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#1
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Same-day standby on European airlines?
U.S. carriers generally allow one to fly standby on an earlier flight
than booked (on the same day) if there are open seats, for no additional charge. The one time I asked about this when traveling on a flight within Europe the agent politely but firmly said that I could fly only on the exact flight that I had booked. This was on BA, flying out of CPH. Is it general policy within Europe not to allow same-day standbys, or does it vary from airline to airline or country to country? Before anyone flames, I'm not arguing one way or the other, just scoping out the possibilities. -- "Flight Now Leaving Reality, Please Fasten Your Braincells" |
#2
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U.S. carriers generally allow one to fly standby on an earlier flight
than booked (on the same day) if there are open seats, for no additional charge. The one time I asked about this when traveling on a flight within Europe the agent politely but firmly said that I could fly only on the exact flight that I had booked. This was on BA, flying out of CPH. Is it general policy within Europe not to allow same-day standbys, or does it vary from airline to airline or country to country? Before anyone flames, I'm not arguing one way or the other, just scoping out the possibilities. Depends on the airline and the mood of the checkin staff. Twice I have tried this once with TAP who politely told me to buy another ticket and once with Flybe who had no problem whatsoever. |
#3
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"Charles Hawtrey" wrote in message ... U.S. carriers generally allow one to fly standby on an earlier flight than booked (on the same day) if there are open seats, for no additional charge. The one time I asked about this when traveling on a flight within Europe the agent politely but firmly said that I could fly only on the exact flight that I had booked. This was on BA, flying out of CPH. Is it general policy within Europe not to allow same-day standbys, or does it vary from airline to airline or country to country?... Economy fares are usually sold on the basis that they are not transferable. Full price tickets allow flexibility. Colin Bignell |
#4
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nightjar wrote:
"Charles Hawtrey" wrote in message ... U.S. carriers generally allow one to fly standby on an earlier flight than booked (on the same day) if there are open seats, for no additional charge. The one time I asked about this when traveling on a flight within Europe the agent politely but firmly said that I could fly only on the exact flight that I had booked. This was on BA, flying out of CPH. Is it general policy within Europe not to allow same-day standbys, or does it vary from airline to airline or country to country?... Economy fares are usually sold on the basis that they are not transferable. Full price tickets allow flexibility. Indeed. But I too was quite early on a BA flight and they said no. I don't see any economic benefit whatsoever to not accomodate an early passenger's request if there are empty seats on the earlier flight. The seat freed up on the later flight has a better (albeit small) chance of being sold I would think. Bernard Higonnet |
#5
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nightjar nightjar@ wrote:
Economy fares are usually sold on the basis that they are not transferable. Eh? I think you mis-used both words "economy" and "transferable". Most international tickets sold here allow you to change flight dates and times, but on cheaper tickets it can be difficult to rebook at busy times. More so with frequent-flyer free tickets. I have asked to get on standby a few times, and was not refused, but it doesn't seem to be official policy. There is no guarentee, but try it. |
#6
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"Mike" wrote in message ... nightjar nightjar@ wrote: Economy fares are usually sold on the basis that they are not transferable. Eh? I think you mis-used both words "economy" and "transferable". Most international tickets sold here allow you to change flight dates and times, but on cheaper tickets it can be difficult to rebook at busy times. That is not the case within Europe, where the cheap tickets (normally referred to as economy class, or unoffically as cattle class) are for a specific person on a specific flight, neither of which can be changed without buying a different ticket. Colin Bignell |
#7
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On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 15:39:28 +0100, "nightjar"
wrote: That is not the case within Europe, where the cheap tickets (normally referred to as economy class, or unoffically as cattle class) are for a specific person on a specific flight, neither of which can be changed without buying a different ticket. Firstly you need to distinguish between low-cost carriers and traditional ones. The low-cost ones usually will not amend a booking other than for a fee and the fare difference - which on the day of travel may be high. Traditional ones may allow changes, including an earlier flight, depending on the fare paid. It's not just whether it's economy or not, but which fare within economy. Full-fare economy (Y class?) is usually fully flexible, other fares allow flexibility within that carrier, others still have zero flexibility. The prices also affect your refund rights. So the fact that it would seem to make no difference to the carrier to let you on an earlier flight is irrelevant. If you buy a 'cheap' ticket that restricts flexibility as a condition, don't expect them to allow you to behave as if you had paid more. |
#8
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Bonzo wrote: On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 15:39:28 +0100, "nightjar" wrote: That is not the case within Europe, where the cheap tickets (normally referred to as economy class, or unoffically as cattle class) are for a specific person on a specific flight, neither of which can be changed without buying a different ticket. Firstly you need to distinguish between low-cost carriers and traditional ones. The low-cost ones usually will not amend a booking other than for a fee and the fare difference - which on the day of travel may be high. Traditional ones may allow changes, including an earlier flight, depending on the fare paid. It's not just whether it's economy or not, but which fare within economy. Full-fare economy (Y class?) is usually fully flexible, other fares allow flexibility within that carrier, others still have zero flexibility. The prices also affect your refund rights. So the fact that it would seem to make no difference to the carrier to let you on an earlier flight is irrelevant. If you buy a 'cheap' ticket that restricts flexibility as a condition, don't expect them to allow you to behave as if you had paid more. It's not that it would make no difference to the carrier that surprises me it is that it would be to their benefit. True, the benefit is potential but it is still real. If they fly with an empty seat they get nothing positive or negative except an empty seat on a future flight. However that empty seat on the future flight has some potential value. Perhaps they may manage to sell it. Or, perhaps, the flight will be oversold and they will have one less compensation to pay and arrange. I can see that they might want to discourage expectation of being able to fly stand by for yield management purposes -- why I don't know but perhaps. However why they don't do it on a random basis I cannot understand. |
#9
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"Bonzo" wrote in message ... .... Traditional ones may allow changes, including an earlier flight, depending on the fare paid. It's not just whether it's economy or not, but which fare within economy. Full-fare economy (Y class?) is usually fully flexible, other fares allow flexibility within that carrier, others still have zero flexibility. The prices also affect your refund rights... Who buys full fare tickets in Economy? If you are going to that much expense, you may as well pay the extra for Business Class. Colin Bignell |
#10
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Bonzo wrote: On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 15:39:28 +0100, "nightjar" wrote: That is not the case within Europe, where the cheap tickets (normally referred to as economy class, or unoffically as cattle class) are for a specific person on a specific flight, neither of which can be changed without buying a different ticket. Firstly you need to distinguish between low-cost carriers and traditional ones. The low-cost ones usually will not amend a booking other than for a fee and the fare difference - which on the day of travel may be high. Traditional ones may allow changes, including an earlier flight, depending on the fare paid. It's not just whether it's economy or not, but which fare within economy. Full-fare economy (Y class?) is usually fully flexible, other fares allow flexibility within that carrier, others still have zero flexibility. The prices also affect your refund rights. So the fact that it would seem to make no difference to the carrier to let you on an earlier flight is irrelevant. If you buy a 'cheap' ticket that restricts flexibility as a condition, don't expect them to allow you to behave as if you had paid more. It's not that it would make no difference to the carrier that surprises me it is that it would be to their benefit. True, the benefit is potential but it is still real. If they fly with an empty seat they get nothing positive or negative except an empty seat on a future flight. However that empty seat on the future flight has some potential value. Perhaps they may manage to sell it. Or, perhaps, the flight will be oversold and they will have one less compensation to pay and arrange. I can see that they might want to discourage expectation of being able to fly stand by for yield management purposes -- why I don't know but perhaps. However why they don't do it on a random basis I cannot understand. |
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