Questions and Answers

I’m a Star Alliance Gold (non-UA) but to be honest I don’t fly that much and am not particularly well-versed in flying. The only three benefits I really care about are United Club access when flying domestically, priority boarding, and a free checked bag, which I don’t even take advantage of all the time. However, I’m curious about the priority stand-by benefit that comes with *G and how it might pertain to a trip I’m taking next month.

I’m flying SFO-TPE at the end of May and am honestly not very excited about the prospect of flying United’s economy for 13 hours. From the way I understand it, stand-by is simply requesting a same-day flight change to an earlier flight pending availability. In my particular case, there is an EVA Air flight departing an hour before mine which I would like to switch to if possible both for the assumed better experience as well as for getting into Taipei at a slightly more convenient hour.

I’m just not sure about how specifics of how this might work. Can stand-by be requested on a different carrier as long as it’s within alliance and/or has the same origin and destination? If it is possible, what’s the actual process? Can it be done online or would I have to speak to a representative by phone or an agent at check-in or the gate?

I’m not overly experienced with Star Alliance, but I don’t think you can actually switch carriers. You’d need to be on the same airline.

However, if you booked a while ago, and there were any schedule changes (even the slightest), United might be willing to just out-right rebook you onto the EVA flight if you call and tell them the new time is no longer convenient….