Gretchen

What mamalice said. We flew "family" level, and buddy is below that--completely at the mercy of how full the flights are. And you still don't say "when". If it is high season it is even more iffy.
Flights these days are flying full--and fewer in number. Do you know how to search for availability for your passes on the internet for your departure--and for that matter for your departure from the US.
I do see when you are travelling. I think this is going to be really really hard.

PalenQ

Sound like air planes are up in the air?

glimee

We are only using buddy pass to land in paris and comign back home. To fly between counties we will be using cheap europeon airlines.

We will be at trying to fly out in mid June and flying back home in 1st weekend of July.

Gretchen

Ummm, yes. That IS the problem. Going to and coming home to get seats on crowded airplanes in high season. You are going to have to stay ready to leave at a moment's notice--and also coming home. I hope it works out. I don't know how many of you there are, but DH and I have had to at least entertain the idea of one leaving and the other coming the next available time out--and this was in the US.

Gretchen

Have you ever flown standby/buddy previously? Do you know how it works?

glimee

we haven't flown standby before but we understand how it works. There are 2 of us flying and we are prepared to fly separately if a spot opens up. We booked earlier flights so if we can't get on the first flight, at least we have another flights later in the day to hop on if possible.

hopefully it will work out.

CathyM

Gretchen - that's exactly what I was trying to explain when I relayed my 2 situations flying on a buddy pass when I was "stranded" and this was in late September, not even high season. I've had success on 2 trips using the buddy pass for Europe, once in March and another time in September. But after the 2 situations when I ended up having to pay for additional hotels, taxi to get to the airport multiple times, an unplanned flight to get me to London where a flight had good availability, not to mention the time and energy spend worrying I concluded it's just not worth it. They're great - when they work out.

You have to have a good, happy go lucky attitude about using the passes and always have a back up plan. You can't get upset with the airline if they don't have space for you. Personally, I wouldn't suggest for people who haven't previously traveled to Europe.

Gretchen

I got your point exactly. In high season, I am very pessismistic, but of course, always hope these things work out for whoever.
We flew first class the times we went!! Definitely worth waiting a day for!!
"understanding how it works" means checking the flight for its fullness. Has your source of the buddy pass explained to you how to do this? Putting your name on the list? And realizing you can be bumped off at the last minute?

glimee

I've been checking on delta website and checking available seats for the flights that we are "scheduled" for.
I was told to print out my receipt email thing to go through the security check point.and you talk to the people at the gate to put my name on the list(with awesome happy attitude)

Am I not understanding how this is going to work?

Well..we are taking our chances since we probably can't get close to europe if we had to pay full price tickets. We are up for the adventure! good one or not.. hopefully a good one

annhig

this is the current plan you posted up-thread:

Paris 4 days
Rome 3 Days
Florence 3 days
Barcelona 4 days
Paris 2 days

are you agreed to put all your Paris time at the end?

therefore you get this:

Day 1 - arrive Paris. fly to Rome.
Day 2 - 4 - Rome
Day 5 - train to Florence
Day 8 - fly to Barcelona 4 days
Day 12 - fly to Paris
Day 18 - fly home.

in fact, i've counted days as nights - is that right?

this way you get 3 full days in Rome, 2 & 1/2 in Florence, 3 1/2 in Barcelona and 5 1/2 in Paris.

not great but still quite a nice trip, so long as your flight plans work out.

given those potential problems, dropping one of your destinations would make it less liable to be thrown off track if one of the flights doesn't work out.

Gretchen

That is one way to do it. If you were able to get to the actual airline website and check flight seating you would be able to see what may be available, AND all the other non-rev people who outrank buddy passes. So you might not have to go to the airport because you can see you don't have a prayer of getting on that plane.
SO, I would make a list of places you'd like to get to and how to get there and then play it by ear (as another has said) once you are on the ground.

Gretchen

That is one way to do it. If you were able to get to the actual airline website and check flight seating you would be able to see what may be available, AND all the other non-rev people who outrank buddy passes. So you might not have to go to the airport because you can see you don't have a prayer of getting on that plane.
SO, I would make a list of places you'd like to get to and how to get there and then play it by ear (as another has said) once you are on the ground.

hollywoodsc

So your flights to and from the US are 'buddy' passes, which may or may not get you where you want, when you want. But it also sounds like you have a great attitude about it and are flexible. The odds of having a flight delayed on a normal day are pretty high anyway, so good for you for getting a deal and planning an amazing trip to Europe.
My main suggestion is to pack ONLY carry-on. I travel for 3 weeks with just a carry-on and a shoulder bag. You wont lose your luggage, you wont have to wait around for baggage to be unloaded from the plane, and if you can't get on a flight and have to go to a hotel and try again the next day, your bags wont be held hostage by the airline.
Pack light. Take half the clothes and twice the money

glimee

Packing light ofcourse. I've been informed that I have to run for the gate at the last minute if a seat is available so I wasn't even thinking about checking in a bag.
Since we are not sure when we will arrive in Paris, How easy is it to find a place to stay or booking a flight in between cities in Europe when we get there? Is it going to be impossible in June/early july? Should we risk booking things?
We planned to stay in paris for 3 days so if we can't make it the first or 2nd day of trying to get on a plane..we can still follow our plan for the other destinations but won't be able to see much of Paris..which I knew that comes with the price

annhig

glimee - if there are just two of you, I'm sure that you will find somewhere to stay. it may not be exactly where you would have wanted or cost what you'd like, but even in Paris you should be able to find a double room somewhere.

yenisumit7

Don't Be Greedy ... because ... Understand, why I'm saying is, it's more trouble than it's worth, don't worry about visiting all the cities at one go. You will end up spending 3 times more than you think have saved on airlines tickets.
As an experienced traveler I would suggest the following,
***forget about flying after arriving in Paris, since specific dates are not available. Need to book in advance with easy jet or ebookers.
***trains are the best options in France (sncf) and Italy (trenitalia). Easily available, even last minute.
***Stay in paris for consecutive 5 days with a day trip to Versailles.
***hotels in France have flexible cancellation policy. Check out cancellation policy in booking.com and a decent hotel preferably Best Western or Holiday Inn.
***forget about barcelona, Spain
*** you can get more out in Italy for your travel and expenses.
***take train from Paris to Nice (3 days).
***@Nice ( pebble beach) from there you can be in Cannes (sandy beach, villefranche, Eze, and Monaco.
***From Nice take a train to ventimiglia (Italy) to Florence (3 days). Train to Rome.
**** 3 days in Rome.
You will know 3-5 days in advance, your flight itinerary, no one books that much later. Try to find out priority listing of the person who gave you the tickets. The longer he/she working, more likely you get a flight on desired date.
If you live in USA, Atlanta airport has 11 pm flight to Paris, reaching 2 p.m. I assume I read delta airlines.
I have to eat my words, try to book a flight from Rome to Paris as soon as you check your departure date before you leave for your trip.
At least tell us your departure city/month.
***Rule of thumb***when traveling less (cities) has greater functionality than more.

Gretchen

She told us JULY.
For buddy passes it doesn't matter the donor/seller' priority--they are on the bottom of the list.
AND a list can change up to the last minute (unlike the advice above that 3-5 days is enough), JUST for the reason that these people might want to get on a flight.
IF the person who is the airline employee is travelling WITH them, it can help some.
They really need to sit down with the employee and understand the pecking order--and how to get out of it--alter plan--go somewhere else.

yenisumit7

Hi
I have used buddy pass and I exactly know what I am talking about. You might be in the bottom of the list. But airlines employees do have buddy pass seniority rules. Older the employee, the higher you are on priority list. For international flights lists doesn't that that dramatically as compared to domestic flights. One just have to be flexible with available flights, and within 3-5 days before the flight you would know your flight status.