Talk:Standby (air travel)

I would greatly appreciate it if someone could add to this article whether it is still possible for people to fly standby in order to get up to 90% off the price of a normal ticket. I have heard divergent views on the subject. Some people I have talked to say that standby doesn't necessarily mean that you will get a seat if there are empty seats on the plane because the weight the passenger would have filled in that seat has been reallocated to air freight. Presently, and I am not certain about this, the only way you can fly the 90% discount standby is if someone who has a ticket fails to show up for their flight. This would mean that the airline will get paid for space that won't be used, which then allows them to sell that seat at a very low price. Is this in fact the case or am I incorrect? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Bf20204 (talk • contribs) 06:12, 30 December 2009 (UTC)

^ This was a common thing not too long ago. This article should have a history section that explains how airlines used to offer cheap tickets on a per-leg basis (usually ~$50 for short flights and ~$100 for cross-US flights) with no gaurantee of a seat, but an opportunity to wait flight-to-flight until a seat is unclaimed.

It would be great to find a list of international airlines that still offer this service. If none, at least the article could include a history section stating that no airlines offer this anymore (except for family members of pilots, etc).