Justdoinmyjob

$50 a year gets you unlimited S3s and 6 S2s for your eligible riders. Parents get S3B1, unless traveling with the employee. If you don't have kids, they get better. There are some other details too. You also get 8 passes. They can be either RT or OW. Best to always purchase RT. You can always change it later. The cost is based on the distance they are going. ATL/LAX is gonna cost more than ATL/ STL. Only time it costs you more for family is traveling g international. PFCs and departure/arrival taxes are payroll deducted.

With load factors in the 90s, S4s can sit for days sometimes depending on where they are/going.

TurbineDriver

Are those 6 S2's almost like a positive space? Only to be used by the eligible riders ( parents, spouse, etc)? Also why is RT better? Thanks again for the info. Really helpful.

badflaps

On busy routes an S2 may or may not get on... for sure no S3's or S3B's and S4's get a job in the terminal.. I have seen S4's sit for two weeks..

badflaps

The worst I have seen, was ORD last year, 89 standby's marooned on a Sunday. The Co. relented and sent a Maddog to the rescue, preventing a mass sick-out Monday morning.

Lobaeux

So I'm just curious about something. I received a fix-it email a year and a half ago for education. I received my Bachelor's in two years of college, I had CLEP'd the first two years. I didn't think about four years as being a min, maybe I shot myself in the foot by just resubmitting with just the two years of college listed (and my elementary, junior high and high school years).

Learflyer

Smart man. That's how I'm doing it.

sailingfun

The S2's are not positive space. As mentioned you pay a 50 dollar per year fee to non rev travel. That covers all the passes for your family and parents. If you fly in a market with customs, immigration or tax fees those will be in addition to the one time yearly charges. The UK is the worst in that regard.
Boarding priority is by standby class. The S means standby. The number after is your class. As a employee you and your family normally ride as a S3. Parents, retirees and non dependent children are S3b's. You get 6 flying days a year where you can fly as a S2. They are informally called vacation passes. It simply moves you ahead of the hoard of S3's.
S4's are the eight passes you can give to anyone. There is a per mile charge. That cost can sometimes be the same as a discounted real ticket on domestic flights. They are more valuable on international flights. They are hard to use on peak travel routes however will work with careful planning and timing.
There is no additional charge at Delta for riding in first or business class. If there are seats in the front you will be boarded there. Domestically on any route with business travel it's unlikely you will be moved up as the FF upgrade list sucks those seats up.

TurbineDriver

If you are trying to ride on a Jumpseat pass but somebody has higher priority, do you automatically get moved to an S3 or is it a good idea to list as an S3 and for the jump?

Justdoinmyjob

Once you buy a RT, it is good for one year. So even if they only want a OW, you can use the unused portion for a different trip. Just pay the difference in ticket prices.

gloopy

LOL, no. All using one does is put you ahead of the S3's. However, those S3's that were ahead of you almost always also have S2's, and can change quickly to that. Its not uncommon to see 20+ people standing by for 2 seats, all 20 of which burned an S2 in a war of attrition. Sometimes people even wait til the last minute to list, to see if they want to use an S2 or S3, so they don't even show up on the standby list until almost time to board.

S2's can help in some situations sometimes, but they are nowhere remotely close to positive space.