Indian Airways

It used to be that if you wanted to fly standby tickets were by far the least expensive way you could travel. Airlines would offer very good deals on airfares to ensure that there were no empty seats on a plane. With fuel increasing in cost year by year, an unused airline seat wasn’t something any airline wanted. Thus, they offered fly standby tickets so that all the seats wee taken.

Fly standby tickets did not guarantee that you would have a seat on the flight of your choice, but you would eventually be seated on a plane headed to your destination. When a passenger did not show up or canceled their flight abruptly, the flight crew made an announcement asking for anyone with fly standby tickets to approach the counter. The empty seat was thus filled and it helped with the airline’s costs to make the flight.

There were some restrictions on fly standby tickets, of course. Passengers who had been bumped from other flights had priority after all the previously reserved seats had been filled. No stopovers were allowed on standby fares; you had to have a direct flight to your destination.
In the days before increased security, a person could merely show up at the ticket counter and ask for fly standby tickets. Nowadays, standby plane tickets usually cost as much as regular fares but allow you a little more time discretion. If you miss the flight you were scheduled for, you can be put on standby for the next flight if it has an available seat.

Standby tickets are making a comeback, though. With complicated scheduling requirements making fly standby tickets a liability instead of an asset for airlines, the practice was stopped for quite a few years, especially with the increased security guidelines. The skyrocketing cost of fuel, however, makes offering standby tickets more cost effective for airlines. If you should be able to get one of these fares, arrive very early to get your name at the top of the list. Avoid the days before or after holidays; on the holiday itself standby seats are more plentiful. On busy flight days it pays to show up for the first flight of the day when cancellations are more common.