How To Fly Standby And Not Get Stranded For 12 Hours
photo credit: egmb757lover
If you’ve been following me this weekend on Twitter then you know that I had less than great time at Blogworld 2008. I liked Blogworld itself but the mess with spraining my ankle, expensive cabs and finding out how standby operates in today’s airline arena really pissed me off.
I officially hate USAIR. And I mean that with everything in me. I Hate USAIR Twitter campaign soon to follow, we’re gonna show these guys what social media campaigns are made of.
I digress.
We’ve done a lot of traveling this year and by far USAIR takes the cake in terms of service and crackhead policies. I hope they read this post, and if nothing else take away that they are eroding their customer base as more and more airlines succumb to bankruiptcy when it rears it’s ugly head.
So how do you avoid getting stranded for 12 hours in an airport watching three flights pass you by? Read on my friends, especially you frequent flyer types.
Buy Early And Check Your Seats Often
You’ve heard the vote early, vote often joke, well the same thing applies here. Buy your tickets early, select your seats and then call the airline to make sure that your seat has been secured on the flight. The airlines by law are allowed to oversell seats on all flights to prevent them from losing money due to supposed high no show rates. I call BS since most tickets are nonrefundable and if you miss your flight you fly standby on the next available. They still keep your money.
Understand The Difference Between Buying A Ticket And Buying A Seat
For example, if there are 100 seats on an airline, they can legally sell 125 (arbitrary number for example). If you buy your ticket within 3 weeks of a flight and are sold seat #110 you are out of luck and will have to hope that the airline can entice someone else to give up their seat so that you can get on board. They get a free RT ticket and a hotel stay and you get onboard to your final destination.
What happens if no one gives up their seat? They might offer to put you on another flight or just give you the number to their customser service call center to do it yourself. This is where demanding that you be compensated comes iinto play. If you do not ask, they will not offer you appropriate compensation for your troubles.
Know Your Power: Demand To Be Compensated
In the event that you are stranded and unable to board a fight or two or three. Demand that you be compasated ABOVE the typical $200 check the offer you at the counter. That’s IF they tell you. With airline fares running upwards of $1500 for a domestic flight from DC to LAs Vegas, $200 is a drop in the bucket. Demand that you be compensated with a round trip ticket good for anywhere within the continental USA.
DO NOT Fly Standby On An OverSold Flight
It’s not happening. USAIR oversold each flight this weekend out of Las Vegas by at least 20 people for each one, unless the flight left around noonish or in the afternoon. Signing up standby on an oversold flight is asking to get left in an airport for hours like I was this weekend. Listen to me, I speak from experience. Ask the gate agent before placing you on standby whether or not the flight is oversold. Understand that as the fight time nears, more people are placed on the standby list due to being bumped from other airlines and some missing their flights.
The same is also true for flights where you actually buy a ticket (not flying standby). If you buy a ticket after all seats have been sold, you are essentially flying standby and you only have priority when it comes to the order of who gets the 3 open seats of the 15 of you that may be waiting. And, no you dont get a free hotel stay when you’re bumped from a flight. Yep, USAIR can bite me.
Ask For A Supervisor
I was calm for all of 11 hours. Those of you that know and interact with me in real life know that I am pretty soft spoken but once 11.5 hours came I was done. Grace and patience went out the door and the front agent caught a serious tongue lashing. I pride myself on operating with patience and grace (IRL) but this time, not so much. Supervisor was called and I got on the flight direct into Reagan. I won’t get into the sordid details of what this agent did but suffice to say that even when you are in pain, waiting for Vicodin to kick in and on crutches these vultures will still try to overcharge you and put you on an oversold flight.
This year I can actually say that each and everytime a company screwed me I got what I wanted after demanding it, you should too. I have written letters, written blog posts, and complained UP. Don’t let these corporate behemoths take your money and screw you with no lube leaving you stranded and without answers. You’re a lady, put on your lace gloves and get to work!
Questions: Have you ever been stranded after being bumped from a flight? How did you handle it?
I hear you, loud and clear!
When we flew to America for our honeymoon, we booked our flights with Lufthansa. Budget option, with super-early start and three flights: London -> Germany, Germany -> Chicago, Chicago -> Phoenix.
So we’re sitting in the departure lounge, waiting to board, at 5 or 6 am, when I’m called to the desk and told that I’ve been bounced by a Lufthansa employee sitting at a computer terminal in Munich, due to overbooking. Bounced on my honeymoon! (Not my husband, just me!)Absolutely furious; we both kicked off. Eventually I was reinstated. But I’d been bounced from all three flights in one fell swoop. So when we got to Germany and Chicago, I had to go through the same rigmaroles all over again.
To add insult to injury, when we got to Chicago, we found that Lufthansa had lost my luggage.
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Ginger, you would piss your pants if you had the time to listen to what my wife and I went through last year. I absolutely hate USAIR and totally share your sentiments. Anyone who supports this law that lets the airlines oversell and put the customer in a bind should be shot to shitty little pieces!
I hate Delta with a passion myself so I hear ya!!!!! They bumped us from a flight on our way back from a vacation. We’d planned this vacation for months and those idiots told us that they did not have a seat for us. Waiting for a flight back to the States was a nightmare!!! No showers, ran out of money and food while there, we could have strangled the airline!
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As much as I’m not a fan of USAir, I just want to add that no policies that you mentioned are specific to USAir. I’m a frequent flyer on many different airlines, and the only one I really like for service is JetBlue. Just about all of the legacy carriers (USAir, AA, Continental, etc) have the same level of service (meaning: very little if any), and your experience could have happened on any of them.
Personally, I love the overselling. When I have the time, I plan to take the earliest flight in a day and bring plenty to do so that waiting at the airport isn’t a chore. Then, I volunteer to be bumped – I’ve racked up three free roundtrip flights in one day this week!
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Very nice information. Thanks for this. By the way, did you come out with the article yourself?
I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.
Why should the airline have the right to sell your seat if you don't show, and not offer any refund. how can airlines then claim they are losing money by the no shows?
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Thanks for sharing so many wonderful tips. These tips useful for any traveler.
just have to make a deal with authorized agents. to be safe, thanks for sharing this info =)
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