Check the airline's website early in the morning to see if there are available seats on any earlier flights. If there are several empty seats, you might have a chance to fly standby.
Get to the airport at least an hour before you would normally arrive for a flight. You must check in for the flight you have tickets for. This is necessary so you can pass through security. Tell the ticketing agent that you intend to fly standby. Either they are responsible for putting your name on the standby list, or they should direct you to the gate agent who adds your name.
Don't stray from the gate area. If you do, let the ticket agent know where you are going. During the busy holidays, gate agents may accidentally overlook your name on the standby list.
Pack light or not at all. Persons with checked luggage are less likely to fly standby because of the extra time it takes to load their luggage.
Fly standby from airport hubs. You're more likely to be able to get a standby seat from a larger hub airport than from a smaller airport that has few planes departing daily.
Plan your standby flight on holidays around off times. For example, you may be more likely to get a standby flight on Thanksgiving day rather than the day before or the following Sunday.
