The dumbest travel-related mistake you ever made?
Jul 22, 2014, 6:55 pm
#946
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
Next time you're here we'll go to Elmo's Diner in Durham. I think their biscuits and gravy is the best around.
Sep 26, 2014, 2:07 am
#947
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: Jeff is Deaf
Posts: 541
Bumping this:
Way back when I was in college, was vacationing with a friend in Cancun. Sadly the vacation came to quick end when we realized there was a hurricane coming straight at cancun. My two pals decided to rough it up, I said screw it looked for any flight out, paying an outrageous $500+ one way back home.
Showed up at the airport real early, lining up behind the counter. Boarded with the rest of economy... turns out my seat was 1A... I had essentially purchased a first class seat. I still did not know it was a first class seat, and marveled on how good the food was.
Transited in MEX and passed out. Almost missed out on my flight, only woke up in a nick of time to my name being called on the loudspeakers. Good thing I was just across the gate.
Moral of the story, probably could have showed up much later, use the lounge and have an enjoyable flight out. This was way back before I even knew what a FF program was.
Way back when I was in college, was vacationing with a friend in Cancun. Sadly the vacation came to quick end when we realized there was a hurricane coming straight at cancun. My two pals decided to rough it up, I said screw it looked for any flight out, paying an outrageous $500+ one way back home.
Showed up at the airport real early, lining up behind the counter. Boarded with the rest of economy... turns out my seat was 1A... I had essentially purchased a first class seat. I still did not know it was a first class seat, and marveled on how good the food was.
Transited in MEX and passed out. Almost missed out on my flight, only woke up in a nick of time to my name being called on the loudspeakers. Good thing I was just across the gate.
Moral of the story, probably could have showed up much later, use the lounge and have an enjoyable flight out. This was way back before I even knew what a FF program was.
Sep 26, 2014, 3:42 am
#948
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,553
Bumping this:
Way back when I was in college, was vacationing with a friend in Cancun. Sadly the vacation came to quick end when we realized there was a hurricane coming straight at cancun. My two pals decided to rough it up, I said screw it looked for any flight out, paying an outrageous $500+ one way back home.
Showed up at the airport real early, lining up behind the counter. Boarded with the rest of economy... turns out my seat was 1A... I had essentially purchased a first class seat. I still did not know it was a first class seat, and marveled on how good the food was.
Transited in MEX and passed out. Almost missed out on my flight, only woke up in a nick of time to my name being called on the loudspeakers. Good thing I was just across the gate.
Moral of the story, probably could have showed up much later, use the lounge and have an enjoyable flight out. This was way back before I even knew what a FF program was.
Way back when I was in college, was vacationing with a friend in Cancun. Sadly the vacation came to quick end when we realized there was a hurricane coming straight at cancun. My two pals decided to rough it up, I said screw it looked for any flight out, paying an outrageous $500+ one way back home.
Showed up at the airport real early, lining up behind the counter. Boarded with the rest of economy... turns out my seat was 1A... I had essentially purchased a first class seat. I still did not know it was a first class seat, and marveled on how good the food was.
Transited in MEX and passed out. Almost missed out on my flight, only woke up in a nick of time to my name being called on the loudspeakers. Good thing I was just across the gate.
Moral of the story, probably could have showed up much later, use the lounge and have an enjoyable flight out. This was way back before I even knew what a FF program was.
Sep 27, 2014, 1:26 am
#949
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: BOM, BKK
Programs: 1K
Posts: 25
- Some AA gates at DFW are dual (21A/B) and split off to separate aircraft after going through the door. They often co-board two flights and interleave boarding announcements. I was on the flight boarding through 21B and had seat 21A. You all know where this is going! I was settling into my seat when another pax politely said I was in her seat. A look at the BP cemented the horror! Fortunately both A/C were only halfway through their boarding but it was tough fighting upstream to get off the wrong plane.
- We were on a road trip through Arizona and Utah and rented a car to save wear and tear on our own car. At Zion National Park we stopped for lunch. I got out of the car, locked the doors using the door switch, and shut my door. A shiny object reflected off the seat...the keys! My son was last out of the car and I shouted "DON'T SHUT YOUR D..." (slam!). AAA said the closest garage was in Hurricane, UT about an hour away and they would call me back. We started planning how to spend the better part of the morning in town. The local garage called within 10 minutes and as we discussed my location and AAA member details their truck pulled up! He had just driven up to Zion to handle a dead battery and was about to head back.
- I was on a biz trip in HKG, a colleague and I had an afternoon flight to LAX on UA. We went to the hotel to shower and check out. My colleague said we should meet at a certain time in the lobby; I mentioned that was cutting things close but he felt we were OK. In the cab to the airport he seemed pretty nonchalant and I was a nervous wreck cutting things so close. We arrived at Kai Tak and our flight was flashing "CLOSING" on the monitor! He saw 14:30 on his ticket and mentally thought 430pm! I then said I wondered what he had been smoking! We rushed to the counter where they quickly checked us in and even escorted us through security and Immigration to the plane. On the jetway we looked at our BPs and realized they had upgraded us to C! My colleague said "I knew it would pay to be late someday!"
- Back in March I rented a car in Australia online for July 6 using the Aussie Avis website (lower prices than the same rez through the US site). In early June I received an email confirming our rental for June 7 ! Yep, I was too impatient to deal with the little pop-up calendar widget next to the date box and hand keyed "07/06/2009" per standard format in the US (mm/dd/yyyy). I don't need to explain what the problem was! Fortunately the confirmation email had a "change my reservation" option which fixed the problem....good thing it wasn't nonrefundable airline tickets!
- We were on a road trip through Arizona and Utah and rented a car to save wear and tear on our own car. At Zion National Park we stopped for lunch. I got out of the car, locked the doors using the door switch, and shut my door. A shiny object reflected off the seat...the keys! My son was last out of the car and I shouted "DON'T SHUT YOUR D..." (slam!). AAA said the closest garage was in Hurricane, UT about an hour away and they would call me back. We started planning how to spend the better part of the morning in town. The local garage called within 10 minutes and as we discussed my location and AAA member details their truck pulled up! He had just driven up to Zion to handle a dead battery and was about to head back.
- I was on a biz trip in HKG, a colleague and I had an afternoon flight to LAX on UA. We went to the hotel to shower and check out. My colleague said we should meet at a certain time in the lobby; I mentioned that was cutting things close but he felt we were OK. In the cab to the airport he seemed pretty nonchalant and I was a nervous wreck cutting things so close. We arrived at Kai Tak and our flight was flashing "CLOSING" on the monitor! He saw 14:30 on his ticket and mentally thought 430pm! I then said I wondered what he had been smoking! We rushed to the counter where they quickly checked us in and even escorted us through security and Immigration to the plane. On the jetway we looked at our BPs and realized they had upgraded us to C! My colleague said "I knew it would pay to be late someday!"
- Back in March I rented a car in Australia online for July 6 using the Aussie Avis website (lower prices than the same rez through the US site). In early June I received an email confirming our rental for June 7 ! Yep, I was too impatient to deal with the little pop-up calendar widget next to the date box and hand keyed "07/06/2009" per standard format in the US (mm/dd/yyyy). I don't need to explain what the problem was! Fortunately the confirmation email had a "change my reservation" option which fixed the problem....good thing it wasn't nonrefundable airline tickets!
Sep 27, 2014, 1:56 am
#950
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Tha OC
Programs: Outgrew all status except AA: Plat for life (the program's); Costco: Ex Plat
Posts: 654
Sep 27, 2014, 8:39 pm
#951
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 960
Mine was a simple one:
About 12 years ago, my secretary booked a red-eye int'l trip and a following domestic trip for the same day... and at different non-associated airlines. Of course I didn't pay attention for this small detail up to the domestic check-in
Good old times, the counter agents waived the re-booking and extra baggage fees.
^
About 12 years ago, my secretary booked a red-eye int'l trip and a following domestic trip for the same day... and at different non-associated airlines. Of course I didn't pay attention for this small detail up to the domestic check-in
Good old times, the counter agents waived the re-booking and extra baggage fees.
^
Sep 27, 2014, 9:11 pm
#952
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Florida
Programs: Hyatt Diamond, Hilton Diamond, Club Carlson Gold, Choice Elite Platinum
Posts: 433
Checked in to Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore. Was upgraded to the Presidential Suite! Never seen anything like it. We had no idea it came with club access. For breakfast, we walked to the mall connected to the hotel and ate at the food court. 
Sep 27, 2014, 10:48 pm
#953
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
I was late for a TG CGK-BKK flight a few years ago. Long story short, TG was being TG (i.e. it went from a wide- to narrow-body) and I was upgraded to J for the same flight the following day.
Sep 27, 2014, 11:00 pm
#954
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Knoteetingham
Programs: EY Gold, QF WP
Posts: 311
Ages ago while working in Indonesia, my boss and I had been flying out of a small airport on a 6/3 week rotation for about 10 months, and the flight had always left at the same time. We had stopped looking at out tickets closely, other than to see they were going to SIN.
Rolling into town this particular occasion, we picked up our tickets from the agent, and proceeded to get stuck into the drink without a second thought.
As we arrived at the airport the following morning, we were surprised to see an F28 climbing out on departure, as we were normally the first flight out. You can imagine our horror on getting out of the taxi and finding that we had just watched our flight leaving. Sneaky buggers had brought the departure time forward an hour.
Now, just to add to the scene: This was 23rd December, we both had SIN-BNE flights booked that night, and we were both nursing world class hangovers.
So began an odyssey across Sumatera which started with us bribing our way onto a military C130 to get to Batam, a frenzied taxi ride across to the ferry to terminal to catch a ferry to Singapore, and ended with my boss leaning over the backseat of the taxi spurring the Singapore cabbie on to greater speeds on the way to the airport.
We got to the check-in counters as they were starting to call the standby passengers and promptly adjourned to one of the excellent bars on the concourse for a few stiff drinks to settle our nerves.
Ever after that, the first thing I look at on a ticket is the time of departure!
Rolling into town this particular occasion, we picked up our tickets from the agent, and proceeded to get stuck into the drink without a second thought.
As we arrived at the airport the following morning, we were surprised to see an F28 climbing out on departure, as we were normally the first flight out. You can imagine our horror on getting out of the taxi and finding that we had just watched our flight leaving. Sneaky buggers had brought the departure time forward an hour.
Now, just to add to the scene: This was 23rd December, we both had SIN-BNE flights booked that night, and we were both nursing world class hangovers.
So began an odyssey across Sumatera which started with us bribing our way onto a military C130 to get to Batam, a frenzied taxi ride across to the ferry to terminal to catch a ferry to Singapore, and ended with my boss leaning over the backseat of the taxi spurring the Singapore cabbie on to greater speeds on the way to the airport.
We got to the check-in counters as they were starting to call the standby passengers and promptly adjourned to one of the excellent bars on the concourse for a few stiff drinks to settle our nerves.
Ever after that, the first thing I look at on a ticket is the time of departure!
Sep 28, 2014, 9:47 am
#955
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Massachusetts, USA; AA Plat, DL GM and Flying Colonel; Bonvoy Platinum
Posts: 24,236
I'm confused: this is a dumb travel-related mistake because?
Sep 28, 2014, 12:29 pm
#956
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: From ORK, live LCY
Programs: BA Silver, EI Silver, HH Gold, BW Gold, ABP, Seigneur des Horaires des Mucci
Posts: 14,230
Sep 28, 2014, 12:50 pm
#957
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
Sep 29, 2014, 12:38 pm
#958
Join Date: Mar 2014
Programs: AS
Posts: 194
Overpacking on my return trip and then finding out about the $50 overweight baggage fee (this was in 2009) that AC charged me at YUL. So young and naive!
Second one was cruise related. We were in Hilo for the day and I thought we could easily visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park AND Ka Lae by driving in a rental car. My whole family and extended family was extremely tense when it was apparent that the closer we got to Ka Lae, the chance that we were going to miss the cruise ship departure was increasing. After a very quick photo taking opportunity (hey, why waste a chance to prove you were at the southernmost point), I sped back and we made the ship by about 10 minutes (with other car rental drivers nonetheless).
Second one was cruise related. We were in Hilo for the day and I thought we could easily visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park AND Ka Lae by driving in a rental car. My whole family and extended family was extremely tense when it was apparent that the closer we got to Ka Lae, the chance that we were going to miss the cruise ship departure was increasing. After a very quick photo taking opportunity (hey, why waste a chance to prove you were at the southernmost point), I sped back and we made the ship by about 10 minutes (with other car rental drivers nonetheless).
Sep 30, 2014, 12:00 pm
#959
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 817
I accidentally booked a flight on Kayak that was 1st class on the return leg.
It wasn't much more than a normal SFO -> LAS flight, but it caused some headaches for me getting reimbursed by my employer. (I ended up googling to show a typical price in coach, and paying the difference out of pocket, which was about $100)
It wasn't much more than a normal SFO -> LAS flight, but it caused some headaches for me getting reimbursed by my employer. (I ended up googling to show a typical price in coach, and paying the difference out of pocket, which was about $100)
Sep 30, 2014, 2:32 pm
#960
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Kaiserslautern
Programs: UA G 1.9MM, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 439
Quite a few here; back in 1988 I was in Seoul. I had a ticket to fly home to see my Dad in Dallas for Christmas. I showed up to Kimpo airport, went to the counter to checkin and was told my flight was the day before... They were able to accomodate me however.
Flew into Bahrain, I was waved through immigration, no problem. As I tried to clear immigration leaving I was detained as they had not stamped my passport coming in. I was grilled about sneaking into their country, almost missed my flight.
Flew into Bahrain, I was waved through immigration, no problem. As I tried to clear immigration leaving I was detained as they had not stamped my passport coming in. I was grilled about sneaking into their country, almost missed my flight.