My wife worked for Alaska and, being empty nesters without pets, we flew a LOT on standby. Got to be true jet-setters for a few years but I HATED flying standby. We were stranded only once overnight, thank God, but that is because we tried to be very careful about where we went and when.
I wondered why they couldn't hook a ride to a different airport and make better connections? It's not like there's no other airports within an hour of NYC.
I’ve been finding my stay at the airport to delay my flights between 6 and 16 hours and that is WITH a purchased ticket.
Screw flying standby when the airlines can’t even get passengers from point A to point B anywhere NEAR the ticketed departure/arrival times.