standby flights or waitlisting can you still get them??
im wanting to go home and vist the family im not working so it doesnt matter about exact times and dates but have very little cash and really want to go back for a while as im very homesick anyone know any other ways of getting back cheap as possible

Don't think anybody does standby flights anymore, unless you are airline staff. On the plus side for you May is a "quiet" month for airlines so some deals around at the momment if you can travel soon.

Might be possible, you could ask the various airlines about their policy now, but the biggest hassle is if you get stuck in the middle. I have lots of friends in the airlines that use stand-by a lot, and I've heard of people getting stuck in Bangkok for 3 days, Tokyo for a week, and even Brunei for 2 days. Bit of a risk on longhaul - and thats if you can still do it.

im a travel agent...standby flights dont exist in Australia, if you turn up at the airport you will be charged full published airfare, therefore more expensive than walking into a travel agent on the morning that you want to fly!! e

thanks ill try and ring a couple of airlines to see if they offer it i cant afford the $2k+ prices that are advertised on the internet and i really want to go back so a couple of days hanging round a airport i might have to do

oh ok looks like ill be saving up

Courier flights used to be a cheapish way of travelling in years gone by. Cost around half to two-thirds of the normal fare - but you had to take care of and deliver a courier satchel (or whatever) at the other end.

Don't know if any courier companies still do it - DHL definitely used to - it's worth checking out anyway.

The airline I work for don't offer standby flights to the public, purely industry staff only, and yes it can be a nightmare, I'm meant to be flying SYD-HKG-LHR-MIA-TPA next week and it is looking very tight. Long way round I know but it is for a mate's wedding. Did get stuck in Shanghai a few years ago for 4 days.