As most of you reading this know, I'm a flight attendant. I've been flying since the beginning of 2001 and I totally ♥ it. Love it! There just isn't anything like climbing onboard with 150 of my favorite people and walking the aisles handing out snacks and smiles. And a drink here and there ;-)
I also love to travel. When I started working as a flight attendant, I was living in Vermont where Doc had a regular job teaching medicine at UVM, and our kids were one and four years old. My girlfriend, M, and I were hired as a job share team, two people filling one full-time position. The agreement was we both had to fly at least one trip a month, but we had to fly full time between the two of us. So we'd get our schedule and divvy up the trips between us.
When we started, M was single and this job was her livelihood. So she naturally wanted to work more of the hours than me...which was just fine with me. There were actually a few months when I'd fly one day and then I was done till the next month. I could work the first day of May and the last day of June, and be home with the kids the rest of the time. It was amazing.
Notice I said could. I could be home the rest of the time...but I wasn't.
Since we were a brand new airline when I started, it was relatively easy to fly standby...which, let's face it, is the BIGGEST PERK EVER! I've had a lot of different jobs in my life, but none of them come anywhere close to having the perks that being a flight attendant does. It was absolutely the perfect match for the wanderlust-riddled gypsy in me. Since Bunch & Gator weren't in school yet, a typical scenario would be I fly my trip for the month, come home, collect the kids, and then take off for a week or two to visit family and friends strewn all over the country.
It was the perfect stand-by flying situation. New airline = at least a few empty seats on nearly every flight, no school or work conflicts to constrain our flexibility, kids who travel well, lots of fab friends to visit.
And visit we did! That first couple years before Bunch started kindergarten, we went on a trip somewhere every single month. I owe a debt of gratitude to the wonderful people who would drive out to pick us up from airports at random hours and host us for our stay. Good times, good times.
That was 7 years ago. Since then we've grown a lot. Our network of cities has increased dramatically, and the number of people in this country who are aware of our feisty little start-up has increased exponentially.
Through the years I've learned that the best time to fly standby to any city is right when we begin service to it...before the local residents really catch on and start buying up all the seats. I've also learned that if you're interested in flying to or from Salt Lake City, it's next to impossible to do so, because we have a few thousand crewmembers here...and there just aren't that many flights to/from this city to accommodate all the people hoping to use their flight benefits. And to top it off, SLC flights are sold out more often than not.
This has truly been the SINGLE BIGGEST DRAWBACK about moving to Utah for me...we have almost forfeited our flight benefits by coming here for medical school. It takes being extremely flexible, patient, and lucky to get to or from this town as a stand-by customer. And you'd better hope you're trying to fly on the second Tuesday of an odd-month ending in the letter Y when a transit of Venus is occurring! It's just that hard these days.
We've had loads of botched attempts. The kind where you check on Friday to see how the flights look for a quick weekend get-away, and there are 85 unsold seats on the return flight. So you head out only to find out on Sunday that there are 2 seats left and 518,397 other people also listed standby hoping to get on. So you bite the bullet and purchase one of those last two seats because you HAVE to get back for work. Such are the breaks.
But still, I can't complain. Most people don't get even ONE free trip in their lifetime. We've had dozens. And I'm just endlessly grateful for the many ways this job has blessed my life.
I've never actually mentioned my airline specifically by name on this site before, though there's enough info scattered about that your average toddler could have figured out by now that I'm not at one of the Big Six, nor am I at Northwest, Southwest, Eastwest, or Westwest.
That leaves about one other option. We're a newish airline, only 8 years old, but we've won lots of awards, prestigious ones too, for our outstanding customer service, in-flight amenities, and even our classy designer uniforms (ha!). We've had our share of tough moments and growing pains, but overall, we've kind of been the darling of the airline industry from our inception, and our 
crewmembers really are committed to doing the best job possible. We like our company, and we want it to be around for a long time. A very long time.
My airline doesn't fly as many places as some of the older, more established airlines, so perhaps you haven't heard of us. And I recognize that there's a good chance we don't fly to your city. But maybe we do fly between cities that someone you care about would like to visit.
So with that, I'd like to announce the first-ever BLUE JEULS GIVE AWAY! (queue the herald angels singing)
Since I've had the joyous life-experience of trying to travel standby, one lucky reader here is going to have the chance to experience it too. I have a Round Trip Buddy Pass that I'm going to give to the winner of this contest. This pass is good for travel between any two cities in our network. Buddy passes are for STANDBY TRAVEL, so if this doesn't appeal to you, please don't feel the need to participate!
For the uninitiated, standby travel means that you are NOT guaranteed to get on the flight of your choice. It means that after all the full-fare customers and employees have gotten on the flight, if there's still a seat available, you can get on too! And then you can enjoy jetting across the country (or just across the state) to any of our 50+ destinations. Surly you or someone you know lives in one of these areas...and you could be on a trip to visit them. Or have them visit you. Or have them visit their Uncle Fester...
Standby travel isn't a good idea for any of the following situations:
- Attending your best friend's wedding
- Getting to the interview for your dream job
- Visiting a loved one on their deathbed
- A quick trip between inflexible commitments
- When flying during the holidays or other high-traffic times.
- etc.
Standby by travel IS good if: - You have more time than money
- You're planning to visit friends or family who are flexible with your arrival/departure dates
- You don't need to be back for any significant events
- You have a few days of flexibility on both ends of your trip
- Any needed car rental and/or hotel accommodations are flexible/refundable
- You're interested in going somewhere during low-demand months (eg. September and January)
- You can behave yourself and go with the flow when/if things don't work out. Like you're sitting on the aircraft already, just getting settled in, when the agent calls your name and asks you to bring your things and come to the front of the plane. It could happen.
Buddy pass users are responsible for the fuel surcharge and any taxes associated with their trip. For example: $15 plus taxes each-way for a short-haul route
examples: SLC-LGB-SMF, PWM-JFK, or CLT-JFK
$30 plus taxes each-way for medium-haul routes
examples: SYR-MCO, JFK-FLL, or MSY-JFK-BNA
$45 plus taxes each-way for long-haul routes
such as FLL-OAK, JFK-SEA, or SLC-LGB-BOS
Last time I checked, it was between $400 - $500 for a round trip flight from CA to the east coast. So it's a pretty good deal if standby is something you're up for.SO! To participate, leave a comment on this post sharing your BEST, WORST, or MOST MEMORABLE travel experience ever.
Entries must be submitted by 9:00 pm Pacific Time on Wednesday, September 17th. Only one entry per person, and the winner will be selected and posted here. So dig deep. Give me your stories. I can't wait to read them!
and include your contact info (Phone and email) so I can get in touch with you and make the reservation.
