Guest post: Standby? Check status
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Wineblogger and friend of Upgrade: Travel Better Dr. Vino pays us a visit today with this report from the field.
On Friday afternoon, I made my way to LaGuardia to catch my American flight to O’Hare. Since I knew I would be cutting it close with my appointment soon after scheduled arrival, I tried to go standby the hour earlier flight.
No dice.
During the check-in on AA.com, there was no option to fly stand by on an earlier flight. When I got to the gate of the 2 PM flight, the agent told me it was unlikely that I would get on the flight.
“Would it have mattered if I had gotten on the list when I did the check-in on the web site,” I inquired?
“Nah,” she said glancing at my ticket. “You don’t have status.”
Truer words were never spoken. In the ensuing half hour, I became enthralled with my plunging fortunes, prominently on display for all in the gate area to see (providing they could work out the short form of my name). I started in slot #6, which struck me as distinctly possible.
Soon I was at #7, then #11. Then, suddenly and inexplicably, I plunged to #24. An entire bus of passengers with “status” (in the frequent flier program) must have arrived. When I saw my fortunes rise only marginally to #22 I knew it was time to pony up for the wi-fi and settle in a few gates down.
Stand-by, it’s not just a function of being early. It’s a function of being big.
– Tyler Colman, a.k.a. Dr. Vino
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April 17th, 2007 at 10:30 pm |
And NWA announced today that they will no longer offer a free standby option. It’s $25 to standby, whether you do it online or at at the airport. Unless you’re elite, of course, and then it’s free.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:59 pm |
After status, one of the next ranking factors on the standby list is check-in time — NOT the time added to the standby list. Check-in online 24 hours in advance, and at the airport ask to be put on the standby list. Within your status class, you’re likely to get the highest rank.
Don’t forget that you can take an open seat on any flight of the day that you’re ticketed for $25.
Never give up hope until the gate door has closed — most of those people with status become overwhelmed in insipid cell chatter and don’t hear their name called for a boarding pass.
Status is a huge factor on the list, but as any frequent AA traveler will tell you, this is well deserved. AA is the Wal-Mart of airlines — my flights average 20% on-time ratings and are canceled at least once a month. They have never apologized for anything; for example about 8 months ago I boarded an American Eagle flight where the toilet was spewing out waste, and even with all of the passengers complaining, the flight attendant sprayed perfume throughout the plane while informing us that “we can’t delay our departure because of sewage on the carpet.” This wasn’t the only problem of the day — the earlier departing flight had been canceled after sitting at the gate for two hours while mechnics troubleshooted a faulty indicator light. If I were an occasional traveler, and had paid the $400 to fly on a plane only to leave smelling like I bathed in feces, AA would never have my business again.
Occasionally I am amazed by exceptional employees, but overall it is a horrid experience. The former TWA employees continue to have attitude issues — there are absolutely abysmal NYC and St Louis gate agents that I watch in horror as they yell at customers, completely unprovoked. If I lost the AA status perks, I would jump to another airline immediately. Non-frequent travelers are quick to complain about the perks of status, but fly AA regularly and you will understand.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:54 am |
I have tried on several occasions to use the paid confirm on an earlier flight with United and they do not make it easy. Amazingly there is no option to pay when you check-in at the kiosks in Baltimore. However Delta actively presents the $25 option when you check in, which is a great way for Delta to get the extra money and saves me from having to find the ticket agent that knows there is a $25 option on United.
It amazes me that United makes it so much harder to get a confirmed seat on an earlier flight for $25. I would think they would want that money, but maybe they are too busy making sure all the prezels are off their short haul flights.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:23 pm |
[…] axes its standby program While yesterday’s guest blogger Tyler Colman couldn’t hop on the earlier flight of his choice on American Airlines, he should thank his lucky stars that […]
May 11th, 2007 at 9:19 pm |
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October 3rd, 2007 at 7:38 pm |
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