Flying standby is a tool travelers and airline employees use to reach a destination without paying for a ticket or on an earlier flight than the original confirmed ticket.
 
While it sounds like a really nice thing, flying is not always the easiest or stressless experience. Weather, time of day, aircraft size, route popularity, and many other factors can make the experience a nightmare at times and, at worst, strand you at an airport hundreds or thousands of miles from where you want to be by the end of the day.

What is Flying "Standby"?

A common misconception about flying standby is that you will get a seat, you just don't know where on the plane. That is simply false, as you are at the mercy of both the amount of confirmed passengers on the flight, and other standby flyers that might be ahead of you on the list.