Standby Flights in 2026: What Actually Works

In 2026 stand-by flying is dead. Gone are the buddy pass networks of 2005 and the standby ID cards of college students, and the international airline-on-airline stand-by that we used to have is no more. But, there are four categories of stand-by that are left and how to use them to save money.

Same-day confirmed changes: Most of the U.S. airlines allow same-day confirmed ticket holders to change to an earlier same route flight on the same day. This would work out similarly to standby, and for some of the airlines, there is a fee for this service. For Delta and United, this service is free for their respective elite members. Alaska also allows same-day confirmed changes on same route flights. For Southwest Airlines, same-day confirmed changes are also allowed on same route flights, but there is a $75 fee for this service.

Buddy passes. They still exist but they’re no longer a sure thing. All you get is the discounted fare. After that it’s a roll of the dice and you’ll probably get bumped for every day of July and August on domestic flights in the US until September. If you’re building a trip around the possibility of using a buddy pass or two, have a plan B (or C, or D…). Also, a refundable hotel reservation would be a good idea too. Best to try to use them in the low season when fares are already depressed and loads are low (about 60-70%). October and November and February and March are usually best.

Same-day cheap buys. Similar to standby but don’t have to go to the airport until hours prior to departure. Typically the fares are one way on under-traffic routes. The airline that comes closest to offering these type of sales is Southwest on under-traffic routes, typically short (under 90 minutes) and on midweek days. Again check the airline’s app for same day as travel – morning and afternoon for best chance of finding deals.

Award waitlists. Many US airlines allow travelers holding award tickets to waitlist on flights which are completely sold out to paid passengers. Travelers who are holding award tickets to flights which are entirely sold out to paid passengers can put themselves on a waitlist for that flight in the hopes that the ticket of a paid passenger will become available (due to be used by the airline for a waitlisted award passenger). Award Waitlists are used most frequently for flights which have limited numbers of award seats (for example, flights which are sold entirely in higher fare classes at the time that award space opens). As with standby, travel holding award tickets who put themselves on waitlists for flights must be prepared to take their originally confirmed flights.

No same day stand by’s on international flights; no charter flights or seasonal flights that allow stand by’s for extremely discounted fares; no college student’s with their college student standby ID cards from back in the day (that was 2005). Unfortunately most of the worldwide airline’s on airline standby’s have all been shut down sized and eliminated as well. If you read about stand by’s in a travel blog written before 2018, they are historical.

I last attempted standby-style travel several summers ago when I used a buddy pass for a JFK/LAX flight. After four days of waiting around at JFK, I got on the flight. The points/dollars returned for that type of travel just never made sense to me. The four ways listed above, however, have worked well for me recently.

The playbook is thus: Buy the cheapest confirmed ticket on a most flexible airline and when you get there watch for four possible developments that will allow you to travel on an earlier flight for which you will cost less than $100, including the change fee. For some routes it is always smarter to use your miles to book the flights when the cheapest tickets are being sold. This way when such tickets go on sale you can book earlier than when you were buying a confirmed ticket and put the paid ticket on a wait list for the flights that have space for award travelers after all paid seats have been filled. If you are an elite member you can change to an earlier flight on the same route of the same airline for free. Thus I can take an earlier flight to get home for a meeting as long as it is on the same airline and on the same route and the difference in cost is under $100. In 2026 six of seven such flights were booked for free because I am an elite member on Delta. In the other case I was charged $75 and it worked very well also. Thus same day standby is very good for traveling cheaply when you already have a confirmed ticket to a later flight on the same route on the same airline and when the change will cost less than $100.

Two questions that have come up time and time again. First, with a confirmed ticket on a later flight, should one gamble on same day standby for a lower fare for an earlier flight? The answer is yes, when the difference in cost is less than $100. Second, should one bet the farm and start a trip on standby as a buddy pass? The answer is no, unless the trip is flexible by days, not hours. In short, standby is now a low-confidence tactic and should be treated as such.