Flying standby how much for a ticket?

[Slapshot747]

I was wondering how much the airline charges for standby tickets..im thinking of jumping on a plane sunday or monday to edmonton from toronto...what do air canada or westjet charge for a airline ticket on standby?...

[notanexpert]

Unless you're an airline employee or a relative of one, you can't buy a standby ticket. If you know an employee, they can get you a buddy-pass which is a standby ticket. The price varies from airline to airline.

[ericw]

Most likely you will have to pay a FULL FARE for standby these days..

[tripwire]

Unless you're an airline employee or a relative of one, you can't buy a standby ticket. If you know an employee, they can get you a buddy-pass which is a standby ticket. The price varies from airline to airline.

That employee would have to travel with the OP

Just an FYI

[yyz2hkg]

That employee would have to travel with the OP

Just an FYI

Only on certain airline does an employee have to travel with the OP. FYI

[tripwire]

Only on certain airline does an employee have to travel with the OP. FYI

I should have stated AC

I don't know the other airline policies

[industry_killer]

Most likely you will have to pay a FULL FARE for standby these days..

This guy would have to pay a full fare tickets any time he thinks he is coming to the airport to fly stand by. I wish people would get it through their heads there is flying standby unless you work for the airlines or have connections in the airline. It seems like this question is brought up every week here and the answer never changes.

[szw]

SO where does the notion of cheap standby tickets come from? is it only a US thing? Was it previously available in Canada and taken away or did we never have it?

[industry_killer]

It is not a US thing or anywhere else. I am pretty sure it comes from the Simpsons episode when they do it and from people who once heard of a relative doing it a long time ago.

[devildude8989]

Isn't standby:

A) For employees & family/buddies

B) Last second bookings which tend to cost way more than a normal ticket booked days in advance?

[pitz]

SO where does the notion of cheap standby tickets come from? is it only a US thing? Was it previously available in Canada and taken away or did we never have it?

There used to be 'standby' tickets available for students and such a very long time ago. However, with the advent of deregulation, and modern yield management techniques, 'standby' tickets were phased out. For instance, a typical flight today can have 2 dozen or more different fare levels -- whereas, back before deregulation, basically there was Economy, and First Class, and maybe the government approved a Tourist fare.

You can still sort of do 'standby' on Westjet for less money than usual. Basically you book the last flight of the day, which is usually a cheap(er) red-eye, and then you actually show up for an earlier flight, and they will let you on if space is available (after all -- empty airline seats have no value once the blocks have been removed). Of course, if there's no space, your booking on the original flight remains intact (and subject to all of the normal obligations, including cancellation penalties, change fees, etc.).

[pitz]

Isn't standby:

A) For employees & family/buddies

B) Last second bookings which tend to cost way more than a normal ticket booked days in advance?

C) For operational reasons; ie: someone's flight got cancelled or they missed a connection, in which case, if confirmed space isn't available, the airline will rebook them onto a standby waitlist.