Elite status? You can now fly standby on Southwest

Elite frequent fliers, you can now fly standby on Southwest.

The airline added that perk for its A-List and A-List Preferred members effective Tuesday, notifying them of the change in a Monday email.

The new option allows those members of Southwest's Rapid Rewards frequent-flier program to fly standby for same-day flights -- but only within two hours of the scheduled departure time of their original flight.

Fliers seeking to fly standby will have to talk to a customer service agent at the airport on the day of travel to be placed on the space-available standby list. The option to be added to  standby lists is not currently offered via Southwest’s automated check-in kiosks.

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In another significant bit of fine print, Southwest says the new standby perk will not be extended to non-elite customers flying together with A-List and A-List Preferred members – even if they’re on the same reservation.

Customers earn A-List status with Southwest by flying 25 one-way flights or earning 35,000 “Rapid Rewards” points in a calendar year. A-List Preferred status comes after 50 one-way flights or 70,000 points during the same time period. Southwest doles out Rapid Rewards points based on the fare a passenger pays. A $99 fare, for example, earns a customer 474 points. A $390 fare earns 4,196 points.

Southwest, of course, has long been known for flier-friendly policies like two free checked bags and no change fees.

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But the carrier has not offered an option for free, same-day standby. Instead, customers wishing to change to a same-day flight could do so only by paying the difference in fare between their original flight and the one on which they wished to fly instead.

Southwest never adds a change fee, but the fare difference for switching flights can vary significantly depending on the type of fare originally purchased. A flier who had purchased a cheap advance-purchase fare would likely find a significant cost difference between the original fare and the “walk-up” fare that would be charged for another same-day flight. But a customer who had originally purchased a more expensive fare would see a smaller difference in such a scenario.

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Southwest’s decision to add a standby option comes as the airline has increasingly offered fares and services geared toward business fliers. Standby is an option liked by many corporate travelers, who value the flexibility to take a different same-day flight if their meetings finish early or late.

The move also brings Southwest in-line with its major airline rivals that all offer some type of same-day change option on domestic flights.

American ($75), Delta ($50), United ($75) and Alaska Airlines ($25) all permit some type of same-day change, though the restrictions vary significantly between the carriers. American waives its fee for its elite-level fliers while the others exempt only some of their elite-level fliers. All four offer more-expensive types of economy fares that include fee-free options for same-day changes.

JetBlue also allows same-day confirmed changes, though with significant fine print. Passengers unable to comply with those rules can make a same-day change for a fee of $60 to $135, plus the fare difference. Customers purchasing JetBlue’s top-tier “Blue Flex” category pay only the difference in fare. Additionally, JetBlue's elite-level "Mosiac" members will have their change fees waived.

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