I have not flown in a long time. I have never felt inclined to fly on Labor Day weekend, as I imagine, based on the prices I see, that it a high-volume weekend. On August 17, I moved to the SF bay area to start a mew job. My family is supposed to be packing up our home to move here too, but that is not going well.So on this three-day weekend, I want to fly form SFO to LAX or ONT and help them move along farther in packing. I was stunned when I saw the prices. I have three questions:
1. The lowest price I found won't tell me when the flights are until I pay for the ticket. That's a pretty rotten system. Why do they do that?
2. Instead of $442, the lowest price I see for flights with times, there is one for about half of that if you fly on standby. I have never tried that. Is it likely to succeed on such a busy travel weekend from SFO or LAX? I know there are no guarantees here, but what would a likely scenario be? I don't want to try this if the odds are virtually impossible to succeed.
3. Any other options besides the flights I see at, fore example Expedia.com? I'm sure there is no magic here, but I figured it could not hurt to ask. I simply can't afford $442 regardless of the reasons to go. Thanks.

Duncan