If Superman had to Live with Kryptonite
After a lifetime of flying benefits, I have lost the ability to fly international flights on stand-by
Standby (non-rev) Flying
This past week it finally happened. I lost the flight benefits that allowed me to travel around the world as a standby, aka non-rev, passenger. This benefit allowed me to fly internationally at the cost of taxes and fees plus a small fee, usually about 20-30 dollars. This meant that I could fly to international destinations for almost 150 dollars one way. Hence, the airlines call this kind of flying non-rev because they don't make any revenue from people flying with these benefits.
Mind you, that charge is for flights at any time, meaning I could get on a flight on the same day for the same price. The prices don’t fluctuate based on when you get the ticket. I am only flying when there is availability on the flight.
Flying Based on Availability
Availability on flights occurs in two ways.
There are open seats because the flight is not entirely sold out or
Someone paid for a seat but, for one reason or another, did not show up for their flight.
I have so many memories of waiting with anxiety next to a flight gate, hoping that someone would miss their flight. I know it sounds terrible, but if a flight was full, it was my only chance to get on. But hey, you know, it's their fault for not showing up! You can't blame me for that.
The Superpower
A few years ago, while attending university, I came out of class talking to a friend about our upcoming international travel plans. Winter break was a week away. My friend asked about my plans, and I told him I didn’t know yet. Confused, my friend asked how I couldn’t know by now. He told me he bought his tickets at the beginning of the fall semester to avoid paying higher prices. I explained to him that I didn’t purchase regular tickets.
“I have the ability to fly stand by.”
“What’s that mean”
“It means I get to fly on a flight as long as there are seats available on that flight. It’s a benefit that people who work for an airline get. My mom use to be a flight attendant but was medically retired a few years ago.”
“Oh what? That’s cool! So where do you get to fly to?”
“Well, we are lucky because we have access to so many airlines that I can essentially fly standby to any part of the world with these benefits. I’m not restricted to just my mom’s airline”
“Wow! Dude that’s like having a superpower. You have superpower!”
It was the first time I heard someone call flying standby a superpower. It resonated immediately, and I quickly adopted the comparison. From that interaction, I saw this immense privilege as a superpower.
Using the Superpower
Similar interactions with other friends about this superpower made me realize how ungrateful and wasteful it would be for me not to use them. Everyone that I have ever talked to about standby has told me time and time again how lucky I am to have this power. I was given the remarkable ability to travel this big beautiful world of ours while simultaneously being able to travel. It would be shameful if I never exercised it. By being able, I mean I had both the time and the means to travel. Something that I know is extremely rare for most people.
The Time
At the time, I was in college, meaning I had a student schedule. Which, I gotta be honest, gave me a ridiculous amount of time off. I got a lot of time off during the summer. Even with internships, I usually had several weeks of free time before or after the internship. I had long those long, deliciously restful winter breaks. Then, of course, there is the noturious American spring break time. And I usually got lucky with my class schedule, so I would have four-day weekends. So, time for traveling was not an issue during this period in my life. But then I also had another very fortunate benefit. I was a beneficiary of military benefits.
The Means
The military ultimately paid for all of my expenses to go to school. They also paid a monthly allowance offering me a comfortable student lifestyle.
The World
The way I saw it and still see it, it would have been a complete shame and waste of such a remarkable power not to have used it. And I took that sentiment to an extreme. I traveled as often as I possibly could to see the world. Over the past five years, I traveled to international destinations about once every five weeks. Since getting out of the military and finishing Semester at Sea (an excellent study abroad program that I would highly recommend for any undergraduate student to apply for), five years ago, I have traveled to 41 countries. Putting my lifetime total at 56 countries. But all good things have to come to an end.
The Kryptonite
While I am saddened by the idea of no longer having my superpower, I am forever grateful that I had the chance to use my powers for as long and as often as I have.
Now I must learn to live like Superman would if Kryptonite constantly hung around him, regular, like all the rest of us.