A few standby seats are free, but most will cost you. To be honest, it never really is free to travel standby because most of the free standby tickets go to the elite members of the airlines or those who’ve already purchased tickets in first or business class. Those who buy more expensive refundable economy seats also may get free standby. The price of a standby ticket varies from airline to airline. Alaska offers free same-day standby on the date of departure for routes than include Alaska. For other standby requests, there is a $25 fee. American airlines charges a fee of $25 for a standby ticket. Same-day standby for earlier flights costs $75. In Jet blue airlines Standby is not available on every route but where it is, it’s free. In Southwest, Standby is free for those holding the more expensive Business Select and refundable tickets. To travel standby in the United, passengers have to pay $75.