American Airlines is bringing back the ability for passengers to add themelves to standby for a flight with an agent. Last year they implemented rules that required most customers to:
- be AAdvantage members in order to stand by for free
- use self-service channels only (AA.com, mobile app)
- do so at least 45 minutes prior to the new flight
Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum, and ConciergeKey members could still run up to the gate 15 minutes prior to departure and get added to standby. For anyone else, they were out of luck.
That was a huge frustration because sometimes digital options wouldn’t exist for flights, or the system would error out. Golds and Platinum members were allowed to standby with a checked bag – but the website and app wouldn’t allow it, so they could never use this benefit they’d earned.
As part of a more customer-centric focus, one of the key things I’ve been suggesting American should do is reverse this policy. Now the airline shares that all customers will once again be able to be added to standby in-person with an agent.
Beginning tomorrow, July 1, all customers are eligible to list for same-day standby with an agent up to 45 minutes prior to departure – regardless of AAdvantage® membership or status. The policy is only applicable to domestic flights and segments.
We are continuously looking for ways to enhance the travel journey for our customers and this update gives all customers the convenience of a flexible itinerary, space permitting.
I have clarified that Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum, and ConciergeKey members will continue to be allowed to stand by up to 15 minutes prior to departure.
This is unequivocal good news for American’s customers, and a key policy reversal – an easy win that removes a real pain point for customers. Too many have been turned away when seats were available to get where they were going and this should help alleviate that problem.
It’s yuuuuuuge!
Isn’t this costing them tons of money to have internal meetings , planning, project management etc to make a move to change something then a year later change it back? Shouldn’t people be getting actively fired in project management and leadership positions at AA for this?
sorry but this will backfire badly.
Adding the ability to be added to the standby list within 45 minutes should be allowed – but not at the gate. flights should be boarding or within minutes of boarding at that time.
flights should be nearly boarded 15 minutes before departure.
allowing someone to come running up at the last minute to be added to the standby list is not going to turn out well.
from an operational standpoint, the cutoff should be 1 hour for everyone except top tier and 30 minutes for them and no standby additions at the gate once boarding has started.
On July 18, at 5 AM, the 2nd leg of my TPA-CLT-HPN AA flights was canceled. My first leg was scheduled to leave TPA at about 7 AM. On the AA app there were no seats available on CLT-HPN flights until July 19. Using the Exec. Plat call center I was able to secure a new set of flights: TPA-DCA at 7 AM, and DCA-HPN at 5 PM. This would result in about a 5-6 hour delay in my arrival at HPN. At the TPA checkin counter the AA Agent was able to put me on standby for a 1 PM flt DCA-HPN. My checked suitcase would go on this flight regardless if I had to wait for the 5 PM flight. I landed at DCA a bit early (about 9:15 AM) and saw on the departures board that the 9:15 AM DCA-HPN flight was delayed till 10:15. I hustled over to the departure gate and got there about 9:40. The jet bridge door was closed. I asked the agent to be put me on as a standby for the 9:15 flight as it wasn’t going to leave for another 35 minutes. Initially the agent denied my request but when I said I was Exec. Plat., she immediately said, “Oh, you are qualified” and she gave me a new boarding pass for seat 9D and I boarded and had the whole row to myself. We actually left the gate at about 10:30 (the delay was due to HPN being fogged in with less than 1/4 mile visibility). I thought my suitcase would arrive on the 1 PM flight. Imagine my happy surprise when I saw it on the luggage conveyor belt at HPN when I just finished getting my car reservation So, I actually arrived to HPN, with my suitcase, about 2 hours before my ORIGINAL booking. Needless to say I am pleased how AA treated me on this travel adventure.
I think this is a win for the customers and for AA- if. you can fill a seat earlier, customer happier and possibly sell the seat on later flight? and, not everyone has a smart phone- let’s keep hearing about more customer positive changes-
@Tim Dunn — It’s overall good, though. Whether it’s 45 minutes or an hour cutoff, they can try it, adjust later. (Separately, I know Delta’s motto by heart, ‘Keep Climbing,’ but, for the life of me, couldn’t recall American’s… ‘Let Good Take Flight’… bah!)
Good.
This was one of the worst policies they ever implemented, completely customer unfriendly in every way particularly to frequent fliers and people affected by IROPS. I hope whomever thought this was a good idea was fired.
Good step forward…now let’s get advantage members with status the privilege to change flights on same day with different routings via the app.
Gary,
where is the story on the Supreme Court’s denial of AA’s petition to overturn the lower courts’ rulings on the NEA?
@Tim Dunn — While I personally liked the Northeast Alliance, I’d imagine the court found the topic moot now that B6 is practically realigning with UA. Besides, at this point, the 6-3 court is busy stripping away citizenship and ensuring we have a king, so it’s all relative. Which reminds me, be sure to ‘bow’ to his majesty when in ‘court’!
Will be interesting to see how this change fares versus the relentless-but-futile quest for D0.
My money is on D0.
The 45 min rule is beyond dumb. Let people get to their destination. Guess AA “going for great” happened to forget “why you fly”
They’ve also stopped restricting SDC to aadvantage members recently without any announcement that I have seen.
Gary, love to see this, but I have a follow up. During IROPS, AA has this infuriating policy that you can’t standby for a flight flying to a different airport than the one you’re ticketed to. For instance, say I’m on a 4 o’clock flight to JFK that got canceled. The next one isn’t until 7, and has a long standby list. However, there’s a 5 o’clock to LaGuardia that has a much shorter list that I would have a better chance at getting, and avoid having to face the possibility of an overnight. I should be able to standby for that flight and solve my problem, right? Wrong. Even if the airports are only a couple miles from each other, AA won’t let you standby to a different airport. It’s an absolutely infuriating policy that has screwed me over several times. I don’t know if this problem is unique to AA, but I would certainly feel a lot more comfortable flying with them if this issue was fixed. So I’m wondering if this change also means they fixed that problem?
Tough to see how getting more passengers to their destination earlier – avoiding potential delays and problems on later flights – could be construed as either bad service or a problem. Good for AA on recognizing that they made a bad decision and reversing that decision.
This is all good and fine until people realize AA’s plan is to have only one agent working the gate and the board time starts at 40 minutes prior with agents not being assigned until 55 minutes to flight departure.
Once again, it’s a bunch of fat cats sitting up in SkyView who get paid way too much money to mess up an operation because they are completely out of touch with airport experience and operations, never actually taking the time to get input from the people with the knowledge.
AA is management top heavy in SkyView and comtinue to cut the people who matter most, the customer service agents who ultimately are the one’s they blame for their poor Net Promoter Score when the truth is, they are the very one’s ruining what was once a great airline!
The finger of blame gets pointed and they don’t see the three pointing right back at them! They need to clean house at SkyView and put those salaries back into customer service!
In the past passengers with checked luggage could not standby for a earlier (or later) flight due to security reasons. Will this procedure now be changed?
**The 45 min rule is beyond dumb. Let people get to their destination. Guess AA “going for great” happened to forget “why you fly”**
I would think the problem is that allowing additions less than 45 minutes, i.e., when boarding has started, would benefit standbys but risk delaying departure for everyone else.
@Tim Dunn – the Supreme Court denying cert to a case is hardly a story. they take about 1% of the cases that are brought to them. and it generally has little to do with the merits of the case, and is about whether there’s a split in how circuits are handling a case or an area of law that justices seek to change.
@ 1990
I can assure you, the Supreme Court is not up-to-date on what’s happening between JetBlue and United. lol
The decision was made based upon the law and the lower courts making the right decision.
Stand by to me is just too much of a PITA. Unless you’re looking at a misconnect and that often isn’t known until closer to your departure time. If the flight is wide open, a rarity, you can usually get accommodated before boarding and might have a pick of seat. But most of the time you’re waiting to the end and it might be a middle seat in row 31.
And if you’re in first/business you can basically forget about being accommodated into first/business.
@Jay – a customer experiencing IROPS can be rerouted to a co-terminal or another city within 300 miles of the original destination confirmed if space available and standby during IROPS only.
The updated Same Day Standby policy./SDS now allows co-terminals e.g. JFK/LGA, MIA/FLL with no check baggage.
@Jore T – SDS now allows checked baggage for Platinum Pro and higher up to 15 minutes before departure and up to 45 minutes before departure for everyone else.
Be advised the Ramp typically has needed 75 minutes or more to move the bags to the earlier flight so Customer beware.
You allow political opinion on your website, really!? This is totally off topic and should not be allowed! It has nothing to do with airline industry!
1990 says:
June 30, 2025 at 8:15 pm
@Tim Dunn — While I personally liked the Northeast Alliance, I’d imagine the court found the topic moot now that B6 is practically realigning with UA. Besides, at this point, the 6-3 court is busy stripping away citizenship and ensuring we have a king, so it’s all relative. Which reminds me, be sure to ‘bow’ to his majesty when in ‘court’!
@Gregg — True, Justice Thomas only flies private on Harlan Crow’s jet, if not, he takes his Prevost Le Mirage XL Marathon motor coach. Flying AA, B6, or even UA, would probably be a downgrade for ‘his (dis)honor’…
AA really needs to start charging these frigging pax who put themselves on standby, again! These more ons screw us, pilots, who commute when jumpseats are filked already!
this is horrible for AA employees
AA “going for great” happened to forget “why you fly.”
Now, AA is “going for flying empty seats.”
This isn’t good news. Passengers abuse this system all the time and makes it hard for airline employees to travel which technical is doing away with their benifits
Most of the time when customers try to get on standby it’s after the 45 min mark because they just landed. So good luck. Any status members we’ll put on, but will be marked as “late add” and be at the bottom of the list if boarding has commenced. Be prepared for back middle seats on stdby unless the fight is wide open. In the summer good luck.