BA Standby ticket
 

Any of the BA guys out there. For a LH sby ticket (LHR/JFK), how long before departure can I expect the seat to be decided? ie how long after the boarding pass is issued is there to get through security and then to the gate?

Thanks

Usually about an hour before, DH.
If you check in much before that, or if there aren't many seats available, you'll have to wait in the T5 staff travel waiting area and watch the screens to see if you've been accepted or not. After that, if you're on, nip over to the room across the corridor to get your boarding card. If the flight us departing from T5 B, or C, which most long haul flights do, you'll have to walk a bit briskly, through security and then through T5A to get across to the B or C gates.

Thnx for that

FWIW at T5 flights "close" for commercials at around STD - 45. Normally it is only then that the allocation of standbys to seats starts. Sometimes if you're on an fairly empty flight you may get assigned a seat before the flight closes but if it's pretty full you can expect to "go to the wire" and end up sweating it out in the staff travel waiting room. Having got a seat (by way of the desk previously described by Sid) you must make sure you are through "conformance" ( the gates before security where your boarding card is electronically read to give you onwards access) no later than 35 minutes prior to STD. If staff travel are struggling to cope with numbers they may be able to reduce the 35 minutes ( it has certainly happened to me) but don't bet on it.

To sum it up.......be prepared to run, both from staff travel to conformance and again possibly to the gate after security.....good luck.

( if you have the option of putting your mobile number in the booking it's worth doing. If you are fortunate and seats are released early you'll get a text telling you that has happened, might save you hanging around land side when you don't need to....)

Again, many thanks

Delta

When I went to New York it was touch and go so I got sent airside to a desk in the dep lounge, and then to the gate, still waiting for the nod.
This was on the annual "firm".
I have to say the BA Staff were great though they must deal with hundreds of Staff daily and I felt as though we were the royal family in terms of care.
We got on, Mrs Angry knew the CSD from her flying days, and he did the rest.
As Wiggy said you have to be prepared to run...

This is for Mrs dh, so I shall make sure she has her trainers on and doesn't linger at theshops on the way past.