One of the best resources for standby travelers is other standby travelers. Standby travel is tricky to figure out, and while there is no substitute for experience and learning the hard way, mistakes are avoidable by learning from other travelers. If you have social media, I highly recommend you follow non-rev travel groups and any other standby-related groups on Facebook. Most of these groups will require proof of your status as an employee. As a spouse, I have not had trouble getting approval for social media groups. 

Social Media Groups

These groups are helpful in many ways. Many group members share their travels on the page, which can be great inspiration for your next trip! Group members offer advice for how you conduct yourself as a standby passenger. Information on approaching gate agents, flight attendants, what to do in certain situations etc. Many of these suggestions are especially helpful because I have not personally worked the job. Working as an airline employee would help guide you as a traveler because it increases awareness of how you prefer customers/standby travelers to behave, allowing you to adjust your behavior accordingly. 

If you follow airline groups, group members alert you to situations abroad, which can be extremely helpful when selecting your location. By following these groups, I have received alerts to strikes, political unrest, or other factors that help me decide if it is a good idea to go somewhere. For example, there are many transportation strikes in Europe going on right now. These strikes could affect a traveler, and I first learned about them on a Facebook group. At the very least, the information would prompt further research into transportation plans. With the flexibility of non-rev travel, you could adjust plans and reroute. 

Asking Groups Questions

Occasionally, the groups are a good resource if you are unsure how to proceed. For generic questions, always search the page first to see if anyone else has asked the same thing. When my husband and I got stuck in Seattle during a giant snowstorm, I consulted the group to determine our best option. A gate agent, who worked in Seattle, responded that we should give up on getting anywhere from Seattle because they aren’t well equipped to handle snow.

As a result, we changed our plan from a winter Alaskan adventure to exploring Seattle and the Oregon coast. We utilized our time well and avoided excessive time stuck in the airport. It ended up being a fantastic trip that we remember fondly. Travel benefits offer so much flexibility. Had we purchased a seat full fare, we would have been stuck in Seattle for a week trying to get out. Instead, we had an actual vacation and flew out of Portland to get home on time for work. 

Blogs/YouTube Channels

In addition to following social media non-rev groups, follow blogs like this one! Some travelers also have YouTube channels that can help inspire future travel adventures. I have yet to find a non-rev channel on YouTube that I watch regularly, but I have gotten travel inspiration with YouTubers I follow such as Kara and Nate, and Drew Binsky (who has been to every country). Comment below on the blog if you find another YouTuber who posts quality travel videos! When traveling, I prefer to take photos and live in the moment. I’d find it difficult to fully enjoy a trip while trying to document everything on video. Others love the documentation process, however, and do a stunning job! 

Podcasts

I’ve also found podcasts about travel that are great to listen to in the car to hype me up about future trips. My favorite podcast for this is Travel with Rick Steves. I also follow the Amateur Traveler, but the production quality of this podcast isn’t as high as Rick Steves. Despite this, it has good recommendations. Like before, comment on the blog post for any podcast recommendations!

Even though standby travelers have a unique set of circumstances, travel research in any capacity can be helpful. When the possibilities are endless, it can be hard to decide where to go. Other travelers’ experiences can help you determine whether a trip suits your style of travel well. It can also help if you end up somewhere unexpected. On that same Seattle/Oregon unplanned trip, I remembered listening to a podcast on the Amateur Traveler about the Oregon Coast. We might have missed out on that if I hadn’t heard that episode. Being in the Pacific Northwest during a snowstorm eliminated many options, and the coast was the perfect thing to do on our trip. You never know where you’ll end up, and having a memory bank of ideas at your disposal can be incredibly useful. 

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