LarryJ

There is no requirement for your bag to fly on the same airplane as you on domestic US flights. That went away when the TSA started doing 100% checked baggage screening over five years ago.

fastair

No requirement and no TSA requirement are not the same.

There is a UA requirement that you do not voluntarily separate from your bags (liability, MBTA reports....) Even if you asy 100% screening, there is a small security concern....the TSA is not foolproof, so the extra backup of having you not knowingly separate from your bag does provide a small additional security insurance.


Get your bag tagged for the earlier flight via a human, and sign the colunary separation in case you don't get on it.

It takes up to 2 hours on a good day to move a bag at ORD. They don't have 100 extra baggage agents running around the bag room looking for bags that meet your bags discription. Make it easy on UA to get your bag on the earlier flight by tagging it as such, and if the flight is open, you SHOULD have no difficulties.

bdeardorff

I've done this many times over the last few years. Just use the EasyCheck-in kiosks at the airport. Select standby for the earlier flight and one checked bag. The bag tag that prints out should say UA 432 - make sure it does as the agent is putting it on your bag. It will go out on that flight even if you don't, but keep that in mind if you don't want your bag hanging out at bag claim for an hour or two before your arrive. The nice thing about this is that even if you don't clear the standby list, your bag will already be there when you arrive.

notquiteaff

And at the customer service desk at SFO near the 80's gates there is a sign that basically says that with checked luggage you can only change your flight if there's at least two hours for the luggage to be moved to the new flight.

swdke

I am interested in the free same day standby option, but need to know how this works when traveling with luggage. I am flying DAY-ORD-DEN for a ski trip, and will be traveling with skis and gear luggage. I've not yet purchased my ticket. The fare for the flights I'd prefer is higher than the fare for a later flight. What I want to standby on is actually a connecting flight in ORD that I wish to take as standby. I am good with my first leg, DAY-ORD departure flight, so this first departure segment is a flight I want. It's the connecting flight in ORD that I want to standby for on an earlier flight to DEN. So, I figure I'll be purchasing the routing with the cheaper fare which has me taking a later flight from ORD-DEN, and hope to be lucky for standby on the eariler flight from ORD-DEN. I understand with standby, there's no guarantee I'll get on the earlier flight, and I am willing to accept this risk of being stuck at ORD and wait to take my scheduled later flight to DEN.

But, when traveling with luggage, I understand whether it be TSA rules or airline policy, that luggage must travel with the passenger. So when I check in at DAY, I need to ask to be on standby for an earlier ORD-DEN flight, but not sure if this can be done when traveling with luggage. When I check in, can I ask for my luggage to be taged with the earlier ORD-DEN flight I hope to get? And will they do so considering I am standby for my second leg connection flight and may not get on that flight, in which case my luggage makes the earlier flight, but I don't which then violates the must travel with luggage issue? The UA web site states you can try for the free standby option but does't clarify how this works when traveling with luggage.

One more question, if I can try for standby on a connecting flight with luggage, and I able to put in my request online using the online check-in feature on the UA website. If so, when can I go to the check-in site and request the earlier connecting flight, is it 24 hrs. prior to departure, or 3 hrs.?

Hoping someone here can explain how this works? Thank you.

cordelli

Luggage does not have to travel with the passenger, I've flown many times to have my luggage already at the destination because they put it on an earlier flight. The key is if the passenger makes that decision or not, if I miss a flight my luggage is on, they will probably pull my luggage off that flight. If they put it on a different flight, and I don't know that, that's OK.

I would try for the standby. Do it as soon as it's offered, if that's OLCI, take it then. When you check in mention you are trying to standby for the earlier flight, and they may tag your bags to hold at Chicago till you get a plane (not sure they can do that at Chicago, but some airports they will).

Even if they laugh at you, as soon as you get to Chicago, try to standby for the earlier flight again.

You may get lucky and in Dayton they will confirm you on the earlier flight, or you may end up on the flight you are ticketed on, but keep on trying.

If you have not done so, check the other ticketing sites like Orbitz and Travelocity and the rest, there are many times flights on .bomb will be one price, but on the other sites they have not yet increased the price of those same flights. Our trip this past weekend would have cost hundreds of dollars more per ticket had we booked it on UAL instead of Travelocity for the same flights. You may get the seats you want at the price you want.

lauti

I flew standby last week DEN-IAD as my original flight was delayed several hours. I asked the GA how it worked if I had luggage, assuming they would say I couldn't go standby, and he said it didn't matter.

I got to IAD and filed a baggage claim and had my bag delivered the next morning.

So, YMMV but it worked for me.

emcampbe

Lugggage does not have to travel with the passenger for domestic flights. As others have mentioned, your bag travels on the flight you are standing by for, whether you make it on or not. It is when flying to/from Canada when that doesn't work. In that case, they put an orange "standby" tag on your bag, and the flight number you are standying by for, along with the regular bag tag for the original flight. If you get cleared for standby, they call to the ramp and have your bag brought on the earlier flight.