Free flights for airline employee's friends???

Question

We have a friend (hubby's cousin actually) who's currently in training to be a flight attendant ... he keeps telling us that we are on his 'list' of people who get FREE flights?

Can there be any truth to this? He's known for lying about the most random c**p that no one cares about (pathological liar) and i usually just ignore any nonsense that comes out of his face... but the thought of free flights, has me excited... :)

Anyhow, is this "list" another one of his stories?

Answer 1

to keep it simple every airline has different rules

General Rules:

-Employee recieves Unlimited standby travel on the airline they work for

-Mother and Father recieve unlimited *standby* airfare on the employees airline

-If you have a wife and kids they recieve unlimited standby airfare.

-If you don't have a wife you are allowed to add one "Companion" whether this be a friend or girlfriend or relative. But if you have a wife you can't claim a companion.

-Many airline employees also recieve buddy passes, usually a total of 6 any given year which they can give to anyone to use. 1 buddy pass equals one round trip pass which you have to pay the taxes I believe

Hope this helps you answer your question!!

Answer 2

My friend is a flight attendant for delta airlines and he told me that he gets a free flight every year, and he can give it to someone if he wants. But you don't get them whenever you want. You are on a list and if that flights available you can take it. It's only one though for the employee.

Answer 3

I worked for an airline for 25 years and I was never allowed to let friends fly for free. The airlines usually let the employee and immediate family members fly space available but you are responsible for overseas taxes and other extra costs. Flying space available is not as glamorous as you would believe as you only fly if there is space for you to on the airplane. You have to plan your trips very carefully so you do not get stuck or left behind and so you do not lose hotel reservations,etc.

Answer 4

Where I work you can have a spouse or companion- that flies for free. I got mad at hubby and took him off and put a friend on (divorced now lol) . She was single & travelled a heck of a lot more than hubby ever did.  But she flew totally for free. Usually you have to work for 10 years before you fly for free. It's a nominal charge before the 10 year mark- like $40 or something like that. That's for coach travel/ First class is a bit more. but you can use vacation passes (2 per person per year) for free first class travel , IF first class is open. Everything is standby travel, so plan well. Good Luck! :)

Answer 5

I seriously doubt that hubby's cousin would qualify.

Answer 6

There is some truth to it...

working for the airlines, immediate family flies for free unlimited... space available (parents, kids, spouse).

You would not be eligible for that.

However, there are "buddy passes" which are given, so depending on the airline, he may have 5-10 free round trip standby passes he gets yearly.

Answer 7

I've heard about this, but when someone was telling me about it, they said there's only one person they can put on this "list". Maybe it's different for different airlines...

Answer 8

employees, spouse, dependents and parents (verified by birth and marriage certificates) fly free depending on the airline. you also have buddy passes which can be given to anyone. it's usually a set allotment for the year and some airlines will charge a fee for them to be used.

Answer 9

My ex-boyfriend had me on his list.  He could put one person down to fly on standby.  Yes, this was only if there was room on the plane, and it was never a great seat.  Because it was on standby, you couldn't ever tell someone that you would be somewhere at a certain time, because, well, what if the connecting flight didn't have any space?!

Oh, my bf worked for American Eagle, if that makes a difference.

Answer 10

Different rules for different airlines.  The airline my wife works for, allows free flights for immediate family up to four.  That doesn't usually include cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.

HOWEVER, anyone that my wife physically accompanies on a flight as a companion, flies for free.

Most airlines have buddy passes.  Again, different rules for each.  For my wife, she gets six a year to give out, and whoever uses them has to pay the equivalent tax for the ticket, but not the actual ticket price.

Answer 11

They are known in the industry as "Buddy Passes" As mentioned in answers above you ride stand-by. That means if there is room you get to go. Today's flights average an 80% load factor. The popular routes you will not get on, trust me. By the way nothing is free, the IRS charges a tax on the fares that amount to a little over $100 for domestic travel(You can find some fares cheaper) International fare after taxes and fees are close to promotional fares but you are stand-by.

The employee has to trust the person they give the pass to because if the buddy acts up you can be fired for your buddies indescretions.

I gave one to a friend that I trusted and after not being able to get home for 3 days and having to buy a full fare ticket one-way(very expensive) to get back home for work, they vowed to never fly stand-by again.

So in answer to your question. Some airlines offer it some don't. But if it was me and you know when you are traveling, look ahead for cheaper fares, buy a ticket and travel knowing you have a seat. I could go on and on about horror stories riding on a pass.