qantas staff travel standby

What it's really like to fly standby as an airline employee

Free travel is one of the most enticing perks of working in the airline industry , but there's a major asterisk involved. Airline employees have access to non-revenue travel, meaning you'll only get a seat if there's space available. For those who like a good gamble, showing up to the airport without a confirmed seat can be thrilling yet incredibly nerve-wracking.

Back in summer 2019 — also known as the golden year for air travel — I was an intern at JetBlue Airways . One of the perks was standby travel, and during those 10 weeks, I wanted to take full advantage of my (short-lived) benefits. Overall, it was a success, as I flew more than 30 times that summer, with seven of those flights on the coveted JetBlue Mint business class .

During my internship, I learned a lot about standby travel and the airline industry as a whole. While standby travel is certainly not for the faintest of hearts, there are ways to get good at it and mitigate stress from all of the uncertainty.

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How standby travel works as an airline employee

Whether you're a pilot , flight attendant , gate agent or even an intern, you may have standby travel privileges that get you free flights on the airline you're working for and (potentially) on partner airlines. While you can travel for free within the 50 U.S. states, any international taxes and fees will apply if you're flying out of the country.

While most airlines rank employees based on seniority and role, JetBlue full-time and part-time employees were ranked on a priority list based on their check-in time. Occasionally, JetBlue employees could get one-time priority passes and jump to the top of the standby list, bypassing other employees on the ranking.

However, as an intern, I was on the same priority level as seasonal employees, which meant that we were grouped under all full-time and part-time staff but above partner airline employees. Regardless of your place on the list, all non-revenue travelers must show up at the gate and wait to be issued a ticket. If the flight was considerably empty, the gate agent may go ahead and ticket you at the start of the boarding process. But if the flight only had a few seats left — or was completely full — all non-revenue passengers must wait until the end of the boarding process for standby seats to clear.

With this much uncertainty, it's essential that you only travel with a carry-on or personal bag, as you never know which flight you'll end up taking that day. Since I only had free time to travel on weekends, this wasn't a problem as I never needed to check a bag in the first place.

Since JetBlue only offers paid upgrades to its passengers, it was easy for non-revenue flyers to snag Even More Space (EMS) seats or even Mint seats on qualifying routes. Interns only had access to JetBlue-operated flights, but full-time employees could fly standby on partner airlines as well, widening the opportunities for international trips.

Finally, in terms of dress and behavior, you're supposed to blend in with the rest of the crowd while looking neat and polished. For example, you're not allowed to wear flip flops or sweatpants as a non-revenue passenger.

Your standby benefits extend to immediate family

At JetBlue, your standby benefits as a full-time employee extend to your immediate family (spouse, dependent children and parents). Airline employees will also get buddy passes throughout the year, handing them out to extended family or friends.

As an intern, I could extend my travel privileges to my parents and one designated travel companion. I brought my mom with me on several trips that summer, and I think she enjoyed the standby privileges as much as I did.

How to work the odds in your favor

Now that I've given a brief rundown, here's how you can work standby travel in your favor. While some of it's luck, there's actually more strategy involved.

First, I had access to a separate website where I'd book non-revenue tickets and monitor flight loads in real time. For example, my new intern friend, Peter, and I wanted to start easy. That means we weren't interested in flying a competitive route such as New York (JFK) to Los Angeles (LAX) from the get-go.

Instead, we picked New York (JFK) to Nantucket on the first flight of the day — 7:10 a.m. We checked the flight loads the night before, and since there were 60+ empty seats, we knew we could hop on this flight with no issues. We were ticketed as soon as we arrived at the gate.

A perk of standby travel that I hadn't considered before is that you have flexibility in your travel plans. We did a quick day trip in Nantucket, and there were plenty of flights going back to New York that day (JFK and LGA). While we were initially intending on leaving around dinnertime, we decided to hop back on the flight around 4 p.m. so we could get back to Manhattan earlier.

On my way home from San Diego, I wanted to try out Mint for the first time, but there were only a few seats left and a long list of standby passengers. Instead, I decided to book a flight to Boston-Logan International Airport (BOS) to snag a Mint seat and then jumped on a flight from Boston to New York (LGA).

Related: The Mint experience from London: What it was like flying JetBlue's inaugural flight from London to New York

What happens when there's not a seat available

Out of the 30+ flights I took that summer, I was denied boarding only once. Those are some pretty good odds, especially since the summer is the busiest travel season and full of bad weather delays .

My mom and I wanted to fly to Los Angeles, so we picked the first flight of the day that had about 15 seats the morning of. With other higher priority employees on the list, there was only one seat left. My mom took the last seat while I hopped on standby for the next flight that left just an hour later, and we finally met up at the airport.

There are several other instances where seats may fill up last minute. For example, delays and cancellations can lead to rebooking on later flights during the day — so that flight with 30 seats available might be snatched up by revenue passengers. That's why it's important to monitor the flight loads religiously, check the forecast and see where the aircraft is coming from or going since numbers can change last minute.

Standby travel is also a game of exercising patience, as gate agents are often overworked when it comes to delays and cancellations . We were advised to never go up to the gate until boarding has finished, as you'll want to stay out of the way as much as possible.

Several interns and I flew to St. Martin at the end of the summer. To ensure that we'd all get back to New York, some of us took the earlier flight home while the others took the later flight. No matter how many seats are available, it's always stressful not to have a confirmed ticket, so splitting up helped us travel together without leaving one of us stranded.

Spontaneity is the spice of life

Thanks to JetBlue offering free in-flight Wi-Fi, I could then plan the rest of my trip once I got a confirmed seat and was en route to my destination. Depending on where I was going, I would only bring enough clothes for a day trip. I would look at last-minute hotels or Airbnbs on the flight.

On the ground, I would spend most of my time walking, spending time on the beach or exploring restaurants in the area. Standby travel is an entirely different way to travel than I've ever experienced.

Bottom line

As someone who's quite spontaneous already, I loved the thrill of non-revenue travel and exploring a new destination for a fraction of the cost. However, as I returned to a "normal" paying passenger, I also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a confirmed booking and the ability to earn points and miles and work toward elite status .

FlyZed.info

Helping airline employees along their zed journey.

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Qantas Airways Limited, QF (known as "Qantas")

*** important information ***, flight listing policy and procedures, flights excluded, special service requests, unaccompanied minors, upgrade policy, useful extra information, covid-19 travel information:.

Updated 19 February 2021

Some Australian states and territories have introduced new measures, including additional health and safety protocols, in response to Coronavirus that may impact your travel.

Before booking and before you travel, ensure you check the latest government  travel requirements , which may include mandatory health declarations, use of face masks, entry permits, pre-approval and quarantine (possibly at your own expense), or you could be denied entry.

Flight listings are required by staff travellers for all Qantas and Jetstar flights.

Flight listings must be made at least 24 hours prior to travel.

Staff travellers without a listing may be refused travel.

 Qantas flight listings:

• E-tickets purchased through myIDTravel and issued by Qantas (081 ticket stock) are automatically listed for travel at the time of booking.
• E-tickets purchased through myIDTravel and issued by your own airline (ticket stock is not 081) or e-tickets purchased directly with your airline require a listing to be made.
• Flight listings should be made via   https://www.myidtravel.com/myidlisting/ . If you do not have your airline's log-in access to myIDTravel, please contact your staff travel office for the applicable Userid and password. 
• If you are experiencing problems listing via the myIDTravel website, please ensure your e-tickets have been issued correctly. If the issue continues and travel is imminent please email [email protected]  or call +61 1300 303 411 (select option 1) with your details (including passenger name/s, airline, e-ticket number/s, flight and date details) for assistance in making a listing.

Jetstar flight listings:

• Bookings purchased via myIDTravel and issued by Jetstar are automatically listed for travel at the time of booking.
• If your airline has an IET agreement for travel on Jetstar services operated by a QF code-share flight number and e-ticket has been closed to QF carrier-code, a listing must be made with Jetstar prior to airport check-in
• Listings can be made by contacting Jetstar on the following numbers between 0600 - 2030 (Australian Eastern Standard Time):

Australia: 1300 042 394 or +61 3 8668 8277

Singapore: 800 852 9510

New Zealand: 0800 284 510

Other countries: +61 3 8668 8277

• Refund requests for wholly unused e-tickets will be processed automatically.
• Partially used e-tickets will be processed manually and can take up to 8 weeks from receipt of refund request.
• Downgrade refunds will be processed manually and can take up to 8 weeks from receipt of refund request. Please email a copy of your boarding pass, booking reference, ticket number and passenger details to [email protected] to have your downgrade refund actioned.  
• E-tickets with an issue date exceeding one (1) year are not eligible for refund.

Jetstar / Jetstar Asia / Jetstar Japan:

• Refund requests for future dated segments will be processed via myIDTravel.
• Refund requests for past dated segments will be processed manually and can take up to 8 weeks from receipt of refund to process. To request a refund for a past dated flight segment. Please email [email protected] to request a refund for your past dated Jetstar booking or contact the Jetstar Tradeline by calling:
•  The Call Centre is open 7 days a week, 0600 - 2030 (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
• Bookings with an issue date exceeding six (6) months are not eligible for refund.

LAX-JFK-LAX flights are permanently embargoed.

All QF flight numbers NOT operated by Qantas or Jetstar aircraft - ie. codeshare services

• Qantas economy class commercial baggage allowances apply for staff travellers.
• Refer to qantas.com for full details.
• Note that even if your baggage meets the requirements, we may refuse to carry it if it is not properly and securely packed.
• Remember that no single item of checked baggage may exceed 32kg (70lb) and all cabin baggage must fit under the seat in front of you or in an overhead locker, including musical instruments.
• If you exceed the baggage allowance, you must pay any applicable excess baggage charges.
• Jetstar, Jetstar Asia and Jetstar Japan checked baggage allowance is 20kg.
• Additional baggage can be purchased for Jetstar, Jetstar Asia and Jetstar Japan flights. Please contact the Jetstar Tardeline and have your booking details available.
• Please note that excess baggage fees are non-refundable .

Check In Times

International: 90 - 120 minutes before scheduled departure timeDomestic: 45 - 60 minutes before scheduled departure time

Online Check-In

Online check-in is available for staff travellers. Go to www.qantas.com (or download the Qantas app) and Manage Booking to check-in online.

NOTE:  You can check-in online within two hours of flight departure for all Trans-Tasman and Australian domestic flights. For all other international destinations you can check-in online within four hours of flight departure. If you check-in for your flight earlier than the recommended times you’ll be checked-in to standby. 

Checking in at the Airport

Sydney Australia

• T1 - Sydney International Terminal. Qantas flights QF1-QF399. Check-in at Economy check-in desks.
• T2 - Jetstar Sydney Domestic Airport. Jetstar domestic flights operate from this terminal.
• T3 - Qantas Sydney Domestic Airport.  Qantas Domestic flights QF400-QF1599 and QantasLInk flights 1600 and above operate from this terminal. Check-in at the Check-In Kiosk and follow the prompts on screen.

 Other Australian airports

• Self Check-In Kiosks are the fast and easy way to check-in at the airport for domestic flights.
• Where Self Check-In Kiosks are not available go to the Economy class check-in counters.

International Airports

• Self Check-In Kiosks to be used where available. (Not available in all ports). Otherwise, Economy Class check-in desks.

Through check-in

Through check-in is not available to staff travellers with standby (space available/subload/ID) tickets. When planning your journey, make sure that you leave yourself enough time to land and check-in again at any intermediate point.

When travelling on Qantas services rebate passengers must maintain a high standard of dress and grooming. Generally speaking you need to be neat, clean and conservative.

Failure to comply with the following minimum standards - which apply when you board and disembark - may result in you being refused boarding or an upgrade, with the final decision on this at the discretion of the local airport management.

• Economy Class
• Business Class

Special meals

Special meals are not available to any rebate passenger, whether on duty or personal travel. If you have specific dietary needs or preferences which mean that you are unable or unwilling to eat or drink any of the items you are likely to be served on board, you must take your own provisions.

Seat requests

Seat requests are not permitted under any circumstances, whether on travelling on duty or personal travel. If the flight is "open", the check-in agent may ask if you want an aisle or a window seat, but this will depend on the commercial load of the flight.

Even if you are assigned a specific seat at check-in, you may be moved, even when onboard the aircraft, if it is needed to accommodate commercial requirements.

Children under 16 years cannot travel on any kind of staff travel rebate ticket unless accompanied by an adult travelling on the same type of rebate ticket.

• NOT applicable

Back up tickets recommended

• Qantas strongly recommends all employees and their eligible nominees to have comprehensive insurance. We cannot offer any free-of-charge special arrangements if you sustain an injury or contract an illness during your stay away from home, or if you lose money or documents or personal possessions etc.

Simple Flying

Qantas puts airbus a380 on standby for 2023's biggest day.

How well Qantas and Jetstar perform this peak summer season will leave an indelible imprint on the new CEO's resume.

• Qantas and Jetstar are expecting their busiest holiday season since 2019-2020, with over 8.5 million passengers to be carried over December and January.
• Qantas has implemented various measures to ensure a smooth travel experience, including extra aircraft on standby and increased reserve staff numbers.
• International travel is slowly recovering, with Qantas operating around 90% of its pre-COVID capacity for international flights.

Although Christmas is still ten days away, today is the single biggest day of travel of the 2023 holiday period across the Qantas Group airlines, with more than 150,000 passengers queueing up to get onboard. It is such a big day that Qantas has placed one of its Airbus A380s on standby as an operational spare aircraft to step in immediately should a major disruption occur.

The pressure is on for Qantas and Jetstar

Airlines have always had detailed contingency plans in place for disruptions on peak travel days, but ever since its extremely damaging meltdowns in 2022, Qantas has made sure the public knows what those plans entail. With polarizing former CEO Alan Joyce long gone, the airline is hoping for a trouble-free summer season, and this week, it announced a raft of measures to ensure that happens.

December and January are Australia's peak holiday months, and between them, Qantas and Jetstar, the group's low-cost carrier , expect to carry more than 8.5 million passengers, the most the two have carried in that period since 2019-2020. The pair will carry more than 500,000 more than last year's holiday season, and it will take around 70,000 flights across the country to complete the task.

The next few weeks are also a big test for CEO Vanessa Hudson, who is keen to set the airline group on a fresh course, and part of that is reassuring the public that Qantas has the plans and systems in place to cope with the peak demand, both domestically and internationally. Some of those measures include:

• Placing up to 13 aircraft on standby as operational spares to provide extra buffers in the event of disruptions.
• Significantly boosting reserve staff numbers to fill unexpected gaps, such as for sick leave.
• Jetstar and Qantas aircraft have had maintenance brought forward in readiness for extra demand.
• Qantas has worked with industry partners to have extra staff, such as ground handlers and airport security screeners, available for peak periods.
• In the last 12 months, Qantas has added almost 3,300 additional operational staff, including pilots, engineers, cabin crew and customer service people as demand increased.

Qantas and Jetstar have lifted their performance and reliability significantly during 2023 and are now in good shape to get everyone where they need to be over the next few months, so the public can have confidence as they head to the airport for today's crush. The group said it had invested AU$230 million ($154m) on initiatives to fix pain points and improve customer experience, including baggage tracking in the Qantas app, better inflight catering and more generous passenger compensation when things don't go to plan.

International is nearing full recovery

International travel is a high priority at this time of the year, so the group will be operating around 90% of its pre-COVID capacity, which is expected to be fully recovered by the middle of 2024. Based on current passenger demand, that means busy times ahead for the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Airbus A380s , A330s and A321LRs that do the international flying for Qantas and Jetstar.

Compared to last summer, Qantas has more than doubled its Australia-Japan flights as Aussies head for the northern hemisphere snow, resumed flights from Sydney to New York (via Auckland) and completed the pre-pandemic network when it resumed Sydney-Shanghai services . Timely news for families is that Jetstar is resuming its flights between Melbourne and Fiji this week, which has long been a popular holiday spot for Australian families at Christmas time.

Discover more aviation news for Australia and Oceania here

To make things work smoothly, Qantas has asked passengers to check in online, arrive at the airport in plenty of time and stay within their checked and carry-on baggage limits. The airline also asks that everyone be patient and respectful to airport staff, crew and fellow customers, particularly at the usual bottlenecks, such as security screening and boarding.

Are you traveling with Qantas or Jetstar this holiday season? Let us know how it goes in the comments.

• Travel Updates

Easter travel warnings for millions of Aussies using Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney Airport

Aussies should prepare for what is going to be an extremely busy travel day with airports warning passengers to do this one specific thing.

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Australian airports are bracing for an influx of travellers, with passengers warned to plan ahead.

Qantas and Jetstar are expecting more than 670,000 passengers over the Easter long weekend alone, with 150,000 people flying on Easter Thursday, making it the busiest day.

This will also be the busiest day for Brisbane and Sydney Airport.

About 130,000 passengers are expected to pass through Sydney Airport while 56,000 will pass through Brisbane Airport’s domestic terminal.

Melbourne Airport, however, is not expected to see its busiest day until April 12, marking the end of Victorian school holidays and the start of NSW school holidays.

It forecasts 108,000 passengers, a big increase on a normal day of between 85,000 and 95,000 passengers.

Those jetting off from Melbourne are warned parking will be more challenging than usual with 500 spaces removed from the airport’s ‘Value Car Park’ for construction of Naarm Way Stage 2.

“This coming weekend is looking particularly busy, with the Value Car Park sold out online and limited spaces in our Terminal car parks, so we’d advise travellers to allow extra time to find a space,” Melbourne Airport’s chief of ground transport, property and retail Jai McDermott said.

“When complete in 2026, Naarm Way Stage 2 will deliver new dedicated drop off and pick up zones for passengers using Terminals 1, 2 and 3, while also reducing congestion in the increasingly busy forecourt.”

In total Melbourne Airport will see 1.7 million passengers (1.16 million domestic and 540,000 international) over Easter and the school holidays.

International traveller numbers are up 21 per cent compared to the same holiday period last year, while domestic traveller numbers are expected to increase by four per cent.

Passengers are advised to arrive one to two hours before a domestic flight and two to three hours before an international flight.

Mr McDermott said the airport would have more security, more cleaners and more customer service staff on hand to meet demand.

“We know peak travel periods can be a stressful time for some passengers, but we ask people to be patient and respectful as the team works to get you where you need to be as quickly and safely as possible,” he said.

Brisbane Airport is gearing up for 1.5 million people to pass through its domestic terminal and 500,000 travellers to pass through the international terminal.

Brisbane Airport spokesman Peter Doherty said as the weather starts to cool in NSW, Victoria and New Zealand they enter “the period of the year when Queensland shines”.

The number of travellers using the domestic terminal is up just 2 per cent on the same period last year, but international traveller numbers will be a huge 32 per cent higher.

The busiest time for the international terminal in Brisbane will be between April 12 and 14 as school holidays begin in New Zealand.

“Trans-Tasman travel has increased, with the number of flights originating from New Zealand rising from 75 this time last year to 87 per week this year,” Mr Doherty said, which is a 23 per cent increase.

However, the real star is Japan . There are 18 departures from Brisbane to the popular Asian nation, compared to just three this time last year.

“The number of passengers will be at 200 per cent of pre-Covid levels, by far the biggest recovery of any market,” Mr Doherty said. “Not only will it mean thousands of Japanese tourists holidaying in South East Queensland, but also lots of Queenslanders enjoying the cherry blossom season.”

He credited an expansion of Jetstar services at Brisbane Airport for the boom, with the budget airline now the second biggest international airline for the airport.

Brisbane Airport said it plans to bring back therapy dogs to calm passengers in the domestic terminal for the holidays, and expand the program to the international terminal for the first time.

Aussies flying domestically are advised to arrive the normal 90 minutes prior to their flight and three hours before an international departure.

Unlike Victoria and Queensland, NSW school holidays don’t kick off until two weeks after Easter.

A Sydney Airport spokeswoman told news.com.au this meant they were expecting “a longer, but less peaky busy period”.

“The terminals will still be bustling and we’re encouraging passengers to arrive at the airport two hours ahead of domestic travel if they’re checking in luggage, and three hours prior if heading overseas,” she said, adding travellers are urged to book their parking online ahead of time.

Sydney Airport expects 449,000 passengers to pass through between Thursday and Sunday, 266,000 of those domestic and 183,000 international.

With the school holidays for the three eastern states expanding over a four week period, Qantas and Jetstar are expecting almost four million passengers to fly on 36,000 flights nationally.

More Coverage

Up to 15 aircraft will be on standby across the Qantas Group to help if there are disruptions.

Qantas said it had rostered on additional staff at its busiest airports, and worked with contractors to ensure additional ground handlers are on standby and also airport security screeners.

Dedicated maintenance teams have been set up to increase maintenance activity on aircraft.

Australians travelling to a popular holiday destination have been warned to exercise caution after the nation raised its terror alert.

Residents are being urged to evacuate immediately as bushfires burn a major state forest.

A popular coastal town has been divided after a local aired his grievances on one tourist act, urging the council to ‘get serious’.

United Airlines Boeing 777 diverted to Denver during Paris flight over engine issue

Flight 990, which was headed to paris from san francisco international airport, was diverted to denver on thursday evening after the crew reported an issue with the engine.

Another United flight has been diverted because of an issue with the engine.

Flight 990, which was headed to Paris from San Francisco International Airport, was diverted to Denver on Thursday evening after the crew reported an issue with the engine, according to the Statement United Airlines emailed to USA TODAY on Friday. After it landed safely, passengers deplaned normally, and the flight was canceled.

While the flight did not declare an emergency landing, emergency services were there on standby. But the flight did not need them.

A representative from United said the airline is currently looking to provide flight options that leave Friday for the 273 passengers who were on board.

Unrelated incidents

Last week, the crew of a United flight that was supposed to fly from SFO to Osaka, Japan, was alerted to engine problems as the plane was taxiing to the runway. It returned to the gate and was delayed by five hours.

Both planes were Boeing 777s that were set to depart from SFO on international flights. United Airlines told USA TODAY that the events were unrelated.

When the airline was asked if it plans to investigate what is happening with its planes at SFO, its media team declined to comment.

Boeing CEO to step down

Amid a slew of safety issues involving Boeing's aircraft the 737 Max, the company's CEO, Dave Calhoun, said he will step down at the end of 2024.

Calhoun had been facing scrutiny since a  January mid-air panel blowout  on a  737 MAX plane . The Alaska Airlines 737 Max lost a door plug midflight while it was about 16,000 feet above the ground.

Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture.   You can follow her on  X, formerly known as Twitter ,  Instagram  and  TikTok : @juliamariegz.