I don’t understand how someone gets put on standby. Is there some sort of standby ticket? If so, how.. and do people really go through all the hassle of going to an airport while having a possibility of going home?
In: 80
The airline makes the _most_ money when an airplane is completely full. Yes passengers and their luggage do weigh a considerable amount, but +/- 10% of the passengers isn’t going to radically alter how much fuel is required to fly from New York to Miami. So to maximize revenue, you want airplanes to fly as full as possible.
Now, people cancel or bail from flights all the time for good reason. Emergency, last minute change of plans too busy to reschedule.. slept through your alarm, whatever. So if the airline book just up to the capacity of the plane, you’d always have a few seats go empty because of people not showing up at the last minute.
So, if you’re not in a hurry to get there, book standby. If everyone shows up for the flight, you might get bumped. If someone doesn’t show, you get their seat.
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