do so, but in practice will not).

You can call the 1P number to ask about what your standby chances look like on the earlier flight to judge whether or not it would be worthwhile to show up at the airport to attempt the standby. Mr. Chicken may offer you the chance to standby when you check in, and a human can certainly place you on standby either at check-in or at the gate or RCC.

I have yet to utilize the $25 confirmed standby so cannot offer advice therein.

Thanks

You should make sure to get your "DM" card when you ask to go on standby. This lists (among other things) the flight you are confirmed on adn the one you are standing by for as well as your boarding priority (probably BP5) and your MP status.

And, of course, don't check luggage.

You can check luggage, but make sure to ask to standby at check-in; the agent can tag your bag appropriately. If you don't do this, GAs will be much more reluctant to let you stand by.

They will put on a bright orange tag that says "BP1/BP2". IME this works better than actual priority tags

On a MR? Never.

I've always wondered what good those things are. I get them a lot when waiting for upgrades and have never had to do anything with them. Usually wind up just throwing them away. I guess that shows how often my upgrades clear if they haven't already cleared at 72 hours.

JR

Speaking of stanby's, how does United's BP work... what does each tier mean? (BP5...BP6?..)

You could check out the following thread

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=350081 amongst others

Jeff