What is a waitlisted flight, and is it a viable option? Recently, I had an experience with one on Singapore Airlines. Alex, Jess, and I decided to book a trip to Singapore, and Jess did an outstanding job of convincing us that the Premium Economy on Singapore would be “just fine.” There was this incredible deal for 56,250 KrisFlyer miles to Singapore.

After we had booked these tickets, I flew in business class on Singapore Airlines for a different trip. I decided to go back and get a sneak peek of the Premium Economy seats on the SFO-SIN flight, which I would be taking when traveling with Alex and Jess. Let’s just say that I realized that 17 hours in Premium Economy would be rough for the old girl, no matter how good of a deal it was.

I started looking for a business class seat upgrade, but there were none. However, there were some “waitlisted” seats that I could book. These were for 107K miles, and in order to book I needed to have the miles there ready to use, even though it was a “wait and see” booking. Additionally, I kept the Premium Economy seats in case the waitlisted seat did not work out.

 

 

 

Waitlisted Flights

There are two types of waitlists when it comes to flying. Some airlines will waitlist you (really put you on standby) if a flight is fully booked. The type of waitlisting we are talking about today is waitlisting for an award redemption, usually a premium award redemption.

When certain airlines have booked the number of flight redemptions that they’ve allotted, they will put out waitlisted flights. These may open up if some redemption flights are canceled or if they haven’t had a lot of cash flights booked closer to the date of travel.

Some of the airlines that often waitlist flights, especially premium class flights are:

• Singapore Airlines
• All Nippon Airways (ANA)
• Cathay Pacific

 

The Cons of Being Waitlisted

• You may not get the upgraded flight you want
• You have to have the miles in your account “in case” it goes through
• Those miles will stay in that account if it doesn’t go through

 

The Pros of Being Waitlisted

• You “might” get the upgraded seat.

 

My Results with a Waitlisted Flight

I had read that Singapore’s waitlisted flight had a 20-30% chance of coming through. I was already on this flight, so it made sense to try.  Singapore KrisFlyer miles were already in my account, so it didn’t matter if they would stay there. Long story short – I didn’t get moved off the waitlisted flight. The waitlist is canceled if it doesn’t clear 14 days before the flight. I must say, I was very, very disappointed, but it seems like the odds were not really in my favor as the SFO-SIN flight is popular.

 

Bottom Line

What is a waitlisted flight? It was a shot in the dark, but I would have been singing its praises if it had turned out. As I’ve always said, book the seat you want right from the start, especially if you want a premium flight. Don’t take the risk that you might get a premium seat on a waitlisted flight if you really want one. My experience with a waitlisted flight reiterates that fact.

 

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