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Standby — the term used for passengers who wait at the gate to see if any seats are left after those with confirmed travel have boarded — is often assigned to travelers who may have missed their original flight or are looking to get on a different one at the last minute. It’s also used to describe airline workers using their flying perks for personal travel.

In cases where passengers with booked travel want to try to get on a different flight, the easiest way is to sign up for standby through the airline’s app, website, or ticketing desk before security.

In spring 2024, carriers like American Airlines (AAL) cracked down on in-person gate requests for all but the most elite travelers, in what it said was an effort to minimize last-minute changes and make better use of gate workers’ time.

The changes proved highly unpopular among frequent travelers, and after more than a year of customers complaining, American has officially rolled back the policy.

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American rolls back unpopular policy, says it is always ‘looking for ways’ to improve

“Beginning 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,” American Airlines clarifies in its announcement.

“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.”

For the last year and a half, only travelers with an AAdvantage loyalty account were able to make a request to join the standby line — while free to join, it added an extra step for the travelers who by definition are often looking to make last-minute changes. The main passenger complaint was that those who missed the chance to sign up for standby earlier and were somehow unable to access the app were out of luck.

“I’ve certainly had situations where there were tech issues preventing requesting standby, so I find that to be quite a frustrating policy change,” Ben Schlappig wrote for aviation website One Mile At A Time in February 2024. “It’s especially strange, since Platinum Pro members and above can make the request, while Platinum members and below can’t.”

American Airlines first changed its standby policy in March 2024.

Image source&colon; Veronika Bondarenko

Some other things to know about the rollback of American’s standby policy

Competitors Delta (DAL) and United Airlines (UAL) have been allowing travelers to make gate standby requests, which further upped the pressure on American to roll back the policy. The policy applies exclusively to flights within the U.S., since international standby is usually given only to nonrevenue travelers who are using perks to travel.

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One other requirement is that any standby requests be made no less than 45 minutes before the flight’s departure time, with the exception of American’s Platinum Pro, Executive Platinum, and Concierge Key elite loyalty travelers who can make that request up to 15 minutes before departure.

These were also the travelers who were exempt from the gate standby ban when American first made the policy change in spring 2024.