OT: flight to wrong country
Jul 22, 2008, 5:27 am
#31
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I would have thought that if it was a once a year holiday then most people would take more care with it, not less. Surely they would have at least looked up what airport they were going to be flying into? I agree that the checkin staff were defintely at fault for part of it here but you have to assume that the passengers have some sort of idea what they are doing.
Jul 22, 2008, 5:28 am
#32
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The fact of the matter is these people got to the airport on time, checked in correctly and were given their boarding passes by the airline. They looked at the boarding passes and (presumably) assumed Bodrum was the name of the local airport they were flying to (see my EasyJet-obscure-airport point above).
They got to the gate on time, the gate agent allowed them to board, they got on the flight and were taken to Bodrum airport.
I cannot see what they have done that is so wrong as to merit being called stupid, too stupid to have children and a myriad of other insults. Nor do I think it reasonable to expect a member of the general public to spot something like an incorrect flight number when a check-in agent who is trained (one hopes) to issue the correct paperwork and make sure you are given the correct boarding pass cannot do so.
The airline and their agents are quite clearly at fault here - if any blame lies with the passengers at all it is one of being too trustworthy of the holiday company / airline and not suspicious enough to check everything in minute detail and get worked up and totally anal over a flight number.
BAH
Jul 22, 2008, 6:12 am
#33
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The airline and their agents are quite clearly at fault here - if any blame lies with the passengers at all it is one of being too trustworthy of the holiday company / airline and not suspicious enough to check everything in minute detail and get worked up and totally anal over a flight number.
I agree with those that say the passengers must take at least some of the responsibility.
Jul 22, 2008, 6:16 am
#34
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Pucci I have long admired your contributions to this Board (including your superb TFTG) and never thought I would be in disagreement with you but in this case I do believe you are incorrect in your analogy. BAHumbug's taxi analogy seems much closer to the position these people were in. I agree that they had no idea where they were going but when I get in a cab and ask the driver to take me somewhere I often don't know the route but expect to get taken where I asked.
You or I would do much more research if we were taking an overseas trip but there are people who just want some sun and sand and aren't really that concerned about where it is or how they get there. In this case I do believe that the blame lies primarily with the check-in and, although the family involved may be as thick as two short planks, the fact they got on the wrong plane in these circumstances does not, IMHO, provide sufficient evidence to reach this conclusion.
You or I would do much more research if we were taking an overseas trip but there are people who just want some sun and sand and aren't really that concerned about where it is or how they get there. In this case I do believe that the blame lies primarily with the check-in and, although the family involved may be as thick as two short planks, the fact they got on the wrong plane in these circumstances does not, IMHO, provide sufficient evidence to reach this conclusion.
BA is right my Sweet. I am flawed. I admit it.
I have been shopping last week with Pearl. Pearl is to driving what fish are to bicycles. We were stopped by a copper who had nothing better to do and he said
"Good Morning Madam. Did you not what the colour of the light was that you drove across"
"What light" said Pearl
"The red one" says he
"No it was yellow when she got there (I knew d*mn well she had not seen it."
He gave her a lecture on paying due care and attention. Now Pearl is not thick - far from it. She is however far more interested in the comings and goings of her neighbours in Pine Walk than in concentrating on her driving. I have never yet had to change my knickers after going to Kingston with her - but it has been a close call. (Tip from Nurse Pucci - remember in any car crash the first thing to go will be the bladder as that is where the belt goes. If it is full it could lead to Scepticemia).
What has this to do with the terminally stupid in Cardiff - well if they are really that stupid they really do need to be shown how to do up a seat belt. I had long thought that the most redundant piece of information going as I never believed that anyone could be that stupid. The Welsh are not stupid and I bet over the gate it had "Bodrum" "Alanya" or wherever.
BAHumbug's analogy is even better - and if I am flawed I hope that you still love me anyway.
Jul 22, 2008, 6:22 am
#35
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Love and kisses
Cabin Boy x
Jul 22, 2008, 6:27 am
#36
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I think you might find that the boarding passes issued at Cardiff for a charter flight might well be preprinted cards with little info on them, compared to the scheduled ones the users of this board are used to.
As for their contribution to the gene pool...
I have known an eminent person who flew to Budapest (her choice of destination) when she had meant to attend a conference in Bucharest.
I have also known work colleagues (seasoned travellers) who turned up at LHR to catch flights which were departing from LGW and vice versa, a not too uncommon an occurrence!
As for their contribution to the gene pool...
I have known an eminent person who flew to Budapest (her choice of destination) when she had meant to attend a conference in Bucharest.
I have also known work colleagues (seasoned travellers) who turned up at LHR to catch flights which were departing from LGW and vice versa, a not too uncommon an occurrence!
Jul 22, 2008, 6:27 am
#37
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Jul 22, 2008, 6:47 am
#38
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Jul 22, 2008, 7:18 am
#39
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Personally, I neither readily know, nor care about, the flight number until I'm looking at the departures board to figure out if I have enough time to visit the lounge. At which point I generally read the flight number off... the boarding pass. 
Many people would not even do this, I venture. They'll have been told the gate number by the check-in agent (possibly even have it scribbled on the ticket) and go directly there.
With that said, while the majority of blame lies with the airline, IMHO, the pax in question should certainly be feeling at least a little bit embarassed.
I bet they never get on a plane without being sure of its destination again, though !
Many people would not even do this, I venture. They'll have been told the gate number by the check-in agent (possibly even have it scribbled on the ticket) and go directly there.
With that said, while the majority of blame lies with the airline, IMHO, the pax in question should certainly be feeling at least a little bit embarassed.
I bet they never get on a plane without being sure of its destination again, though !
Jul 22, 2008, 7:22 am
#40
Join Date: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,140
I think that it just highlights how "varied" this world is... the posters on this forum represent a very small percentage of the average demographic: intelligent, well educated and generally very well travelled.
It isn't that the other 95% of the population are "thick", just that most of the posters here are pretty exceptional and might sometimes forget that
I think that people have said about "going on a package holiday" is true: the person that the story is about knew that they were going to "Lanzerote" (a nice hotel on a beach there - they may have known the name of the resort, that's about it). Booking a package holiday, they expect it all to be taken care of for them. That is the "charm" of a package holiday - no thinking/organisation required! And why most of us here would avoid them like the plague...
The world is an interesting place. If you compare what lives are like now compared with 50/60 years ago, they are almost unrecognisable: the choices, access to information and responsibilities people can have. But, at the same time, I think that demands made on people can be a lot higher too: life is nowhere near as simple as it was 50/60 years ago and some people struggle with that. The same can be said for employment too: there are a LOT more jobs out there which require creative or methodical thinking: some people rise to the occasional, but some people really stuggle with it. People aren't any thicker than they were 50/60 years ago, it is just that the demands and expectations on people are so much higher.
Ok, the people in the story and not likely to win any prizes for intellect, but they are just pretty normal people who make understandable (if amusing) mistakes. Package Holidays are supposedly there to look after people who want someone else to do the worrying for them...
Boo
It isn't that the other 95% of the population are "thick", just that most of the posters here are pretty exceptional and might sometimes forget that
I think that people have said about "going on a package holiday" is true: the person that the story is about knew that they were going to "Lanzerote" (a nice hotel on a beach there - they may have known the name of the resort, that's about it). Booking a package holiday, they expect it all to be taken care of for them. That is the "charm" of a package holiday - no thinking/organisation required! And why most of us here would avoid them like the plague...
The world is an interesting place. If you compare what lives are like now compared with 50/60 years ago, they are almost unrecognisable: the choices, access to information and responsibilities people can have. But, at the same time, I think that demands made on people can be a lot higher too: life is nowhere near as simple as it was 50/60 years ago and some people struggle with that. The same can be said for employment too: there are a LOT more jobs out there which require creative or methodical thinking: some people rise to the occasional, but some people really stuggle with it. People aren't any thicker than they were 50/60 years ago, it is just that the demands and expectations on people are so much higher.
Ok, the people in the story and not likely to win any prizes for intellect, but they are just pretty normal people who make understandable (if amusing) mistakes. Package Holidays are supposedly there to look after people who want someone else to do the worrying for them...
Boo
Jul 22, 2008, 7:27 am
#41
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Just looking at the story on The Times website and it appears the husband was an engineer. I realise this is a big generalisation but I would have to say that pretty much all of the engineers I know are quite obsessed with knowing details, it strikes me as being a bit strange that one would not even know what airport he was flying to, flight numbers etc.
As per my previous post I agree that most of the blame lies with the check-in agent but even so, passengers have to take some responsibility for knowing the details. Apart from anything else presumably the planes were taking off at different times, wouldn't that cause most people to check just to make sure that they were on the right flight? I know if my flight had a different departure time then I would check it with someone at check-in or that gate?
As per my previous post I agree that most of the blame lies with the check-in agent but even so, passengers have to take some responsibility for knowing the details. Apart from anything else presumably the planes were taking off at different times, wouldn't that cause most people to check just to make sure that they were on the right flight? I know if my flight had a different departure time then I would check it with someone at check-in or that gate?
Jul 22, 2008, 8:46 am
#42
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One of many reasons why the 'profession' is so little valued in this country any more.
I can see where you're coming from re: Mr and Mrs Unfortunate on the flight times - but given the pretty-much-routine lateness of departing flights from any airport in the UK I doubt any of us would be that concerned.
BAH
Jul 22, 2008, 8:51 am
#43
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He was talking a lot about how much he was looking forward to visiting Finland, where some distant ancestor originated from.
After listening to him talking alot about what he was going to do and see in Finland, I asked him how long he was staying in Sweden, before going on to Finland.
Was he staying for a bit, or was he just changing planes?
For the first time since boarding, he went quite.
'Stockholm is the capital of Finland, isn't it?' he asked.
After listening to him talking alot about what he was going to do and see in Finland, I asked him how long he was staying in Sweden, before going on to Finland.
Was he staying for a bit, or was he just changing planes?
For the first time since boarding, he went quite.
'Stockholm is the capital of Finland, isn't it?' he asked.
Jul 22, 2008, 8:54 am
#44
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I just remembered, there is a little instance that I should own up to.
This happened quite a few years ago, and while I didn't jet of to the wrong country, but I did misread the ticket and got the flight number and departure time mixed up.
In my own defence, I'd woken up in the morning with lumbago and just gave the tickets a glance, before going of to A&E.
When it came to checking the tickets before departing to the airport, I realised my flight was just taking off.
A quick call to the airline in question, a very sympathetic agent at the other end and I was re-booked for the next day.
bjorns
This happened quite a few years ago, and while I didn't jet of to the wrong country, but I did misread the ticket and got the flight number and departure time mixed up.
In my own defence, I'd woken up in the morning with lumbago and just gave the tickets a glance, before going of to A&E.
When it came to checking the tickets before departing to the airport, I realised my flight was just taking off.
A quick call to the airline in question, a very sympathetic agent at the other end and I was re-booked for the next day.
bjorns
^^^