Problems With Southwest’s New Standby Policy

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Southwest Airlines has fare rules that are different from the other US carriers. Until recently, Southwest allowed customers who purchased Wanna Get Away Plus, Anytime or Business Select flights to standby for another flight for no charge. A-List and A-List Preferred members could standby for a different flight on any ticket, including the cheapest Wanna Get Away fares.

The only requirement was that the departure airport and destination needed to remain the same and you needed to add your name to the standby list 10 minutes before your scheduled flight.

Southwest just changed its same-day standby policy to allow all passengers, regardless of the fare booked, to fly standby at no additional cost.

I’m sure many Southwest passengers have never heard of same-day standby, so the airline has put out a 1-minute video to tell you how it works. In their example, the passenger is going from San Diego to Las Vegas and wants to get an earlier flight. If he clears the standby list, then he’ll get to Vegas a few hours earlier. If not, he still has a seat on the original flight.

Here’s why I don’t think this is going to be much of a game changer for passengers who buy Wanna Get Away fares.

A limited number of routes where flying standby is useful

In the video, the route used as an example is SAN-LAS. Southwest has 8 flights per day between the two cities. If you have the latest flight, you could get to the airport 3 hours early and hope you clear the earlier flight.

However, there are only 5 non-stop flights between Orlando and Atlanta spread throughout the day.

And forget about flying standby if you’re going to New Orleans.

In order for it to make sense to standby for a different flight, there have to be numerous flights between the two cities. If there are several hours between flights, most people aren’t going to want to sit in the airport if they don’t clear the standby list.

What If You Checked A Bag?

Let’s assume you’re flying from SAN-LAS at 4:50 PM and arrive 3 hours in advance. You check a bag (because it doesn’t cost extra) and head to the gate. You see that there’s a 3:35 PM flight leaving in 1 hour and put yourself on the standby list. Your request clears and you’re on your way to Vegas 90 minutes earlier than planned.

But what about your bag?

We’ve all heard the “rule” that your bag has to be with you but if you’ve flown enough you know that’s not true. If it was, what would airlines do when your bag misses your flight? Bags don’t need to fly with passengers, but it does make things easier.

I looked and there’s no information about what happens when you fly standby with a checked bag. It may get moved to your new flight or it may stay on the original plane. If so, you’ll have to go back to the airport to pick it up or wait until the next day for the airline to deliver it to you.

Is that worth arriving 90 minutes early?

Who Does This Help?

The people who are most likely to fly same-day standby already have access, making it less impactful. For example, business travelers who want to get home earlier have A-List status or paid extra for Wanna Get Away Plus and don’t mind waiting at the airport for an earlier flight. Plus, they usually only have carry-on bags.

In addition, passengers who purchase Wanna Get Away fares are at the bottom of the standby list, with the least chance to clear onto an earlier flight.

Many passengers who book Wanna Get Away fares are families who don’t need the flexibility of getting a different flight. They don’t want to sit at the airport for hours.

Final Thought

Southwest is now allowing all passengers to apply for same-day standby, which could potentially fill up earlier flights and leave open seats for later departures to be sold. While some passengers may find this to be a useful change, most will not notice a difference.

Passengers who use same-day standby already know how the system works. I’m sure there will be situations where someone needs to get somewhere ASAP and they’ll gladly sit at the airport all day, hoping to clear the standby list. For them, this is great news. The majority of people buying Wanna Get Away fares don’t know about same-day standby and don’t care.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary