Airline Wheels Couple, Ages 96 and 89, Onto Wrong Plane

[MULTIZ321]

South Florida Snowbirds Bound for Michigan Put On Wrong Plane
By Mike Clary/ Staff Writer/ SunSentinel/ sun-sentinel.com

"When Davie snowbirds Helen Wheeker and George Nobel took flight for Michigan four days ago, they figured they’d be on the ground in Grand Rapids about three hours later.

But instead, they landed in remote Odgensburg, N.Y. — thanks in part to an Allegiant Air employee at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport who pushed their wheelchairs onto the wrong plane.

“I call this our most exciting adventure,” Wheeker told news reporters who greeted them Saturday night when they finally arrived at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids.

“How many people very close to 100 get to do this?”

For 96-year-old Wheeker and her husband, 89-year-old Nobel, who have spent winters in South Florida for 28 years, things began to go wrong when they became separated from a relative who was to fly with them, according to Davie resident Mark Nobel, George Nobel’s son.

The relative got on the correct flight but did not realize Wheeker and Nobel were not aboard until the plane was in the air, Mark Nobel said...."


Richard

 

[x3 skier]

Allegiant, what do you expect?

Wonder where their luggage went, Oregon?



Cheers

 

[isisdave]

You know, they scan your boarding pass at the gate. Hard to imagine how this can happen these days.

 

[MULTIZ321]

You know, they scan your boarding pass at the gate. Hard to imagine how this can happen these days.

The Boarding Pass Scanner wasn't working.

Richard

 

[Luanne]

You know, they scan your boarding pass at the gate. Hard to imagine how this can happen these days.

I've seen this happen (not someone who was wheeled onto the wrong plane but someone who boarded the wrong plane). This was at a large airport, I think it was Dulles, where you had your boarding pass scanned then went out into a sort of hallway where the different small, regional planes, boarded. No one scanned, or even looked at the boarding passes again. I went to get into my seat and someone was already there. When she finally looked at her boarding pass, after being all annoyed, she realized she was on the wrong plane.

 

[Passepartout]

It seems that the 'person who was traveling with' the couple in the article was just not paying attention. This person was clearly not 'with' anyone. There is also a good reason for the announcement from the flight deck along the line of "Welcome to Allegiant (or Delta, American.) Flight 1234 bound for Timbuktu. Weather there is partly cloudy and 60 degrees." They do this before closing the aircraft door so that people not going to 'Timbuktu' can dash off to their correct flight.

One can forgive the wheelchair passengers for trusting airline employees. All's well that ends well and they got an adventure out of it.

 

[davidvel]

It seems that the 'person who was traveling with' the couple in the article was just not paying attention. This person was clearly not 'with' anyone. There is also a good reason for the announcement from the flight deck along the line of "Welcome to Allegiant (or Delta, American.) Flight 1234 bound for Timbuktu. Weather there is partly cloudy and 60 degrees." They do this before closing the aircraft door so that people not going to 'Timbuktu' can dash off to their correct flight.

One can forgive the wheelchair passengers for trusting airline employees. All's well that ends well and they got an adventure out of it.

Coming back to San Diego from HNL last week, the pilot said, "We should have you in Los Angeles in about 5 hours." A few passengers hit their call button, but he never corrected himself.

We landed at SAN.

 

[am1]

I would have wanted a flight from ny to michigan.

 

[x3 skier]

I would have wanted a flight from ny to michigan.

Not on Allegiant I hope, because you would have probably wound up in Saskatoon.

Cheers

 

[am1]

Not on Allegiant I hope, because you would have probably wound up in Saskatoon.

Cheers

I would have wanted a 3rd party charter waiting for me.

 

[Luanne]

It seems that the 'person who was traveling with' the couple in the article was just not paying attention. This person was clearly not 'with' anyone. There is also a good reason for the announcement from the flight deck along the line of "Welcome to Allegiant (or Delta, American.) Flight 1234 bound for Timbuktu. Weather there is partly cloudy and 60 degrees." They do this before closing the aircraft door so that people not going to 'Timbuktu' can dash off to their correct flight.

One can forgive the wheelchair passengers for trusting airline employees. All's well that ends well and they got an adventure out of it.

I'll have to pay attention to when the announcement is made. You're probably right that it is before the doors are closed, but I'm pretty sure we've actually been pulling away from the gate before it's been made.

 

[jd2601]

I was on a flight I thought to Fayatteville AR. The flight pushed back and announcement came across are flying time to Fayattevile, NC is 45 minutes. I rang the call button and they returned to the gate to let me off.

I was amazed that the airline did this. It was an education that Fayattevile, AR is NW Arkansas. I also should have payed better attention to state. I do not believe it was displayed at the gate. Lesson learned.

 

[Tia]

Last flights we were on they announced while still at the gate the flight was heading to Miami/Dallas and if this was not your destination last chance to get off

 

[Blues]

One of my favorite stories along these lines was reported on the news in SF, all the way back in the 80s. It was about a man who mis-heard the flight announcement, thought he was going from LA to Oakland, and ended up in Auckland.

Bob

 

[happymum]

Not on Allegiant I hope, because you would have probably wound up in Saskatoon.

Trust me, it's not that easy to get to Saskatoon!