The dumbest travel-related mistake you ever made?
Aug 13, 2009, 8:15 am
#106
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Flint!
Programs: NWA/DL/whatever it is now, AirTran
Posts: 32
1. This was way before TSA. My DH & I were going to Trinidad, and one of our checked bags had a little padlock on it. My FIL drove us to the airport and, at the last minute, my DH decided to give his dad his car keys (don't need them in Trinidad, eh?). Well, the key to the padlock was on that ring. Fortunately we didn't do any major damage to the bag by breaking into it at our destination.
2. Flight from Winnepeg to Churchill. Checked in, got our BPs, was directed to the gate. There was a line & ppl were boarding. It was a little early to board (perhaps 30-40 minutes, but some of these flights will leave early if all passengers are present). We get in line, get our boarding passes checked & ripped in half, and walk out on the tarmac to the plane & board it. We are not finding our seats, & while doing so, a guy with headphones on comes up behind us asking, "are you folks going to Churchill?" "Yes, we are. Why?" "Well, you're not going to get there on this plane because this flight is going to Saskatoon!"
Now how the gate agent overlooked that is beyond me (and yes, the sign also had our flight & destination on it already). The gate agent got us some Scotch tape to put our boarding passes back together. 
2. Flight from Winnepeg to Churchill. Checked in, got our BPs, was directed to the gate. There was a line & ppl were boarding. It was a little early to board (perhaps 30-40 minutes, but some of these flights will leave early if all passengers are present). We get in line, get our boarding passes checked & ripped in half, and walk out on the tarmac to the plane & board it. We are not finding our seats, & while doing so, a guy with headphones on comes up behind us asking, "are you folks going to Churchill?" "Yes, we are. Why?" "Well, you're not going to get there on this plane because this flight is going to Saskatoon!"
Now how the gate agent overlooked that is beyond me (and yes, the sign also had our flight & destination on it already). The gate agent got us some Scotch tape to put our boarding passes back together.
Aug 13, 2009, 8:29 am
#107
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: 10 months VLC, 2 months everywhere else
Programs: *A
Posts: 3,770
Got off on the wrong island in Spain, "Gran Canaria" thinking "ok, Canary Islands" without realizing I was going to Tenerife. Ended up waiting for my luggage for two hours then having an Iberia CS agent tell me my error. Luckily(?), I was able to get a flight to Tenerife within an hour.
The flight went to Tenerife South airport while my luggage had landed at the North airport. Luck had it that public transportation was down due to one of the nuemerous dias festivos, so ended up paying $82 for a taxi to the North (in 1991 dollars on a student budget). Didn't have enough money for a hotel so begged the taxi driver to help me find a place and bargain the price down. He helped out and I lived off of bread and ham for a week.
Best time of my life, btw.
The flight went to Tenerife South airport while my luggage had landed at the North airport. Luck had it that public transportation was down due to one of the nuemerous dias festivos, so ended up paying $82 for a taxi to the North (in 1991 dollars on a student budget). Didn't have enough money for a hotel so begged the taxi driver to help me find a place and bargain the price down. He helped out and I lived off of bread and ham for a week.
Best time of my life, btw.
Aug 13, 2009, 11:00 am
#109
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 29
Flew to Aruba for our 2 week vacation. Checked & double checked everything before we left. Passports, computer, books, snorkel gear, money, Travelers Checks...............oops, forgot the TC's. Spent 2 hours on Skype with AMEX in Phillipines reporting TC's as lost. We thought we had left them in CLT airport lounge. Turns out, they were at home. We took money, but forgot the TC's. Worst part was figuring out how to get the money Amex had wired. Main Post Office in Aruba is not exactly "user friendly." Took 4 hours to get the money after it had been wired. Between no parking spaces & long lines, only to find out we had filled out the wrong form (we filled out sending money instead of receiving money), then getting right form & having to stand in line again, we finally got our money. No mercy from anyone in the line, since we had already waited once, and who could blame them? Dumb American tourists.
Aug 13, 2009, 11:56 am
#111
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Currently fais la navette entre les US et Paris. Lived in Scotland, Netherlands, and virtually everywhere in the US
Programs: AA 1M miles, UA Premier 1K, AF FB Gold, Hilton HHonors Gold VIP, Starwood/Marriott Gold Elite, etc.
Posts: 50
Dumbest travel mistake
Similar to Dublin, I arrived home from a long and tiring trip from Europe, dragged myself to the taxi line and headed home, only to realize once I was there . . . that my car was waiting for me in the airport garage!
Aug 13, 2009, 1:05 pm
#112
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: New York, NY, USA
Programs: SPG GL, AA GL
Posts: 2,591
This thread is funny... Here are some of mine and my friends' :
Locked the lugguage but left the key home.
Flew to the wrong city for business meeting. Didn't read the email very well before I booked.
Friends missed the 00:05 flight by 24 hours. I wonder how many people missed those midnight flights.
....
Locked the lugguage but left the key home.
Flew to the wrong city for business meeting. Didn't read the email very well before I booked.
Friends missed the 00:05 flight by 24 hours. I wonder how many people missed those midnight flights.
....
Aug 13, 2009, 1:39 pm
#113
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: All over India
Programs: 9W Plat, Flying Blue Elite, HHonors Gold, Accor Le Club Plat
Posts: 814
Two incidents stamped in memory...one quite recent, one a decade back.
1998: Days that I started flying a reasonable amount, and starting to get to know aviation/transportation terminologies, expressions, etc. Also, days of the paper ticket in booklet form, stapled at the bend (you know the kind). Flight is for 1700 hours, but the "1" in 1700 is printed ON the border for the time box on the ticket, so looks like "700". I know its an evening flight, and so presume its 7.00 pm. Had to wait 24 hours for the next flight. Luckily, departure was from my hometown...
2009 June: Indigo Airlines in India - flight code is 6E, printed in large, block letters on the boarding pass. I board, and am arguing vehemently with the passenger in seat 6E that he's in my seat. FA clears the air and directs me to 30D. Only good to come out of this was that 6E would have been a middle seat ! I've flown (HAD TO) on 6E twice after that, and had other passengers argue with me. At least, I don't laugh at them now...joke was on me earlier, wasn't it !
1998: Days that I started flying a reasonable amount, and starting to get to know aviation/transportation terminologies, expressions, etc. Also, days of the paper ticket in booklet form, stapled at the bend (you know the kind). Flight is for 1700 hours, but the "1" in 1700 is printed ON the border for the time box on the ticket, so looks like "700". I know its an evening flight, and so presume its 7.00 pm. Had to wait 24 hours for the next flight. Luckily, departure was from my hometown...
2009 June: Indigo Airlines in India - flight code is 6E, printed in large, block letters on the boarding pass. I board, and am arguing vehemently with the passenger in seat 6E that he's in my seat. FA clears the air and directs me to 30D. Only good to come out of this was that 6E would have been a middle seat ! I've flown (HAD TO) on 6E twice after that, and had other passengers argue with me. At least, I don't laugh at them now...joke was on me earlier, wasn't it !
Aug 13, 2009, 1:44 pm
#114
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: On the road, 24/7/365
Posts: 3,467
First off, I think we should all - well, most of us - say a big 'thank you' to the fates and to the kindness of strangers!
My most memorable gaffe took place September 12, 2001. I was leaving one country (nameless, but it ends in "stan"), having used my one-time-entry visa to visit, and walking across the 1km. no-man's-land to the next country (another "stan") where, in all the political turmoil, my visa was not accepted.
I suppose I should have had the foresight to inquire, but, well, on 9/11, we all learned a few lessons. So, three days spent in that no-man's-land - no food, no water, just a copy of the Illiad.
My most memorable gaffe took place September 12, 2001. I was leaving one country (nameless, but it ends in "stan"), having used my one-time-entry visa to visit, and walking across the 1km. no-man's-land to the next country (another "stan") where, in all the political turmoil, my visa was not accepted.
I suppose I should have had the foresight to inquire, but, well, on 9/11, we all learned a few lessons. So, three days spent in that no-man's-land - no food, no water, just a copy of the Illiad.
Aug 13, 2009, 3:03 pm
#115
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: WAS
Posts: 873
Most of my mistakes happened in the tons of flying I did during my 2 years in PHX, where I lived normally a 10-15 min drive to the airport:
1) Runs hit me hard waiting for a Supershuttle to take me to PHX. Of course, it goes superslow on the freeway. Sparing the gory details, ended up going commando on my flight to LAX.
2) Waiting at the Starbucks before security in PHX, casually chatting with my friend on the phone. I lose track of time, miss my flight, am able to pay a bit out of pocket to gt the next one out. Felt like a real idiot for that one.
3) Plan a 5-day trip to Taiwan the week before my wedding so I could reach 1K and have fun hanging out with my new Taiwanese friends. I leave for the airport, giving myself adequate time to make it in normal traffic. Hit major slowdown on the 51 and am too new to the area to know how to take surface streets (which in hindsight was so simple to do). I miss my Wednesday flight to connect to NRT or NGO in SFO, and thanks to a combination of being a Sabbath observant Jew and dateline issues flying transpac to Asia, I can't fly out for another 4 days. My 5-day trip turns into 2 quick days, but I still made 1K, and get op-uped on my first leg back!
4) A year later, hanging out with same friend from #2 in LAS for his "bachelor party," I'm waiting for him to take me to the airport, and HE loses track of time, I grab a last minute cab, miss my flight, have to pay a moderate fee to take the next flight out, and I still haven't told him. Why make him feel bad?
5) On a trip to China, I booked domestic flights on elong.com, making sure I'd get *A credit Shanghai-Shezhen. I end up going to the wrong Shanghai airport, and have to buy a walk-up fare. I triple checked my itin, and to this day still wonder if the website made a mistake. It was probably my mistake, though. I was even more pissed because the original flight would have meant taking that cool superconducting train to the airport.
1) Runs hit me hard waiting for a Supershuttle to take me to PHX. Of course, it goes superslow on the freeway. Sparing the gory details, ended up going commando on my flight to LAX.
2) Waiting at the Starbucks before security in PHX, casually chatting with my friend on the phone. I lose track of time, miss my flight, am able to pay a bit out of pocket to gt the next one out. Felt like a real idiot for that one.
3) Plan a 5-day trip to Taiwan the week before my wedding so I could reach 1K and have fun hanging out with my new Taiwanese friends. I leave for the airport, giving myself adequate time to make it in normal traffic. Hit major slowdown on the 51 and am too new to the area to know how to take surface streets (which in hindsight was so simple to do). I miss my Wednesday flight to connect to NRT or NGO in SFO, and thanks to a combination of being a Sabbath observant Jew and dateline issues flying transpac to Asia, I can't fly out for another 4 days. My 5-day trip turns into 2 quick days, but I still made 1K, and get op-uped on my first leg back!
4) A year later, hanging out with same friend from #2 in LAS for his "bachelor party," I'm waiting for him to take me to the airport, and HE loses track of time, I grab a last minute cab, miss my flight, have to pay a moderate fee to take the next flight out, and I still haven't told him. Why make him feel bad?
5) On a trip to China, I booked domestic flights on elong.com, making sure I'd get *A credit Shanghai-Shezhen. I end up going to the wrong Shanghai airport, and have to buy a walk-up fare. I triple checked my itin, and to this day still wonder if the website made a mistake. It was probably my mistake, though. I was even more pissed because the original flight would have meant taking that cool superconducting train to the airport.
Aug 13, 2009, 6:47 pm
#116
Join Date: Nov 2003
Posts: 38
Great stuff!
Headed DTW - Miami on a Thursday 9:00 flight. Me & Mrs. jojojo, on two separate tickets. She's staying only about 24 hours. Try to check in Thursday at 8:58, no dice. 9:00 - still too early. 9:01, ditto. Maybe clocks are off. 9:04. 9:06. 9:08 - the web site keeps telling me "you [idiot] can't check in until 24 hours before your flight."
And then the light bulb goes off. You see, 9:00 can actually refer to two different times, 12 hours apart. 8*) And the moral is that if you want the 9AM flight, it is very, very important not to book the 9PM one.
Headed DTW - Miami on a Thursday 9:00 flight. Me & Mrs. jojojo, on two separate tickets. She's staying only about 24 hours. Try to check in Thursday at 8:58, no dice. 9:00 - still too early. 9:01, ditto. Maybe clocks are off. 9:04. 9:06. 9:08 - the web site keeps telling me "you [idiot] can't check in until 24 hours before your flight."
And then the light bulb goes off. You see, 9:00 can actually refer to two different times, 12 hours apart. 8*) And the moral is that if you want the 9AM flight, it is very, very important not to book the 9PM one.
Aug 13, 2009, 7:36 pm
#117
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: Indianapolis, IN USA
Posts: 2,066
Can't recall if I posted this elsewhere:
A few years ago we arrived at SJO and go to rental car booth and I booked all the travel and I say that we've got a car rental with them (?Avis?Hertz?).
They ask if you I'm sure I reserved with them and I said yup. Here's the reservation paper and it was for the prior month (i.e. something like 9/28 and we were there on 10/28) - ugh!
Luckily they had cars available otherwise planned trips would require buses!
A few years ago we arrived at SJO and go to rental car booth and I booked all the travel and I say that we've got a car rental with them (?Avis?Hertz?).
They ask if you I'm sure I reserved with them and I said yup. Here's the reservation paper and it was for the prior month (i.e. something like 9/28 and we were there on 10/28) - ugh!
Luckily they had cars available otherwise planned trips would require buses!
Aug 13, 2009, 9:04 pm
#118
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: body: A stone's throw from SFO, mind: SE Asia
Programs: Some of this 'n some of that
Posts: 17,263
Nothing too inconvenient, but here goes:
1) In 1998 or 1999 was living in Durango CO and needed to get to SAN (from ABQ) for a friend's wedding. An early morning flight and for some odd reason allotted only 2 hours for the drive to ABQ. Around Cuba, NM I realized the error and drove like a madman. That I also needed to go to the bathroom fueled a ridiculously paced drive... even for me. Walked in the airport door less than 20 min before flight time (needing to check a bag and hit the men's room) and got on the plane thankfully. I wasn't even the last one to board.
2) Earlier this year after a few weeks in China on a budget got on TG from PEK-BKK. Quaffed enough champagne to 'lose' my passport enroute. Nearing immigration, and realizing its not with me, went to an info counter and told my (slurred) story, taking the chance I just forgot it on the plane. Indeed, it was shortly returned. On the taxi ride to town thought my money was lost. Having fallen out of my pocket it was on the seat.
3) Arrived at DPS for a flight back to BKK. Guards stop my approach to the int terminal and ask for a printout of my itinerary. Um, didn't have one and didn't really have time to head into Kuta to print one out. I did have a hand written itinerary in my travel notes book and this was acceptable to them (wow).
4) Another time on a flight to DPS left my point n shoot digi on the plane. SQ had it and, since I had my dSLR and gf's point n shoot, just picked it up on the way back out to BKK. Before it was located my biggest concern was that I hadn't taken a significant portion of pics off the SD card. After all, cameras can be replaced.
1) In 1998 or 1999 was living in Durango CO and needed to get to SAN (from ABQ) for a friend's wedding. An early morning flight and for some odd reason allotted only 2 hours for the drive to ABQ. Around Cuba, NM I realized the error and drove like a madman. That I also needed to go to the bathroom fueled a ridiculously paced drive... even for me. Walked in the airport door less than 20 min before flight time (needing to check a bag and hit the men's room) and got on the plane thankfully. I wasn't even the last one to board.
2) Earlier this year after a few weeks in China on a budget got on TG from PEK-BKK. Quaffed enough champagne to 'lose' my passport enroute. Nearing immigration, and realizing its not with me, went to an info counter and told my (slurred) story, taking the chance I just forgot it on the plane. Indeed, it was shortly returned. On the taxi ride to town thought my money was lost. Having fallen out of my pocket it was on the seat.
3) Arrived at DPS for a flight back to BKK. Guards stop my approach to the int terminal and ask for a printout of my itinerary. Um, didn't have one and didn't really have time to head into Kuta to print one out. I did have a hand written itinerary in my travel notes book and this was acceptable to them (wow).
4) Another time on a flight to DPS left my point n shoot digi on the plane. SQ had it and, since I had my dSLR and gf's point n shoot, just picked it up on the way back out to BKK. Before it was located my biggest concern was that I hadn't taken a significant portion of pics off the SD card. After all, cameras can be replaced.
Aug 13, 2009, 10:07 pm
#119
Join Date: Aug 2006
Programs: AS MVP Gold 75K
Posts: 48
My husband holds a German passport with a green card. In the late 90's, he flew from SEA to FRA on AA to visit his family for 2 weeks. On the return trip he presented his German passport at the counter in FRA and the agent noticed that his passport was expired (they didn't notice it was expired when he left SEA). He thought no problem, there is a passport office at FRA so he wasn't worried. At the FRA passport office they told him he need to go to the city that issued the passport to get it renewed. His passport was issued in SEA by the German consulate. He told them that AA wouldn't let him fly to SEA with an expired passport. They didn't care, they have their procedures and couldn't do anything for him. He went back to the AA counter and pleaded with the agent to let him on. After a lot of begging, she finally let him on the flight. I still laugh when I think about this.
Aug 13, 2009, 11:34 pm
#120
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Joliet, IL
Programs: HHonors Diamond, UA Plat.
Posts: 147
Nothing major here.
Left my laptop at TSA ORD T1. Realized it about 15 minutes after takeoff. Was able to pick it up on my return from DFW.
Another time I was in SAN. I had some time to kill before my flight so I decided to drive around for a while. My wristwatch, that my wife had bought for me, was bothering me so I thought, "I'll strap it onto the steering wheel that way I won't forget it." Of course I left it on there. Realized it as the rental shuttle was dropping me off at the terminal. Ran inside, checked in, and then went back to Hertz. They claimed that it wasn't in the car and the manager told me "They wouldn't steal it. It wouldn't be worth it to risk their jobs."
Tried to check in at the Santa Clara Hilton when I had accidentally booked the San Jose Hilton.
Left my laptop at TSA ORD T1. Realized it about 15 minutes after takeoff. Was able to pick it up on my return from DFW.
Another time I was in SAN. I had some time to kill before my flight so I decided to drive around for a while. My wristwatch, that my wife had bought for me, was bothering me so I thought, "I'll strap it onto the steering wheel that way I won't forget it." Of course I left it on there. Realized it as the rental shuttle was dropping me off at the terminal. Ran inside, checked in, and then went back to Hertz. They claimed that it wasn't in the car and the manager told me "They wouldn't steal it. It wouldn't be worth it to risk their jobs."
Tried to check in at the Santa Clara Hilton when I had accidentally booked the San Jose Hilton.