Travelers can choose standby flight for fee
More airlines are taking the stand out of standby travel - for a fee.
US Airways and American Airlines have begun offering travelers the option of changing their flight time on the day of travel without playing the waiting game at the airport. The cost is $25 for most domestic flights.
Instead of hanging around the ticket counter for an earlier flight, hoping they call your name off the standby list, travelers can change the flight over the phone or at check-in and get a confirmed seat if seats are available. American calls it confirmed flight change. advertisement
Tempe-based US Airways calls it space-available confirmed. Some other carriers already offer the option, although it is not widely known.
The fee likely won't sit well with travelers who have grown accustomed to standing by for free, but airline officials and business travel experts say the price is worth it for a confirmed seat.
Plus, the airlines note, the free standby option isn't totally going away.
The new US Airways, formed from last week's merger of America West and US Airways, still will offer an option of standing by for free, but only if the flight is full. American says travelers still can do traditional standby on any flight. American spokesman Billy Sanez said the change was driven by feedback from frequent fliers.
"A lot of customers have asked us to do this," he said.
The Dallas-based airline has quietly tested the program in several cities, including Phoenix, and it became popular with no advertising or publicity, Sanez said.
In researching the change, American asked fliers about the fee and most said it was feasible. A common refrain: that's the same amount they'd spend on dinner at the airport waiting for the original flight.
To offset high fuel costs and crushing losses, airlines in the past few years have added or began to enforce charges for everything from food to overweight bags. At the same time, they have cut back on such in-flight basics as pillows and magazines.
Most don't see this as part of the nickel-and-diming trend.
"Actually, it's a pretty good deal," said frequent-flier guru Randy Petersen, publisher of Insider Flyer magazine and creator of the popular Flyertalk.com Web site. "For most people, $25 is a very cheap price to get home hours and hours sooner."
Divide the $25 by how many hours earlier you get home, Petersen said, and it's well worth it. Most people spend more on snacks and Starbucks, he said.
Paying $25 also beats paying up to $100 and a fare difference to change your flight, business travelers say. Some change their tickets when their schedule changes just to get a confirmed seat and avoid the standby game.
"In the past if you had a non-refundable ticket, you had to pay the $100 change fee, which I thought was a real negative," said Phil Green, president of OB Sports Golf Management in Scottsdale.
Change fees still apply if you're changing dates or destinations.
Business consultant Alan Anderson said the $25 standby fee is one of the best frequent-flier changes unveiled last week by the new US Airways.
"Twenty five bucks for the average business traveler is not that big a deal," he said. "It's more important to get on the flight."
Airlines' policies on when and how you use the new option vary. US Airways will allow you to change to a flight within four hours of your original departure. You can do it by phone or go to the airport.
American doesn't have a time window that relates to your original flight but you must travel on the new flight within three hours of requesting the change on the day of travel.
Of course, the bottom line with the new program is that seats still have to be available on the flight you want.
Airlines flew packed planes all summer, and officials say demand is still holding up pretty well this fall.
