What Is Flying Standby and How Does It Work?

The phrase flying standby can conjure up images of spontaneous but thrifty jet-setters happily hitting the airport to snag last-minute seats at steep discounts. In reality, though, the actual experience of going standby is often far from thrilling—more like a one-way ticket to uncertainty, with no guaranteed departure or arrival time.

Still, despite the unpredictability, standby flights serve an important purpose. Whether you’re hoping to jump on an earlier flight or recover from an unexpected delay, flying standby can help straighten out your schedule—if you know what you’re doing. The practice does come with its fair share of rules, risks and sometimes fees, but for the well-prepared, it can offer added flexibility or rescue a seriously derailed itinerary.

Here’s everything you need to know about flying standby—so you don’t end up getting stranded at the gate.

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What is flying standby?

Once upon a time, flying standby meant showing up at the airport without a ticket and hoping to score an unclaimed seat—and maybe a great deal—on a departing flight. These days, the process is much more structured and usually involves a passenger who already holds a confirmed ticket and is trying to switch to another flight on the same day as their originally scheduled departure.

There are generally two reasons why someone might choose to fly standby: voluntary (also known as same-day standby) and involuntary standby. Voluntary standby is when a passenger would like to change their existing ticket to an earlier or later flight. Involuntary standby, on the other hand, usually follows a flight disruption—anything from an unexpected delay or cancellation to a missed connection—and involves finding an alternate way to reach a destination.

How do you fly standby?

Same-day standby

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If you already have a confirmed ticket, you may be eligible for a seat on a different flight departing the same day. “To get on the standby list, you should first take a look at the specific policies for your airline and then request the change on the carrier’s app, at the gate, or at the check-in counter,” says Anton Radchenko, a consumer rights lawyer and the founder and CEO of AirAdvisor, a company specializing in airline passenger claims. His biggest piece of advice? “Plan to do this as early as possible.”

Depending on the airline and your ticket type, same-day standby can be pricey—but travelers with frequent flyer status or a higher fare class are more likely to avoid getting dinged with extra charges. “If you have loyalty status, you can typically fly standby for free, but if not, the fee is usually around $75,” Radchenko notes.

Involuntary standby or flight disruptions

You may find yourself placed on standby for another flight when your original is delayed, canceled, or overbooked. “In this case, you can talk to the gate agent or ask to be put on the standby list via your airline’s app,” Radchenko says. He adds that the one meager upside in these exasperating situations is that going standby is typically free, since the disruption is the airline’s fault.

How do you maximize your chances of getting a standby seat?

Flying standby doesn’t guarantee you’ll be on your way without a hitch. “These days, airlines are super-efficient at filling up flights, so empty seats and no-shows may be hard to come by,” Radchenko warns.

Here are a few tips to help your overall chances take off:

• Have status. Loyalty to an airline matters more than ever—and elite members are first in line to get higher standby priority.
• Avoid basic economy. While cheap, these inflexible fares often don’t qualify for fee-free, same-day standby.
• Don’t take it slow. If you miss your plane because you just couldn’t get out of bed or got stuck in traffic, you’ll likely have to eat the extra cost. “You can fly standby, but you’ll very likely be charged a fee since the airline can’t be blamed,” Radchenko says.
• Use all available resources. The best way to grab a standby seat, especially in cases of involuntary standby, is to use multiple methods at once—get in line to speak with gate agents, open the airline’s app, check their website, and even call customer service.

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Source:

• Anton Radchenko, consumer rights lawyer and founder and CEO of AirAdvisor; email interview, April 2025.

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