I'm currently in a position where I end up traveling fairly often for my day job. Often the trips end up being scheduled on a last minute basis, which effectively kills most of the opportunities for saving money such as buying in advance or waiting for pricing deals or anything of the sort. So, I am looking for ways that I CAN save some money here and there, and one thing that many people have recommended to me is flying standby. I'm apprehensive about this, as it seems like there is a lot of uncertainty as to when and if I can actually reach my destination, and quite a bit of potential for madness, mayhem, and chaos, and I cannot help but wonder if the cost savings end up being worth the potential hassle. Is there anyone out there that has experience with flying standby? How has it worked out? Have their been any travel catastrophes that you can tell us about? Hilarious stories? Recommendations? Tips? Would you recommend this method of travel? Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated...
I have never flown standby due to all of the reasons you mentioned in your original post...maybe I would for personal travel but definitely not for work. Who would want all of the stress? I have friends who fly standby on a regular basis and it seems to work out for them because as far as I know they always get where they need to go. Don't have many tips other than one from a friend who flies standby for both personal and work travel, his tip is to fly either very early or very late because that generally guarantees you a seat.
