How embarrassing is this?

[liteswap]

I almost missed my flight recently by standing in the wrong boarding queue. :ooh:

I was at DUB with a booking via Aer Lingus to LGW. I exited security, scanned the departure board for the gate, spotted the departure time and destination and headed off in that direction, with almost two hours to wait. After reading for a while, I headed to the gate, and joined the boarding queue. Got to the end: "Sir, this ticket is with Aer Lingus". :eek:

I was in a Ryanair queue at a different gate area - A rather than D. With rollaboard in tow and book in hand, I ran like stink to the now-closing aircraft, having scanned the departures board again but more thoroughly, only to find that the first 1545 departure my eye had stopped at was the first of TWO identical departures / destinations: only the airline was different.

I made it just as the last announcement was being made, 10 mins before scheduled TO time, grovelling to CC as much as much panting would allow.

What I hadn't done was:
1) Scanned my boarding pass for the gate number
2) Scanned the departures board thoroughly
3) Compared the gate noticeboard with the ticket flight number (never flown EI before so wasn't familiar with the code)

What EI hadn't done was tell me verbally what the gate was - I just got the card with none of the usual explanation.

But it's 90% my fault - so let that be a lesson to other blase SLF!

[Quintilian]

I did almost exactly the same a year ago!

Went through the damned security, found a gate with a monitor with destination="Stavanger" (Norway); and queued up ...

After 10-15 minutes when the queue started moving (sign said "go to gate" when I arrived) they announced final call for my name on the PA-system ...

The line I had found was headed for the same town at (almost) the same time as my own flight... But different airliner! :-)

/TH

[Rusland 17]

This happens every morning at London City, when both BA and KLM have flights to Amsterdam leaving at 0840. Every time I take one of those flights I see at least two or three people being told that they're at the wrong gate.

It's easily done, especially if you're unfamiliar with the airport and route or if you lose concentration for a moment.

[Rollingthunder]

A friend - girl type ,once flew down to NYC to visit her boyfriend at the time (from Montreal). No probs and she had a great time. For the return I was tasked to pick her up at Dorval. No show. Hours went by. Called Air Canada and explained problem and asked for help, "Sorry sir we can't divulge that information".. Took me an hour of slicing through red-tape and various supervisors and managers to be finally told " She's in Atlanta".

Welll are you getting her back? Yes sir, next flight, she went to wrong gate in New York.

[lexxity]

Happens all the time in MAN too. Same destination, different carriers at more or less the same time. Amazingly not everyone will believe us when we say not us, you want the other one, they are at gate XX or check in down the hall.

[jetset lady]

If it makes you feel any better, it's not just passengers that do it! I also read the board incorrectly one fine day and led the crew down to the wrong gate to wait for our delayed aircraft to arrive. The next thing we knew, there was an announcement over the tannoy.."Could the Crew of flight XXXX to LGW, please make your way to gate no. XX immediately, where we are waiting to board the aircraft!"

Oh, the humiliation of running past all those passengers sat at the gate area, waiting for us! And most of them had seen us sitting at the wrong gate too, so there was no chance of getting away with it! :O

[VS-LHRCSA]

If you checked in two hours prior to departure, it is highly likely that a gate wouldn't have been allocated and displayed at that point, which explains why you weren't told a gate number when you got your boarding pass.

[liteswap]

Sadly I can't claim that cop-out: when I finally checked, the correct gate was on the boarding card. The only other slight mitigation I might claim is that the notice at the gate displayed a destination, time and code but not the airline - if it had said Ryanair I'd have vanished elsewhere....

[ArthurBorges]

If it makes you feel any better,

It does.

It does.

A year ago I was freshly seated in an Air Asia flight to someplace else.

Then I got feeling really sheepish when some CC announced that dissonant destination and I had to promptly jump up redfaced and scurry back out through the door before anyone could remember my face.

Really tough being 60 when you've been accumulating air mileage since age 12 and didn't EVER mess up back THEN.

Happy Skies!

[Schroedinger]

In Frankfort, returning on LH to the Gulf after an industrial show. I was early, so went to the lounge. No gate posted. At boarding time, the lounge attendant advised me to go to Gate 34, which was down the stairs and around to the right. The sign for Gate 34 had a line slightly to the left, and there was another line twice the distance from the gate sign to the right. I didn't look for the flight number, since it was obvious I was in the correct line. Checked through, ppresented my Canadian passport and got my boarding pass. At the entrance to the jetway, after showing my boarding stub, the lady wished me a good flight to Vancouver. About thirty feet later, the penny dropped. Went back and confirmed that I had been in the wrong line, returned my boarding stub, and boarded the correct flight.

Double check everything.

[galanjal]

and all of the above is exactly why we double check the boarding pass at the door when you enter the aircraft. never fails to amaze me how many people get really huffy when I ask to see it (as per a thread I started many moons ago...)

[Shack37]

and all of the above is exactly why we double check the boarding pass at the door when you enter the aircraft. never fails to amaze me how many people get really huffy when I ask to see it (as per a thread I started many moons ago...)


And it's still running......................:ok:

[TightSlot]

I think you'll find that many of those complaining about having to produce boarding cards on the other thread are so important, and so intelligent, that this kind of mistake could never occur. No, really...

[PAXboy]

I think that a mistake made some 25 years ago is still in effect ... LHR~DUB which we did annually at that time and were both very experienced travellers from childhood. We were in the duty free when we heard our names on the PA. We had, classically, completely lost track of time.

We were that embarrassed couple walking down the aisle to our seats with everyone staring at us, mutely telling us that we WERE the problem ... Haven't miss-boarded or late boarded since!

I certainly sympathise with the multiple departures for the same destination, in JNB this is a problem with five carriers on the CPT run. Further, the European display boards have to continually flick through the multiple flight numbers for all the code shares that can add to confusion as to which one you are really aiming for.

Add to that (might as well throw in another gripe whilst I'm here!) the problem of modern airports using the tiny flat screen displays - instead of the super sized 'flik-flak' boards. Problem being that you have to get within 2m of the flat panel to read the small letters, rather than being able to see the large letters at a greater distance.

I know, I'm getting old ...:*

[lowcostdolly]

Nice one Tightslot :D

As we are back to boarding cards check this one out for embaressment factor for both SLF, gate staff and the CC :O. It happened recently at a UK airport. I may only have half a version here as it was told to me by someone else working there.

Presumably normally intelliigent pax turns up to check in for her flight to XXX. A flight to YYY which is in the same area geographically is also checking in. Pax checks her bags onto XXX and obtains boarding card for that flight. She then passes through security and takes herself off to duty free for some time.

There are no departure announcements at this airport and the next time pax checks the boards she see's last call. She then rushes to corrosponding gate number and somehow clears the gate check. She then boards the plane flashing her card at a distracted member of CC as she goes.

Meanwhile her bags are being offloaded on the actual flight to XXX and she is a "no show" for that flight.

This pax then sits and hears the CC and the Captains welcome on board PA for the flight to YYY and says nothing to anyone:ugh: The doors are still open at this time so had she had the sense to say something the situation could have been rectified.

When the flight lands in YYY pax then asks the CC why they are there and not XXX which is where she is going. She then apparently asks what time the plane will be flying her to YYY......:rolleyes:

So why do the CC check boarding cards? Look what happens when we don't :eek:. A pax manages to get herself hundreds of miles from her intended destination not to mention her luggage is still sitting unclaimed at the point of departure. Clearly there were some issues with the actual checking procedures which need addressing but for heavens sake.......

I guess the case against the boarding card check is now dismissed given all the experiences on this thread?

[Final 3 Greens]

I guess the case against the boarding card check is now dismissed given all the experiences on this thread?

Not by Lufthansa apparently. Two LH flights this week and still no interest at the door, nor from Air Malta on one sector, despite the high levels of righteous indignation on PPrune :}

However Egyptair (a Star Alliance member) did check on both sectors.

Anyway, the 'case' for the check for UK airlines is clearly that it is the law to do it, there is no option.

As ever, I am quite happy to go along with the airline's procedures, show BP or not makes not a jot of difference either way.

[paulc]

Whilst waiting for an internal flight in the USA many years ago saw a bloke with a desktop pc on a baggage trolly powered up and working. Met same gent as he boarded the same aircraft (Fk100) and struggled to stow the computer etc. Usual boarding announcement "if your travel plans do not include going to XXXXX" please make yourself known to a crew member. Up leapt computer gent and after struggling to retrieve computer got off presumably to wait for the correct flight.

[ionagh]

Sometimes its the equipment:

CDG, boarding a flight for Oslo. Another flight boarding for Frankfurt via the same corridor.
Half way down the jetway splits and the overhead monitors display 'Geneve' or 'Frankfurt' cue dozens of confused pax wandering around aimlessly or the wrong way. I went down to the aircraft and told cc about the displays and told them to send out a sheepdog.
Eventually left 20 mins late with a few no shows.


Sometimes its the people:

Boarded plane at CDG and found an American woman sitting in the seat already.
Following a rather strident and vocal exchange on her part she eventually admitted that really she had the centre seat but that she "always" had to have a window seat.
Japanese woman arrives looking for her centre seat. This is now too much for the American pax who more or less told her to f*** **f. "God there are so many Japanese on this flight" she remarked.
Quite normal, I replied, these flights to Kansai are nearly always full.
CC returned with Japanese woman and asked to see boarding card and got a similar tirade.
CC observed (with the tiniest of smiles) "While I realise that your flight for Newark left 5 minutes ago, boarding another one to Osaka is not allowed".

Wrong flight, wrong airline, wrong continent :D (please god that I never make the same mistake)

[lowcostdolly]

I think the close proximity of the boarding flights and their close geographical destinations did have a bearing here......however

How can a pax sit on an aircraft and listen to several PA's from the crew which clearly mention destination prior to departure and do nothing to help herself? :=

When questioned by the CC on landing at YYY she admitted to hearing the PA's but thourght the crew/Captain had made a mistake with the destination!!!! When I was told this I had a "mental vision" of the Captain then checking the flight plan just in case :uhoh:. Yes, mistakes are made at times which clearly happened here on boarding but generally the flight crew can usually get the plane to the right place if not always at the right time ;)

Have those cards ready peeps :)

[The SSK]

Comfortably seated, my two kids and I were politely asked to leave the aircraft in Budapest, because it was going to Zurich and we were going to Brussels. (Those Tu-134s all look the same to me)