Is it Really Possible to be on the Wrong Plane?
Jul 13, 2012 | 5:01 pm
#31
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: BUR
Programs: AA, DL Platinum, AS, AF/KL, UA, VS, HA, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 1,937
Only last year I was boarding at LAX for my flight to SFO at gate 54 and the scanner was broken and the GA let me on through. Well, there are two gate 54's; 54A and 54B. I was supposed to be at 54B and I was boarding at 54A. I caught my mistake as I was walking down the jetway. Almost ended up in JFK.
Jul 13, 2012 | 6:26 pm
#32
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Rockin' the Bakken
Programs: Several
Posts: 978
This is how my buddy ended up in ANC instead of SJC from PHX. He fell asleep after the flight took off (I don't know if they neglected to state the destination in the announcements or he was simply not paying attention) and woke up several hours later. When asking the person next to him how much longer, he received "should be about 3 more hours". Since PHX-SJC isn't that long to begin with, he was rather confused.
Needless to say, he's not too travel savvy.
Needless to say, he's not too travel savvy.
Jul 13, 2012 | 7:50 pm
#33
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: ATL & DCA
Programs: Delta FO
Posts: 124
There was a famous case in the news a few years ago of someone boarding a plane to--and arriving in--Ackland when they wanted to go to Oakland, which was a short distance from where they started. Apparently it was something in the accent that was making the announcements versus their own pronunciation of the two cities that caused the problem.
Jul 14, 2012 | 1:15 am
#34
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,804
or 
I've also seen multiple times people who got on the wrong flight and didn't find out until they're physically on the plane. I suspect the bar-code on the boarding pass doesn't contain a lot of information other than name and seat number... Perhaps someone smart enough to know bar-code can figure it out...
In the comments there are links to online tools that will decode barcode images that you upload. I did a couple of mine and there's some nifty stuff. Apparently I've been the first person to check in to a couple of my flights.
