Standby flights Can u get them at the airport when flightsre full?

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arrugala

Guest
I am trying to get to europe and / or Brussels specifically but the flights are so pricey one way or full !!!example 800 euros one way to Brussels

ANY ONE KNOW IF U CAN FLY STANDBY by going tipoffs the airport ? Tui? Jetairfly?
 
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Uzin

Guest
I am trying to get to europe and / or Brussels specifically but the flights are so pricey one way or full !!!example 800 euros one way to Brussels

ANY ONE KNOW IF U CAN FLY STANDBY by going tipoffs the airport ? Tui? Jetairfly?

I have done this many years ago, can't remember but I think it was Thompson or Thomas Cook when they had flights from POP to London.

Not cheap though, I think it was ~US$600 one way (had to pay cash only) - but I was upgraded to premier class for free later while waiting to board.... ! Had to wait to the last minute when everyone had checked-in and they were closing the counter.

It worth a try, from memory they told me that usually there is one or two seats available because someone does not turn up or cancel. But you have to go early when they open the check-in counter and tell them, so you are the first to be considered.

(I am guessing the guy that I took his ticket did turn up later afterwards, hence they sent me to premier - and kept him in economy for being late.....lol :classic:)
 
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LTSteve

Guest
I am trying to get to europe and / or Brussels specifically but the flights are so pricey one way or full !!!example 800 euros one way to Brussels

ANY ONE KNOW IF U CAN FLY STANDBY by going tipoffs the airport ? Tui? Jetairfly?

I googled the subject and most of the articles said that you need to have already bought a ticket and standby is really if you want to catch an earlier flight or change destinations. With all the security at the airport the old procedures of going standby have gone by the wayside. You can't get to the gates without a ticket so I don't think what you are asking is possible.
 
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DRdreaming

Guest
I don't know when you are looking to travel, but TUI has flights under $400 one way on at least two Sundays in September, and several under $300 in October. (From POP).

Sent from my SM-J810M using Tapatalk
 
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frank12

Guest
I've only done it once, and it was years ago. I called for days before i finally got a hold of a ticket agent for a charter flight from POP to Stockholm, Sweden. I was trying to get back to work in Norway. They told me they couldn't guarantee a seat but that i was welcome to come to the POP airport and do stand-by while everyone boarded. (They said i would need to pay cash for the flight if a seat was available)

So, i drove up from Bonao and met the ticket agent and waited. And then I waited some more.

Holy hell, i did not realize how long it takes to board a big plane that completely sold out. Only after everyone had boarded and they did a "final" seat count--where they also made a final boarding call for a Swedish passenger who did not show up, only then did they sell me the last seat/ticket on the plane. (This was one of those charter planes where all of the bathrooms are all downstairs on a separate floor of the plane--below the passengers).

The funny thing was that after they sold me the ticket and i showed them my passport, they realized i couldn't board the flight without some sort of E.U ID. The reason being was because (i never fully understood why?) it was a charter flight directly to Sweden and since i did not start the flight from Sweden, i was somehow required to prove that i lived in an E.U country. Luckily i had my Norwegian ID on me, and only after i showed it to them did they let me board the flight. I never quite understood why i would not be able to board with an American Passport? But there was reason explained to me that i never fully grasped. Anyway, it all worked out. Not sure if they do that anymore, and especially on a one-way Charter flight returning back to Europe. That's probably a weird way to do it unless you live in Europe.

PS: Arrugula, are you Paul, my buddy from Cabarete?
 
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Fulano2

Guest
I am trying to get to europe and / or Brussels specifically but the flights are so pricey one way or full !!!example 800 euros one way to Brussels

ANY ONE KNOW IF U CAN FLY STANDBY by going tipoffs the airport ? Tui? Jetairfly?

From where you want to fly?
 
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Riva_31

Guest
The funny thing was that after they sold me the ticket and i showed them my passport, they realized i couldn't board the flight without some sort of E.U ID. The reason being was because (i never fully understood why?) it was a charter flight directly to Sweden and since i did not start the flight from Sweden, i was somehow required to prove that i lived in an E.U country. Luckily i had my Norwegian ID on me, and only after i showed it to them did they let me board the flight. I never quite understood why i would not be able to board with an American Passport? But there was reason explained to me that i never fully grasped. Anyway, it all worked out. Not sure if they do that anymore, and especially on a one-way Charter flight returning back to Europe. That's probably a weird way to do it unless you live in Europe.

PS: Arrugula, are you Paul, my buddy from Cabarete?

Because one way ticket is only allowed for nationals or residents of the country you are visitting, every time I traveled to Canada if I booked return flight with another airline they always asked me if I was resident in Canada when I said no, then they asked to show the return ticket.
 
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ctrob

Guest
I don't know when you are looking to travel, but TUI has flights under $400 one way on at least two Sundays in September, and several under $300 in October. (From POP).

Sent from my SM-J810M using Tapatalk

arrug - You should be able to buy one of those cheap tickets for any date, then try to get on standby for an earlier flight using that ticket. But I would do a little research with your target airlines first re their standby rules.

Or if know of anybody that works for an airline, that would spare you a buddy ticket. Most of the time they can even get you on other airlines other than their own.
 
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Bred

Guest
Received from EuroWings representative in POP today regarding nearest flights to Europe -


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No, unfortunately everything is full. Could offer Standby on all POP Flights to DUS for 199 Euros.
You would have to get on the standby list and wait until all passengers have checked in.
=================================================================
 
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jd426

Guest
arrug - You should be able to buy one of those cheap tickets for any date, then try to get on standby for an earlier flight using that ticket. But I would do a little research with your target airlines first re their standby rules.

Or if know of anybody that works for an airline, that would spare you a buddy ticket. Most of the time they can even get you on other airlines other than their own.

You are giving away a huge little secret here Ctrob..
Yes, this works .. not foolproof though..

but yeagh, you can't just show up at the airport with NO ticket , and stand there , like the old days.
Basically you need a GOOD Plausible STORY, and a ticket in hand... which they can void out with Zero penalty, IF you bought it within the last 24 hours . ( like you bought a ticket for a sick Abuela, but now she took a turn for the worse and you WANT to (don't HAVE to, this is key) fly sooner.. )

The Airline can do amazing things, IF they want to and it makes $ sense to them.
read their rules as Ctrob said.
 
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ctrob

Guest
You are giving away a huge little secret here Ctrob..
Yes, this works .. not foolproof though...

I'm not giving away all the tricks. I've learned some great ones in the last couple years. Will share over Brugal.
 
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ljmesg

Guest
Airline personnel and their friends are the only ones that can standby.

For American Airlines for example. They have a private website where these people can look for soft flights then book them last minute and show up. Still no guaranty they can fly but they figure out best routes and slide in.

They also have a way to game the system to bring a friend along. No way to transfer this ability to non airline personnel.

That's my understanding of stand by....its unavailable....unless as already stated...you have a ticket.
 
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william webster

Guest
My friend has a brother - a pilot on JetBlue
He gets Buddy Passes
This guy squeezes pennies into BBs

He stood there one day --- 5 seats left
BUT
A pilot and his family of 4 showed up - outranking him

The second day... a similar fate

Any savings he thought he had went up in hotels - 2 nights worth !!!
 
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ctrob

Guest
Airline personnel and their friends are the only ones that can standby.

For American Airlines for example. They have a private website where these people can look for soft flights then book them last minute and show up. Still no guaranty they can fly but they figure out best routes and slide in.

They also have a way to game the system to bring a friend along. No way to transfer this ability to non airline personnel.

That's my understanding of stand by....its unavailable....unless as already stated...you have a ticket.

Not sure what the "bring a friend" thing is you're talking about. Never heard of that one. There still has to be one seat available per each rear end. Even if it's a Jump Seat for crew members. And only crew can use those with standby. A pilot doing standby can even use the jump seat on the flight deck, if it's open.

Plus you need a Standby ticket to get to the gate area.
 
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william webster

Guest
I can tell you this

My last flight PHL-SDQ - the business class was almost empty at my check-in online that morning.

By takeoff it was full....all off duty crew members from what I saw & heard....I had one beside me.
 
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ctrob

Guest
I can tell you this

My last flight PHL-SDQ - the business class was almost empty at my check-in online that morning.

By takeoff it was full....all off duty crew members from what I saw & heard....I had one beside me.

If it was a whole bunch of them, they might have been commuting to work - switching out with another crew for a flight to Europe or something. .

I might start going to sdq or sti. MIA - POP is a pain, always packed to the rafters.
 
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william webster

Guest
Possibly - they all knew each ---
the working ones and the travelers

and the PHL-SDQ crew got off....stayed overnight

It was American Airlines
 
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ljmesg

Guest
Not sure what the "bring a friend" thing is you're talking about. Never heard of that one. There still has to be one seat available per each rear end. Even if it's a Jump Seat for crew members. And only crew can use those with standby. A pilot doing standby can even use the jump seat on the flight deck, if it's open.

Plus you need a Standby ticket to get to the gate area.
Yes, the buddy pass. As Mr. Webster pointed out, the standby employees can get bumbed as well by outranking standby employees.

The game for these people is on the computer before they arrive to the airport.
 
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ctrob

Guest
Yes, the buddy pass. As Mr. Webster pointed out, the standby employees can get bumbed as well by outranking standby employees.

The game for these people is on the computer before they arrive to the airport.

That's funny, and very true. Game being the key word. I fly on an employee pass, my classification is D2P. D2's outrank me - I don't like D2's. If I could get a D2's address before the flight, I could flatten their tires so they don't make it to the airport. (just kidding)

And actually, the game continues at the airport. I've been able to get myself ahead of higher classifications to get a better seating assignment. There's lots of little tricks.