With a noon check out, and a 7PM flight Jay and I had no idea what we were going to do. We both were tired of the pool, so we decided to call Continental and see if we could fly standby on an earlier flight. Our luck held out and there was a noon flight and a 1:30 flight. We got to the airport with plenty of time for the early flight and there were plenty of seats. I am now sitting in an exit row seat (with the row all to myself). We left almost on time, and I should be home by like 6-7PM. Much better than the after midnight on the original flight.
I needed vacation, but when you are ready to go, there is no need to wait around for 6 extra hours. Now I can get a few hours of unwinding at home before I goto bed and then work on Thursday.
Continental gets some points (not many) for not charging for standby. Some airlines do that now. They lose points for the tight seats. I am not fat nor tall, and I and not comfortable in the seats. Even the exit row doesn’t even give you more legroom. You used to have huge amounts of legroom on the exit row. Minor complaints I know. I am just thankful for a direct flight.