worldtrav

The dress code changed over a year ago, jeans are allowed in all classes of service.

djpc33

Omg I'm EI staff and a buddy pass rtn to the US is 180 euro and nobody moans at the fare , if they moan they are booking full fare , simple as that , try book a last min online in august and see how much you save lol

jhayes_1780

Glad this thread was resurrected.

I had a related question a while back, but forgot to post it.

I know you cannot "sell" your alloted passes. But you are allowed to recover your costs (like the OP's sponsors 275 deduction)?

FlightNurse

Yes, most employee's do it this way, since the cost of the ticket s deducted out of the employee's check. When I was younger I used my brothers D3 pass's all the and would pay him when I got back, the airline does not see this as "selling" the pass. I would assume that if the employee would sell the pass to someone for much higher then what the cost of the trip cost would be considered "selling."

It's not that I don't particularly distrust friends or relatives I "might" give a buddy pass to, but I prefer to get my money up front and I would NEVER overcharge or misquote the fare. We can look up the fares (including taxes) ahead of time. Obviously if they change their mind or don't get on, I will give the money back to them.
This way, I'm not "short" in my paycheck - and believe me, it gets deducted out right away (passenger travels on Saturday and it's been deducted out of my paycheck on payday (Thursday). It's not to say I haven't allowed payback after they flew (i.e., in a pinch, last minute), but if I can get it in advance, I always do.
Yes, I have known and seen cases where unsuspecting "companions" on buddy passes have been overcharged. In one case the poor guy and his four year old son were going to Accra and told us the employee (just an acquaintance) charged him XX dollars - the price was way above the companion rate posted but he didn't know it and had already paid the employee. The reason this was even asked by us at the ticket counter is because this guy had no clue how non-rev standby worked as it wasn't looking particulary good that night - he kept saying he paid XX dollars (expected to get on). The UA employee didn't bother to tell him anything; just took his money and lead him to believe all would be okay - that he would get on. Eventually he did get on. We gave the information to a supervisor who was going to contact the employee in question.
That's a pretty low maneuver to mislead someone and ask for more money. That employee (if still employed ???) is skating on thin ice.

By the way, USAir does it differently. One can non-rev list a buddy or companion. The person then pays the applicable companion fare at the airport when they check-in. No deductions come out of the employee's paycheck. The money is paid by the passenger at their ticket counter when they show up to standby.

B747-437B

Accra is ground zero for Buddy Pass fraud. It is not unusual to find dozens (or even hundreds) of people stranded at the airport when the tickets they had paid a dodgy travel agent thousands of dollars for turn out to actually be just buddy passes and the flights go out full in peak season. Some agents go so far as to create fake itineraries and e-ticket receipts for the price paid so the travel doesn't suspect anything till they get to the airport.

dranneb

Hi all: United used to have strict dress rules for employee pass travel; however recently these have been loosened to include denim(jeans) in United First Class & Business Class.
To verify these new dress rules, please see the following info at this link:

http://www.united.com/page/article/0...k=%2Fdresscode

I am a frequent United pass traveler, and heard that rules had changed, and they have. Hope this helps.

First

I am surprised by the number of companion pass travelers that evidently do not learn everything they need to know (and more) from the employee that is giving them the ticket.

worldtrav

Recently? A frequent pass traveler would know it's been over a year since the revised dress code was implemented.

stirdawg24

as a designated enrolled friend on UA, i was wondering if anybody knows if the rate is the same as the UA employee, ie. free, on domestic flights? thanks

CALMSP

for coach or first?

stirdawg24

coach.

cosflyer

enrolled friend pays the same as a ual employee, coach=free, premium cabins have a service charge and inputed taxes that appear in their W2s....partners brother works for ual and he gave me the low down, pretty sweet deal if you ask me

stirdawg24

awesome. thanks so much. another question: if i make the reservation for coach but once at gate only first class is available for standby, will a first class charge still apply... even though i had reserved and "wanted" coach?

worldtrav

Why don't you ask the employee that enrolled you as their friend?

stirdawg24

i already did and this is the reason i'm asking on here. he is new there, he doesn't know and there is no customer phone service... and he doesn't want to find out what's deducted "after" his paycheck has arrived. thanks.