I'm an airline employee who flies for free, even in business class. I love it, but there's a big catch.

I'm an airline employee who sees the world for essentially free thanks to my flight benefits.

Shayan Hossain

From the outside, flying standby as an airline employee — what we call "non-revving" in the industry — looks like unlimited, practically free flights, whenever you want, wherever you want. It almost sounds too good to be true.I've flown business class to Switzerland for a weekend just to ride a train past the Matterhorn. I've hopped on a semi-private jet with JSX like it was an Uber. I've left for Paris on a random Friday, spent 48 hours staring at the Eiffel Tower, and been back at work on Monday.Over 44,000 people follow me because I can decide on a whim that I want to see the Great Wall of China, and then just… go. It's an incredible opportunity to see the world on demand, and I don't take it for granted.But those of us on the inside know that the standby travel game is really a gamble every single time. You don't have a guaranteed seat on a flight; you only have a chance of getting one.

Non-revving on JSX can be tricky because it uses a private terminal that is often separate from the main passenger concourse.

Shayan Hossain