Any luck with going standby
 

I made what I was lead to believe were reservations for an early flight through a travel agent when my tickets arrived the flights were not the ones she and I had discussed. In order to get the flights I wanted I was told I would pay an additional fee of $300 per ticket. Per USAir the whole ticket is just $400. Has anyone had luck going standby on early morning flights. What is the best approach.<BR>Thanks in advance<BR>

Why not call your travel agent? It seems like he/she screwed this up. Why should you pay the penalty?

I did talk to my travel agent who in turn called the company she booked through no luck. That was when I was quoted the $300 per ticket add'l cost.<BR>

A day or two before the flight, call USAir directly and ask them how the flight you want to go standby on looks... the reservation agent will tell you if it's really full, or if it's pretty open-- my experience has been, if they tell you "shouldn't be a problem, it's wide open", it's just that: no problem. Check in early to get your name at the top of the standby list.<BR>If you MUST be on this earlier flight though, I would pay the fee and book it... or better yet, make more noise with your travel agent!! since you didn't make this error, someone else should shoulder the extra cost-<BR>

So many variables - what origin? what destination? what day/date? <BR>They call it standby because that's what you do. Sometimes an airline rez clerk will give you some suggestion as to your chances - such as "it's way overbooked, don't hold your breath" or "it's wide open, your chances look pretty good" - but there are no guarantees.<BR>Bigger question is, what kind of travel agent are you dealing with? Most reputable agents do a final review of the proposed itinerary before ending the call and going to ticketing. If the transaction was done over the phone and nothing is in writing (fax) then you may be stuck, but it could be worth a call to the travel agent's supervisor. Also, check with the credit card company if that's your form of payment - you may have a valid protest here, and be able to get a refund on the price of the tickets,then go ahead and purchase the one you want.