"Stand- by" for earlier flight?
I'm traveling to Nashville, TN on June the 4th on Frontier airlines. I did not purchase my ticket, my father did on- line. I got the itinerary and discovered that my flight gets in at 10:30 pm, from there I have to drive to Atlanta, GA. Between the drive time and time zone shift I'd get in at about 6am. Since I have to stand up in a wedding at 1pm, this is less than ideal. I called and asked the airline about changing the flight. I was told there would be a change fee and the difference in cost of the two tickets, approximately $350 total. My father did not believe that answer, he called and he was told I could fly "Stand by" on an earlier flight with no fee as long as a seat was available. I called back to verify and was told they no longer offer "Stand by", but I could change my ticket that day for a $150 fee. My sister is flying in from LA, also on Frontier, and had a similar problem. She was told that the agents at the airport have discretion as to whether or not to charge the change fee so she could take the chance and maybe not get charged. Can anyone tell me which of these things, if any, is accurate?
The ticket is part of a package including rental car. It is non refundable and non changeable. Yes, I did call the customer service number on the website it was booked through to try to change it. To cancel the package would mean losing the approximately $400 already spent as well as paying for the new fare and rental car. To just book a new flight to Nashville (where the car and return flight is from) earlier in the day is over $300. What to do next time is obvious, what I'm most concerned about now is what of the information we were given is correct, if any of it is. My father booked the flight because he was trying to help, unfortunately this is the result.