Flying Standby

[jakeybake]

Hi,

I'm using buddy passes on Jet Blue for my trip down in March. Has anyone every used buddy passes before and if so do you have any advice for me?

I'm a bit nervous about the potential to get bumped off of my flight. I have been checking the flights non-stop online and the flight I want to take home is down to only 20 available seat so I am freaking a bit.

Also, is there some sort of dress code I must adhere to since I am a guest of the airline?

Thanks to any and all who help!
Jay

[A Big Kid]

Family of a Continental Airlines employee here.

I would never try to fly standby into big vacation destinations like Orlando or Vegas. Of course, in this recession, it might be easier.

You mentioned dress. Your dress and your attitude is EVERYTHING. Dress nicely and be evenmnicer to all the airlines employees. (Dont think of it as kissing up--think of it as protecting your interests). You are at the mercy of the gate agent.

[jakeybake]

Family of a Continental Airlines employee here.

I would never try to fly standby into big vacation destinations like Orlando or Vegas. Of course, in this recession, it might be easier.

You mentioned dress. Your dress and your attitude is EVERYTHING. Dress nicely and be evenmnicer to all the airlines employees. (Dont think of it as kissing up--think of it as protecting your interests). You are at the mercy of the gate agent.

Thanks for the info. I'm going on a work trip and the difference in fare is $48 roundtrip with the buddy passes or $480 roundtrip without. I checked the flights and even though I have to leave Orlando 2 hours earlier then I would of liked, there are 60 open seats on both flights of the trip.

Jay

[spoiledraf]

My son in law is flying on a buddy pass this afternoon and it looks fine for him. He and my daughter have done it a few times, usually with no problem but always with a lot of worry. My son in law did run into a problem once and it took two days to get home. But that was holiday season. Good luck. I'd worry more about getting there than getting home!

[DizneyRox]

Why are you worried about airfare if it's a work trip? Can't you expense the trip? Didn't anyone ever teach you the in and out of business travel? :D

I agree though, I would never fly standby on vacation. Sure it's a savings, but my vacation is too important to leave up to chance. I'll go nuts if I don't get there...

[jakeybake]

Why are you worried about airfare if it's a work trip? Can't you expense the trip? Didn't anyone ever teach you the in and out of business travel? :D

I agree though, I would never fly standby on vacation. Sure it's a savings, but my vacation is too important to leave up to chance. I'll go nuts if I don't get there...

As with any company there is a maximum they will reimburse for airfare and that number has declined dramatically over the last 6 months so I would much rather roll the dice for $48 then pay out $400 out of pocket.

[PETE FROM NYC]

About the only time I ever did stand by was coming home from basic training in 1970.
Now ,going to Orlando,the most popular vacation spot on the planet,I personally would not chance it.
Maybe mid-week,but never near a wekend.

[MNNHFLTX]

Just want to say that if you do get bumped, hustle over to the airline customer service counter and get added to the standby list of the next flight out. Being ahead of just one or two other people can mean the difference between getting on and being left at the gate again.

As far as dress, if you are flying on standby as guests of the airline (and the employee who gave you the pass), make sure you know the dress code. Most of the time this means (minimally) business casual--no jeans, shorts, t-shirts or sandals.

Most of all, be patient and polite, as others have mentioned. It will go a lot farther in inspiring the airline reps to help you get on your flight.

[jakeybake]

Just want to say that if you do get bumped, hustle over to the airline customer service counter and get added to the standby list of the next flight out. Being ahead of just one or two other people can mean the difference between getting on and being left at the gate again.

As far as dress, if you are flying on standby as guests of the airline (and the employee who gave you the pass), make sure you know the dress code. Most of the time this means (minimally) business casual--no jeans, shorts, t-shirts or sandals.

Most of all, be patient and polite, as others have mentioned. It will go a lot farther in inspiring the airline reps to help you get on your flight.

Thank you Beth!

I have to admit that I am quite nervous to fly standby. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't relax until he's opening the door of his resort room so this is totally stressing me out. By the looks of the flights I want to take they both have over 60+ seats available as of this morning so I am keeping my fingers crossed that they stay that way.

I would purchase my own airfare but as I said in a previous post I have gone down on work confernces/trainings 3 times in the last 12 months so the "money train" for reimbursement has started to dry up. This trip is certainly not considered essential so I would be pushing it a bit to add an expensive round trip ticket to everything else they are paying for. Big difference between $49 and $400 on my end.

Wish me luck!! Hopefully I don't have a heart attack between now and March 10th!!

Jay

[javamama]

As a furloughed DL employee, I would lose my buddy passes if someone was using them for business. JetBlue I don't know about, they're supposed to be for pleasure only(so you may want to find that out) I wouldn't bring it up the day your traveling, to any JB employees at the airport you don't want this employee losing their passes.
I hated nonreving to MCO, like a pp said it's a hard place to get in and out of. Especially close to spring break time, I know alot of flights connect in and out of JFK w/Jet Blue so that's another thing you need to watch.
Find out the dress code from the employee, make sure your listed on the flights in advance also--some airlines want that done 24-48 hours ahead of time now. The best thing to do is have a backup plan, I've been stuck in many, many places in my 15 years of nonreving--some were nice, and some not so nice. G/L

[ERJDriver]

Whoever gave you the buddy passes should be able to tell you Jet Blue's policies as far as dress code. Also the PP is right about using buddy passes for business purposes. I don't think I would mention that to any gate or ticket agents as it could get whoever gave you the pass in trouble. As others have said, always have a back up plan and a back up plan to your back up plan, and bring a good book or two. Good luck.

[jakeybake]

As a furloughed DL employee, I would lose my buddy passes if someone was using them for business. JetBlue I don't know about, they're supposed to be for pleasure only(so you may want to find that out) I wouldn't bring it up the day your traveling, to any JB employees at the airport you don't want this employee losing their passes.
I hated nonreving to MCO, like a pp said it's a hard place to get in and out of. Especially close to spring break time, I know alot of flights connect in and out of JFK w/Jet Blue so that's another thing you need to watch.
Find out the dress code from the employee, make sure your listed on the flights in advance also--some airlines want that done 24-48 hours ahead of time now. The best thing to do is have a backup plan, I've been stuck in many, many places in my 15 years of nonreving--some were nice, and some not so nice. G/L

I wouldn't call my trip a business trip. I am going down for a Disney sponsored training but it is really more pleasure than work. My trainings are only unti 2:00 each day and the first and last days are my own so the majority of my time will be spent at the parks.

Jay

[jakeybake]

Quick update.

I have been checking the flights daily and I saw that the fare from Boston to Orlando for the time I wanted had gone down to $74. I had paid $38 for the buddy pass so it was a no-brainer for me to cancel the pass and purchase the one way flight down. Only cost me an additional $46 with tax, which worth the peace of mind!!

My main worry though is getting home from Orlando to Boston on 3/15. As of this morning the flight I want to take has 53 empty seats so I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way. Would love to just book it like the outgoing flight but it's $244 which is too much at this point.

Thanks to all for your information and help. Very much appreciated!

Jay