Boston=Manchester?!

[Dreamstalker]

I was coming home from visiting my dad in NM for the past week. I was flying Southwest, connecting through BWI. The following seemed like it came directly out of an episode of Airline (why oh why did the show get cancelled?).

The flight was at the gate on time, but wound up being delayed; no big deal (luckily my ride didn't need to be anywhere until 6 PM). I soon discovered a possible reason for the delay.

My flight had originated from Tampa, so there were passengers already on the plane when we boarded. There were two people who thought the plane was going to Manchester (NH, technically Boston-area but...) and apparently only realized they were on the wrong plane when the "we'll just be a short while here in Baltimore before continuing on to Boston" announcement was made.

A supervisor went down the jetway after I overheard this and I could hear loud voices but not what they were saying (rats). I then decided to get some food, so I didn't see what happened next but I assume they were brought off the plane and somehow rebooked.

When they booked the flight, the ticket would have said Boston. Unless they thought Boston-area and Boston were the same thing...

[Dips]

They didn't notice the tickets said Boston until they were on the plane?

I bet they checked the box to look at nearby airports and never paid attention to anything but flight times and price after that. Even though the word "Boston" was there multiple times.

At that point they might as well have stayed on the plane and taken a bus up to Manchester. Unless they were landing during rush hour it's about an hour to an hour and a half between the two. I doubt it would cost less or save time to switch flights.

I wonder if the any of the yelling was trying to blame the airline for their mistake?

[Dreamstalker]

I suspect it was; sadly I think the sup turned her walkie off otherwise the gate area would have heard the whole exchange. Although the confirmation email would have said BOSTON...eh, confused Scs who then get pissy, why expect anything else?

Had we taken off on time (original arrival would have been shortly before 4 PM), they would have been able to escape Boston well before rush hour. Such as it was, I didn't get home until almost 6--although I think the reason for that mini rush hour was a Sox game, and we have to drive right through Kenmore Square. I almost wish they had stayed on the plane so I could see the fireworks when we got here....

[KiaKat]

I'm actually surprised this doesn't happen more often, since they changed MHT's name to Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.

Not one of their smarter moves. Everyone I know was boggling a bit over it.

[Dreamstalker]

Yeah, I was thinking that could have been a large part of the confusion. On some route maps (SWA and I've seen it on a few other airlines), Providence is also referred to as Boston regional...while technically true, someone who flies into T. F. Green expecting a $20 cab ride or $2 bus trip into Boston would be sorely disappointed.

[skeptic53]

A coworker used to brag about how brilliant her 14-yr-old daughter was, straight A's, advanced classes, etc. They used to frequently send her to visit her grandmother in Palm Springs, flying by herself, usually on a non-stop. One spring break they booked a direct flight that stopped in San Francisco, then went on to Palm Springs. The girl was plugged into her iPod and reading a book, when the plane landed, she got off. Now this I can easily understand. You're zoned out, the plane lands, you're used to a non-stop, you get off.

But she went outside & waited 2 hours for her grandmother, then went to the airline service counter & told them her bags weren't there and her grandmother hadn't come. They looked her up and said "Well you're supposed to be in Palm Springs." Her response: "WHERE AM I???"

Now this I don't get. PSP is a tiny airport, should have been very familiar to her, and SFO is huge. Not to mention the slight weather difference, 45 degrees and overcast vs 85 and sunny.... talk about a future absent-minded professor!

[Dreamstalker]

If she was flying as an "unaccompanied minor", wouldn't someone let her know when it was time to deplane on a multi-stop flight? Or maybe because of her honor-student status it was decided she was somehow old enough to not need that designation...

Sheesh, I could figure out at the age of 12 when to get off a plane. (of course, iPods and the like didn't exist back then, so while I did have my nose in a book I still heard the PA)

[PepperElf]

unless they are able to lie about their ages possibly?
i know that some kids don't want the airline supervision

[bean]

Now this I don't get. PSP is a tiny airport, should have been very familiar to her, and SFO is huge. Not to mention the slight weather difference, 45 degrees and overcast vs 85 and sunny.... talk about a future absent-minded professor!

I've never been to PSP, but I've flown into SFO before. You ain't kidding when you say it's huge. I flew into San Fran to meet up with family once and it took me entirely too long to navigate BART - but I couldn't blame anybody but myself for map comprehension.

Now if I hadn't flown into an airport before, I wouldn't know right away something is wrong. But I know every friggin inch of ELP, since I have a lot of family in El Paso. I knew every inch of ELP long before I even moved away from El Paso. I also know most of DFW and DAL, and a good chunk of Houston's airport.

[Dreamstalker]

Airports (besides my present home state) that I have spent way too much time in:

Albuquerque
Dallas/Fort Worth (both pre-and post-remodeling)
Atlanta (not by choice)
JFK
BWI
Denver
LAX
Orange County (CA)