pomcoach

We booked with United for a June flight to Tampa. Our flight was originally flying out at 1:15, but now they've changed it to fly out at 1:49. I remember once my hubby and I went to the airport a few hours early and they said we could standby for an earlier flight. We got to our destination a couple of hours early and it was great, and best of all, free.
So this time there's a 10:45 a.m. flight out, and I was hoping to standby for this earlier flight. But my husband called, and they told him there'd be a $50 extra charge per person if we tried the earlier flight.
So is the free "standby for an earlier flight" gone now? Boy, if so, that's too bad. That's one of the reasons I liked to book with United. They seemed to be one of the only airlines that offered that opportunity.
Anyone had any experiences with this lately?
Thanks,
Pomcoach from Iowa

Cholula

This thread is better suited to the United Mileage Plus forum so we'll switch it over there.

______________________________
Cholula
CommunityBuzz! Co-Moderator

JAaronT

Roll of the dice standby is still free to anyone who wants it. A confirmed same day change within 4 hours of the flight you would like to take is $50, provided the right seat is available.

TA

there is only a $50 fee if you want to be confirmed on the earlier flight -- i.e. booking in advance over the phone if there is available space, and you don't wish to be in uncertainty until the time of departure of that flight.

If you go to the airport and wait at the gate as a standby, that is still free.

SEA1K4EVR

Standby at the airport is still free. The $50 is for what United calls "confirmed standby" where you can get an earlier flight confirmed if you call within 4 hours before departure as long as there is space available. You cannot request regular free standby over the phone so that's probably why the agent told you about the option with the $50 fee. You can only do free standby using online checkin or at the airport.

FlyinHawaiian

Welcome to the United Mileage Plus Forum.

It's a combination of answers. The simplified answer is yes, one can standby for an earlier flight (with certain restictions) on the same day for free; what United offers as an additional option is to confirm a seat on an earlier flight for $50.

Please see the following thread from the Forum FAQ for more information:

Everything you wanted to know about the $50 confirmed standby:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=509034

FlyinHawaiian, Co-Moderator
United Mileage Plus Forum

CMHFlyerOH

Yes, there still is free standby. The $50 fee that the agent mentioned over the phone is the so-called "confirmed standby" that allows passengers to pay $50 and be confirmed a seat up to four hours ahead of the flight they want, pending availability, and not have to risk being denied a seat during the standby process. You can check flight loads on seatcounter.com the morning of the flight and if it reads Y9 you should be fine just taking the free standby in most cases.

Nimrod

I've been successful with a free standby for earlier four times in the last ten months on United.

mikew99

Just to clarify: The $50 option that most of us here call "confirmed standby" is actually referred to by UA as "same-day travel change". There's actually no standing by involved. You call UA up 4 hours before the flight you want, pay the $50, and you're confirmed on the flight.

The free option really is standby: You ask to be put on the flight after you show up at the airport. Your name goes on a standby list. There's no charge, but you might or might not make it on the flight.

Explore SE Asia

I would see if you can change your reservations due to the scheduling change. Make sure that you determine the optimal routing for you prior to calling.

Explore

Schedule Change, opportunities? http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthrea...chedule+change

PS If the schedule change was over 90 minutes, it would be easy. Not sure about 34 minutes. Does the schedule change force a change in your connecting flights? How late do you arrive at your destination? If the schedule change pushes you into rush hour traffic at you destination, you would have a better argument.

PPS I would also verify that my seat assignment has not changed with the schedule change.

1cericks

I would agree with trying the schedule change tactic and getting a confirmed change with no cost. Otherwise, check seatcounter.com 4 hours before the flight. If it's pretty full, I would suggest paying the $50 for confirmed standby. Twice recently I have tried to risk it and save the $50 and ended up spending an extra 2 hours at the bar. There's also a slight risk that the flight could have some open seats but if things are hectic or they're behind at all, they'll leave before processing all the standbys.

UpstateNY

FWIW, I was told a couple of days ago that they waive the $50 charge for 1K's.

pomcoach

What is a "1K" in the quote above?
I am so glad to hear that there is still free standby with United!! The schedule change United has made is really not much difference at all, and I'd feel silly making a fuss about a half hour, so I won't be doing that option. We also do not want to pay for $50, since there are 3 of us and we are cheap! But thank you so much for all the knowledge that I may need for future flights.

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful information!! My head spins with all the smarts about flying, on this website! It is amazing really.
I think what we'll do is try to arrive for the earlier flight which is at 10:45. We'll check in our luggage and see if we can standby free for the 10:45 a.m. flight. If we don't get on, we'll leave and go have lunch and return for the 1:49 flight. My Mom lives by the airport, so we can go take them some ice cream for a quick visit.

OK, now next question: If we do get on the earlier flight, and arrive at O'hare earlier than planned, is there any hope of getting on our next flight any earlier? We go from DSM to O'hare, then O'hare to Tampa. Does standing by for an earlier flight only work well when you only have 1 flight? Or does United fix everything to let you fly on both flights and arrive at Tampa (our final destination) earlier? Hope I have not confused everyone.
Thanks for everyone's help!
Pomcoach

UpstateNY

1K is the highest level of elite status that can be earned by flying a particular number of miles or segments. (There's a higher tier called Global Services, but that's invitation-only, based on some secret formula, probably involving some combination of annual spending and buying full-fare or premium cabin tickets.) UA doesn't have nice sensible names for its elite tiers, like silver, gold, platinum. Instead, the names are premier (2P), premier executive (1P), and premier executive 1K (1K). The abbreviations in the parentheses are both FT shorthand and internal UA computer codes.

SEA1K4EVR

Yes you can stand by for an earlier flight from ORD-TPA if there is one. Assuming you have luggage to check, you will need to be sure to tell the agent when you first check in that you are standing by for the earlier flights..that way they can tag your bags on the earlier ones (they'll usually do this for you especially if your chances of clearing look good). Be sure to use online checkin the day before to check everyone in..and during checkin click on the standby button and get yourself on the standby list for the flights you want.