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"

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.

"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

"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

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

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

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.

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:44:53 +0200 higonnet wrote:

: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.

If the earlier flights are more expensive (not all seats between A and B have
the same price) and the later flights are not full it may be more economical
for the airlines to not allow the change so that people wishing the earlier
flight will not purchase a ticket for the cheaper later flight and gamble on
being able to change to the earlier flight.

--
Binyamin Dissen
http://www.dissensoftware.com

Should you use the mailblocks package and expect a response from me,
you should preauthorize the dissensoftware.com domain.

I very rarely bother responding to challenge/response systems,
especially those from irresponsible companies.

On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 09:44:53 +0200 higonnet wrote:

: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.

If the earlier flights are more expensive (not all seats between A and B have
the same price) and the later flights are not full it may be more economical
for the airlines to not allow the change so that people wishing the earlier
flight will not purchase a ticket for the cheaper later flight and gamble on
being able to change to the earlier flight.

--
Binyamin Dissen
http://www.dissensoftware.com

Should you use the mailblocks package and expect a response from me,
you should preauthorize the dissensoftware.com domain.

I very rarely bother responding to challenge/response systems,
especially those from irresponsible companies.

"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