Delta Buddy passes are discounted ticket coupons for employees that can also be used by their close family and friends. Its waitlist or standby is the only limitation to it. According to the buddy pass users, a seat will only be allotted if a confirmed passenger does not occupy it.
Delta Airlines will shift your reservation to the next alternative flight. However, the ultimate confirmation can only be given if there is a vacant seat or the already scheduled passenger does not arrive for the same. Look at the list of rules to understand how do Delta Buddy Passes work.
Every year Delta Airlines offers a bunch of Delta Buddy passes to its employees. The seats allotted under this are applicable for huge discounts but the reservation is confirmed only at the last moment. This is due to the waitlist or stand policy under which the first priority is given to the already reserved passengers or more new bookings.
The choice of seat is also missing due to the stand-by limitation of the Delta buddy passes. In order to know how do Delta Buddy Pass work, review the sequence in which the passengers are given preference for seat allotment before reserving it for the Buddy Pass users.
New Bookings: Firstly, Delta Airlines awaits new bookings. If the complete cabin is booked, then there is no chance for a buddy pass reservation.
Already Reserved: At the time of check-in, the airline counts all the prior reservations and if a confirmed passenger backs out, then the vacant seat is allotted to reserve to someone who has applied for the same under buddy pass.
The First person on the waitlist: Since there is more than one application under the standby pass, Delta Airlines picks the person on the waitlist if the above-conditioned passengers are not available to fly with the airline.
The Delta employees, or their family or friends will have to purchase the ticket beforehand without confirming. This is what the word waitlist refers to. This reflects your participation and willingness to fly on the desired seat and flight. If the already confirmed passenger does not fly, then the seat reservation is transferred under your name. Here is a step-by-step process on how the Delta buddy pass works.
An alternative flight seat is offered to buddy pass passengers if there is no availability on the preferred flight. Hence it is very essential for interested candidates to apply early. Also, it is essential to remember that it is quite impossible or really hard to be able to fly at the discounted rates of Delta buddy pass during peak seasons. As the flights for such festive months are reserved months before and the cancellations are also very less.
Conclusion
Delta Buddy passes are part of the employee benefits program where the employee and his/her close family friends are eligible to enjoy flight ticket bookings for up to 40-60% discounts. However, this is subject to the availability of a vacant seat. The norms on how do Delta Buddy Passes work are defined in detail in the above description. Read the points for better clarification.