The secret to using airline staff travel benefits and traveling the world for next to nothing is knowing when is the right time to travel non-rev.
For example, trying to fly standby to Europe from June to August is likely to get you a round-trip journey from the airport back to your home, as most flights have been oversold for weeks, packed with record numbers of post-pandemic travelers.
Fortunately for those of us who travel non-rev for pleasure and work, technology is on our side, helping us to plan for the best time to find open seats. StaffTraveler, the world’s most popular resource for global flight loads, lists monthly industry forecasts for available open seats for non-rev travelers.
According to the app and website that processes 25,000+ load requests daily via 640,000 verified airline staff users, September is the best month to fly around the world on standby.
The availability tool on the StaffTraveler website also lists February as a great time of year to get on flights.
According to data collected and analyzed by StaffTraveler, there are a few months a year that those on staff travel want to avoid. March, June, July, and August are all listed as “Challenging” months for standby availability. In addition to their website, StaffTraveler also posts updated monthly forecasts on their Instagram account to help travelers know what to expect for the next four weeks.
StaffTraveler enables those with access to airline staff travel to get accurate, reliable, non-rev loads from over 640,000 members from all airlines worldwide. The app also features numerous tools to make standby travel more accessible, such as airline notes, airline staff discounts, live flight status updates, and much more. The app is safe and secure, with all users required to verify airline employment. Download the StffTraveler app for free here.
