[Octane]

A well traveled friend offered a Delta Companion Pass to me. According to her, it's for Delta employees to give to a select person if they do not have a spouse for unlimited, non-rev, stand by travel. This includes international travel. I did some online research and it looks like you are s3 stand by status but can travel unlimited for 1 year. I think they may charge taxes and a mileage fee of $0.015 per mile internationally and $0.03 per mile domestically. The employee is a 9 year employee which could help with seniority bumps up to first class (probably unlikely) if available. I feel domestically it will be impacted and the s3 status which is very low, but just above s4 ("buddy pass" holders) but allow me to travel to a few places that I would like to go. I'm not completely sure how it works with sister airlines that go internationally, so I'm gathering more information before I pull the trigger. The cost is $3K and my friend has used the Companion Pass to travel to Italy and many places domestically last year.

Has anyone used a Companion Pass (not the certificates or "Buddy Pass") with success?

[Timoteo]

I actually had a parent pass for a couple of years from a Delta employee. I got hooked up through a good friend that knew a guy, that knew a guy. A few of my friends were holding different passes that way. I never met the actual employee, and paid him through another guy. The first year I had it I paid him $3K, but the second year he dropped the price by a couple hundred. I went to London twice and Rome. London was around $270, but Rome was only $184. I flew domestically for free. With this pass, internationally I always got a seat in business class on Delta, but only managed to get a Business class seat once domestically (revenue passengers usually get upgraded and take the seats). You book your flight by signing into the employee system, and you can see how many seats are available, so you can try to pick a flight where you know there are available seats (since you're flying standby, you need to know if you've got a good chance of getting on). It shows you how many other passengers are flying on employee passes, and who has priority over you. It was great while it lasted, but I couldn't get it for a third year - the guy no longer works for Delta, and I ended up out of work also. I have a friend that has a pass on United, and he's flown first class to Australia on it. United is a better option, because they have First AND Business class, while Delta only has Business. I also got priority at the security line - when they see your boarding pass and see you're flying on an employee pass (I was S3B priority), I got hustled to the business/first class line ahead of everyone else.

[Brosemite]

Have a friend who works for a Delta affiliate living in Detroit. He's a pilot who is literally all over the US and over the globe. He says he can get me a buddy pass for free on certain round trip flights, but I would have to pick 3-4 destinations I like. Once a seat opens up on one of those flights, then I would go to one of those destinations. He refers to it as the "Russian Roulette" of traveling, because booking travel arrangements in advance is a tough task when you have no idea where you'll end up lol. I haven't taken advantage of it yet though.

[Belize King]

I got a hook up with my boy right now. We are book a flight to Rio for the 16-23. We pay taxes and will be on standby waiting for open seats. He did a Thailand trip for Christmas. Because of the holidays, he waited a good while in each major hub. LA, Tokyo, and BKK. He got the Delta Sky Club day pass so that made the wait a little better. Hopefully my experience wont be as bad.

[Timoteo]

Holiday travel can definitely be tricky. I tried to get out to Los Angeles from NY for the Memorial Day weekend, but couldn't get on a flight all day. When you fly on a pass, they automatically put you on the waiting list for the next flight out until you get on one. I normally would fly out a couple of days earlier, ahead of the crowd, but I couldn't that time and didn't get on a flight. It's best to be very flexible in your travel and try to book the least popular flights to ensure you get a seat.

[Octane]

Timoteo,

I appreciate you sharing your experiences. I have a few concerns: Travelling abroad did you experience any bumps off the stand by which caused a delay? My concern is getting back to the US safely and on time and not be delayed/stuck abroad. I'm also curious to know how the partner airlines that go to other countries fared and if they abide by the same rules and regulations as the delta companion pass dictates...

[acar4sale]

You Seem to know a lot about companion pass. I am looking for a delta companion pass. I will be grateful if you can direct me. 6+ years of seniority

Thanks