How standbys are cleared

Every airline has its own priority system, but in general, the order for boarding standby passengers is as follows:

1. Full-fare passengers
2. Commuting flight crews
3. Standby passengers from the airline (in order of seniority or time of check-in)
4. Buddy pass travelers
5. Standby passengers from other airlines

You can get the non-rev loads with the StaffTraveler app. Employees of the airlines you wish to travel on will answer your requests, enabling you to choose the perfect route and time to travel.

Unless there are plenty of seats available, you will probably get a boarding pass indicating 'SBY' instead of a seat number. Go to the gate and introduce yourself to the gate agent. He/she will keep your boarding pass and call you when you get a seat. Be sure to pay attention to the public announcements as your name will be called.

If the flight is full and you can't board, your luggage will be offloaded. Contact the gate agent after the boarding is complete to get yourself listed on a next flight. Your luggage will be loaded on that flight. If there's no next flight or you decide to try a different airline, ask the gate agent where to collect your luggage.

Blogger Josh shares some invaluable tips on the StaffTraveler blog.

We wrote a blog with the 10 golden rules of non-rev travel. Here you go!