sj oldfield

Is it still possible to get a standby flight.........
Have been advised that the hospital are no longer giving dad any chemo......he has been told to go home and enjoy christmas, as there is nothing they can do for him

I am gonna fly back after the new year, but need to know if I can get a lsat minute flight.
Not a good time for me at the moment...in fact feel like sh*t

madsad

So sorry to hear that news about your dad,nothing i could say is going to make you feel any better im sure.

Sorry i dont know much about flights, but Im sure you will get a last minute flight.

My thoughts are with you x take care x x

Donna.

worzel

Sorry to hear your news. A friend told me that if you are prepared to hang around Heathrow for a day or maybe more you can get standby fares for maybe as little as £100 each. And because if you book economy seats and don't fly you lose money but better classes are transferable there is a chance you could end up in business class too. I went to the USA a few times 2 years ago and they had two flights to the UK each night. We booked on the second but turned up in time for the first and asked to go standby. We got on the first plane every time and got upgraded half the time.

Three Legs

Not sure what to say but make the most of the time you spend together...

Good luck with the flights.

CK2B

Sorry to hear your news, not an easy time. I can't really help you with regards to whether you will get stand by but I do know that if you let the airlines know the circumstances of why you are travelling they are very accommodating and will do everything to get you home ASAP.

Thinking of you and your family,
CK

Pollyana

Thats right, the airlines will do what they can - I had a friend who had to fly back for both his parents, on different occasions, from Hobart to London. He rang Qantas at 3am, explained what was happening (father in a coma, etc). He was on a flight out of Hobart at 10am , direct connection through Melbourne, and the cabin crew looked after him all the way just marvellously.

As regards standby, rather than last minute tickets, I'd advise against it. I have a lot of cabin crew friends who use standby as they get it very cheap. The problem is the stop in the middle - you may get to Singapore and be stuck for hours. I have one friend who flew JAL standby LHR-SYD and was stuck in Tokyo for 4 days. Coming back here is different, but going over you need to know you will get there asap. You may be lucky, but remember its Christmas, lots of people travelling, and lots of them on standby.
Phone the airlines, esp Qantas, and tell them what you need.

On a more personal note, Sandra, I'm really sorry to hear the news. Thoughts and prayers go with you.