Travel-Save On Your Trip-Fly Standby

When you need to make a last minute trip, flying standby can save you a great deal of money. You can also save by flying standby when you are planning a trip and just want to try to get lower airfare. This can be risky, and you shouldn't fly standby if your itinerary requires you to arrive at a specific time or on a specific day. Few people are aware of the huge savings that can be gained by flying standby, or how flying standby actually works so read on to learn the ins and outs of flying standby.

When you fly standby, you go to the airline and purchase a last minute ticket on a flight that is already full. Many people fly standby because they are forced to do so or they make a last minute trip, and find that the flight they need is full. However, you can also choose to fly standby for a flexible vacation by simply not buying airline tickets until you arrive at the airport.

When you purchase your standby airline ticket, you will sit and wait for a flight going to your destination that has an open seat and this can mean waiting hours or even a few days before getting onto a flight. If you choose to fly standby, be prepared for the wait with books, magazines, and other activities but purchasing these items within the airport will likely offset the savings you are gaining by flying standby in the first place.

Typically, you save more money the longer you wait for a seat. If a seat opens up on the first flight out after you have bought your standby ticket, you will not save much money. However, if you wait several flights before getting an open seat, you will save more. Really, it is a trade off between savings and convenience. Although you save dollars on your airfare, you will waste a lot of time in the airport waiting for that flight.

You should not try to fly standby if your vacation itinerary requires you to arrive on a certain day or time. You should also avoid flying standby if you have business meetings or other matters to deal with. Some alternatives to flying standby are discounted tickets to other locations where you might more easily get a flight to your final destination. These rates are sometimes discounted to offset your inconvenience of the flight you needed being full, and to keep you from going to another airline.

It is also important to note that not every airline allows everyone to fly standby. Some airlines only allow employees and the friends and family of employees to fly standby. Other airlines allow anyone to fly standby, but the people who are employees or friends and family of employees will get the first seats available. There is a ranking system with standby flight tickets, and the lower you are on the list, the longer you will wait for a flight. In some cases, the flight may never come, and you have to purchase a regular ticket in the end anyway.

Flying standby can save you hundreds of dollars, but it is risky so make sure you are fully aware of all of the ways that you can save when flying standby before trying this way of saving on air fare.