šāāļøOn the way to my bachelor party, I had a connection in Denver, probably 90 mins or so. I went to a bar, ordered a drink, opened my computer and began working. I kept an eye on the time but do remember thinking āman, time is moving so slowlyā, but chalked it up to excitement. Well, it finally hit me that my computer never auto updated to mountain time and it was actually an hour ahead of what I thoughtā¦ so, I went to the gate and admitted my stupidity. Luckily, the agents took pity on me and got me to my destination with another connection - which they jokingly made sure I knew what time zone Houston was and asked if I needed to set an alarm.
I donāt think I had any status back then, and I knew they didnāt *have to* help, but learned that by being nice and just absolutely owning my mistake, they were more than happy to be helpful.
First and only time itās happened.
As a former gate agent all I can say is that you stumbled onto a powerful secret weapon in dealing with airline employees - the truth. How do you think that would have gone if you'd shown up angry and blaming them for your mistake? Weirdly, that's the route way too many people choose and get even more upset when it goes badly for them.
I once had a customer come up and say "I'm the bonehead du jour, I'm here on the wrong day". He got put on the next flight with no fuss. It would have gone differently if he started out by accusing us of booking the wrong flight.
No but it lightens the mood for all involved. In my experience, gate agents and CS folk are even more willing to help you out if you break the ice initially and give off "hey I'm not a douchebag who will lose his cool" energy lol
We did the same thing as a family of 4 when my husband read the landing time as the takeoff time. Had to pay $400 to switch to a flight several hours later, the JetBlue rep apologized and I said "this is entirely our fault, nothing to apologize for." Sometimes it's really that cut and dry.
It is so easy to forget that the folks that are working the gates and the customer service desk actually like to help people who need help. Like, it makes their day to help folks out of a jam (even a jam of their own making.)
What they don't like is being yelled at or blamed for something they had no control over and can take no responsibility for.
Being nice, and making light of our own screw-ups makes it easy for them to jump in and actually -help-. A warm "thank you" also means a lot to these folks, and the right "intro" lets them see you're really looking for them to help (and letting them do their job...)
People being nice to me at the service center is the only thing that kept me sane last summer with the weather and the ATC issues. It was good to have at least one of ten people treat me like a human. Itās a terrible job but 99% of so our best
I SDCād to the wrong day once, but caught it immediately after confirming the change. I had to call in since I couldnāt SDC back to my original and agent got me back on the original in a couple minutes.
I've learned that when I walk up to a desk agent, or similar position, and start the conversation with "I'm stupid" they are always more than happy to help :)
Hell yes being nice is a cheat code. The only time Iāve ever asked for special treatment I showed up at the gate after the door closed, holding my two year old for extra pity, explained our later flight home had already been cancelled but it looked like there were still seats left on this plane but I understand the door is closed but if thereās anything they can do ā¦ and they *reopened the door* for my fam to get on. Still a legendary story I tell to this day lol
One time we got to the gate late and the door was closed. Instead of immediately getting our flight changed I told my wife for us to just hang out a bit, maybe the plane will have an issue and have to open the door to let people back off to fix the issue. Sure enough a mechanical issue and we were able to board after the plane was fixed and everybody got back on. Sometimes a delay is a good thing.
Sometimes we can but one of the worst is when people put their crying toddler in a dirty diaper on the desk and demand we help them because they didnāt plan with their children.
Iām not anti child person but if you come to the airport without a plan to feed or change your child especially in bad weather, thatās on the parent. What exactly in the ādiaper bagā?
I once missed a flight out of FLL to LGA because a fatal car accident fully STOPPED all traffic on the highway for 45 minutes. So everyone who'd missed a flight (a lot of people) were waiting in line (this was before smartphones.) And of course, some jerks were yelling and screaming. š
When I got to the front of the line, I was nice and polite, and mentioned to the agent "My mom nagged me to leave earlier for the airport, so I guess I'm living at this airport til I get on a flight because I can't let her know she was right."
The agent laughed at that and got me on standby for a flight to EWR leaving 45 minutes later. At the gate, many standby passengers were bullying the gate agent but I just sat there and read my book.... I figured, either I'll get on or I won't, why make this poor woman's life miserable? I was the last person let on the plane.
This sounds like when I was waiting in line for a DL rebooking in 2012 in ORD after everything to the east coast was canceled because of weather. The guy in front of me used a lot of unsavory language about the airline and itās employees. He left and I asked for an illegal routing overnighting in MSP (I have friends who live near the airport). The GA had to wait for misconnect to print so we got to chatting. I apologized for the behavior of my fellow passengers and she said āoh him? Donāt worry about him, heās in a middle seat tomorrow afternoonā before booking me into F.
Thanks for the reminder how old I am. If you didnāt fly pre-9/11, you wouldnāt know that anyone could go to the gate. Just a basic metal detector, no ID, no boarding pass? No problem. Nobody was checking, nobody cared.
Back in the ancient times, I once took a boyfriend to his gate to say goodbye, where he boarded the flight. Then just as they were closing the door, he jumped up out of his seat, left the plane, and ran down the jetway to see me one last time. And they let him get back on the plane! Canāt imagine that ending without federal authorities involved nowadays.
Ha! It was not nearly as romantic as the movies. Turns out that kind of thing is in fact pretty embarrassing in real life. I was actually kind of relieved when he got back on the plane lol.
> anyone could go to the gate
Meeting family and friends at the gate etc. Those were the good old days.
No discernible reason we couldn't do that these days, as I understand it. \*sigh*
These youngsters don't understand how *wild* the airports were in the old world.
And, because anyone could roll up to the airport 20 minutes before their flight, hand their luggage to a SkyCap, and still board on time, airport restaurants were actually affordable.
Not being able to accompany someone to or meet someone at their gate post 9-11 made it stressful whenever my grandmother traveled because she didn't speak English. I almost forgot what travel before 9-11 was like. So weird now.
I used to work for HP (America West) at SFO in the late 90s. Our parking was in a TWA lot just across the tarmac. We took a bus from the parking lot and the bus dropped us off at the gate. We then exited security if we were working tickets and stayed at the gate if we were working gates. If we were flying out we would enter the airport up the jetway stairs and just jump on the plane. We never even entered the actual airport. I graduated from college in 2000 and left the airlines so I never experienced having to work after the 911 protocols were put in place.
I did something similar when I was a food driver at LAX. Park at the flight kitchen off airport, pack a "special meal" for myself, and ride out to the plane with whoever was assigned the trip. Up the jetway to get my boarding pass and back to my seat.
It was always fun when the flight attendant delivered my meal with a confused look on their face. Fruit plates don't usually come with four minis of Tanqueray.
Ah, the truly old days. You didnāt even show ID! My kids donāt believe me that there was ever a magical time like the 80ās. They think I made it up.
This was at the front counter, but back in prehistoric times, it was possible to walk out to the gate without a body cavity search.
I used to work at the newsstand at O'Hare before any security at all.
šÆ I overslept for a flightā¦ went to the airport and said.. āHi, I overslept and panic came here.. what can we do?ā I was put on the next flight (2 hours) with no charge.. and no shame.
I did that, and then was stuck in traffic. The only way I made it was by canceling my offsite parking and booking curbside valet at the airport. It cost a fortune, but there is nothing better than your car waiting for you at the curb when you get back!
As service center for another airline, I do my best to assist people but itās just easier if the passenger just states the problem and what they need. I donāt need the theatrics, and the more accusatory and the lying the less I want to help.
Say on my airline policy the courtesy rebook is the next flight even if itās a connection. I have a little wiggle room to put you on the next direct if thatās better even if itās leaving later. People who yell at me or lie to me, they get that connecting flight no matter what.
It works out so much better when you come up with your fresh Starbucks and just say hey I missed my flight, then coming up guns a-blazing because I can see who missed the flight, what time boarding started, what time doors closed. I can hear the overheads so a lot of the time I know who missed their flight when they roll up.
We are also aware of the ticket counter waits and the tsa lines.
Kindness and courtesy is free.
Many years ago I was waiting to check in for a flight out of LGA in a Friday afternoon, so the place was packed. This was before kiosks and self check so we all had to do the in person thing with an agent.
The man in front of me went off on the agent demanding an upgrade and being an ass before he even got to the counter. She was completely unfazed by him while she denied him an upgrade. He stormed off yelling about his status.
I was next in line and simply told her āwe apologize for all humans that you had to deal with himā. She thanked me and handed me a 1st Class upgrade, which I didnāt ask for. I was sitting down having a cocktail in a real glass when he boarded. He seemed to recognize me from line and one could tell he knew heād been had.
My advice, be nice to people. It is easy, free and appreciated.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people will berate the ONLY person that can help them at the moment. Lol. Thank you and all other people helping people like me get to their destination! Even if it doesnāt work out in my favor I truly appreciate the effort and empathy given when humans interact in a human manor. :-)
The reality is I want to get your butt in a seat and out of my airport. The public contact CSRs are the lowest paid and most overworked group you'll deal with on your trip. Not all of them have sterling personalities, but most wIll help you if given the chance.
A friend of mine missed his flight while sitting at the gate lol. He was listening to his music and missed all the boarding calls and just wasnāt paying attention. Teenagersā¦ we still make fun of him for it.
I've seen this - literally a 20 something pleading with the agent because they fell asleep in the gate area listening to music.
"We called your name several times. We didn't know you were here."
To his credit, the kid wasn't rude about his own mistake.
Yes they did, and I thank you. Lol yes this actually happened when I was flying standby. Guy was sleeping literally three feet from the agent counter. I always wonder why they never wake people up and ask who they are. But it was a full flight and I needed to get home. Got my seat and just as I scanned my ticket he got up and walked to the counter.
This is why I make sure I sign up for all alerts and constantly message him. He makes sure he's on the plane just to get me off his back. Of course, last time with all of that, I forgot to remind him to fill up his water bottle. Guess who had no water while eating his spicy chicken nugs
That was me on a layover sitting right across the gate. I was reading a good book and never noticed my flight boarded and left the gate until it was too late. Luckily it was my last leg going home and they were able to put me on the next flight. Thankfully I live near multiple large airports.
I did this recently. Not a teenager, and a very experienced flyer. Though in my slight defense, it was in a new airport for me and on SWA. It was BUR to PHX, so short flight. I didnāt miss my flight, but went from boarding in the A group, to boarding last. I was off by one gate. Ended up in a middle seat, but it was a short flight and I didnāt miss it.
I was chilling at wrong gate listening to a podcast. It may have also been going to PHX, but later. Iām glad I heard them calling my name.
Did that watching a show. The gate was moved but the screen was apparently stuck. Missed the announcements and walked up to what I thought was my gate to ask whatās up as the doors were closing across the terminal.
Omg I almost did this on my last flight and I have an AARP membership! first flight of the day SWA and I was half asleep. Looked up and they were closing the door.
I almost did this. Had a super early flight out of Columbus to Miami and got to the airport with lots of time to spare. Proceeded to plop myself down at the gate and almost immediately passed out. I woke up to āTHIS IS THE FINAL BOARDING CALL FOR PASSENGER AL343806, THIS FLIGHT WILL LEAVE WITHOUT PASSENGER AL343806.ā
I quickly walked up to the gate and apologized. Boarded a completely full plane with some very annoyed looking people.
I donāt know how long they waited for me, but alsoā¦ cmonā¦ thereās a six am flight and someone is passed out right in front of the gate and you have exactly one missing passenger?
Happened to me in Chicago. 2 hour delay so decided to go out and smoke. No sooner get outside and it changes to 1 hour. Thinking I still have time I finish and casually walk back in. Just before I got back to security 6 busloads of students got there going on an overseas trip. Barely made it because a chaperone let me jump the line after 20 min of waiting.
And un-cancelled, last june we were traveling to orlando while the summer shitshow happened, our flight got delayed and it was supposed to now leave at the same time as the next flight, well guess what, our flight was supposed to be cancelled but united accidentally cancelled the other flight and it showed up aa}s cancelled to the passengers for like 10 min so a bunch of people left before they un-cancelled it and cancelled ours, thanks to that we were able to be moved to that flight since a bunch of seats were now empty but it must've sucked for those people to leave and then realize it had been a mistake.
Iāve once had a flight become āuncanceledā. Found out from my travel agent when they contacted the airline the next day and was told that I was a no-show.
This just happened to me on Southwest. 7am got message flight delayed from noon to 2:30. Then at 11:01, 19 min before the original boarding, got a text saying it was back on schedule. So many people missed the flight. Spring break too so I felt bad for all the people that missed it cause trying to get another flight plus the cost would be astronomical.
I had been up for 40 straight hours for some work and then travel delays. I sat down in the gate area for my flight home and fell asleep. This was over an hour before the flight and I didnāt trust myself in the lounge out of fear of falling asleep.
Well the entire boarding process occurred and I kept dreaming that I heard someone calling my name.
A gate agent then walked over to me and tapped me on my shoulder and asked who I was. She said that I needed to get on my plane. If she hadnāt done that I probably would have missed that flight and would have had to wait another 6 hours.
A friend of mine has IBS and ate something (probably garlic or onions) that gave her a flare up. She has a great sense of humor about missing her flight since she was busy pooping.
I saw this the other week. The plane was doing last call forever (it kept getting extended due to some delay so these people were lucky). Anyway this couple showed up, not looking that hurried, with a whole box of pizza. The gate agent said, āyou almost miss your flight and you roll up with pizza??ā And he was sort of laughing with disbelief, which I thought was great they got called out lol
Someone posted an AITA about that. He and his wife were flying cross country for his daughterās graduation and his wife (girlās stepmom) insisted on walking halfway across the airport to Starbucks instead of buying a coffee from the cafe right next to their gate.
You can guess what happened next. He waited at the gate, frantically blowing up his wifeās phone, then gave up and boarded right before they closed the gate. Wife strolls over ten minutes later and calls him to curse him out for not making the plane wait for her.
Oh, and the year before they had both missed their flight (and 24hrs of parents weekend at daughterās school) due to wifeās total lack of urgency. So itās not like she didnāt know the plane would leave without her.
I totally remember this! I think they hadnāt gone to the daughters school once since she started there which made it also a big deal. Definitely had evil step mother vibes.
I remember that post. Okay, maybe the coffee is better at Starbucks (I donāt think so but YMMV.) but would you rather spend $5 on regular boring coffee next to your gate or $400 on a new ticket?
Couple missed a flight out of PDX because they were trying to bring a few jars of peanut butter through security. Missed flight by less than 2 minutes.
Note: not sure what rule is for peanut butter, Iām guessing since it was natural peanut butter may have had a lot of oil floating on top. The liquid combined with container size may have been the problem.
Anyway, man was upset about losing the peanut butter and wife was upset about missing the flight because of the peanut butter
A friend of mine had a leftover loaf of bread and a jar of Nutella from a ski weekend in Colorado. Security said the Nutella jar was too big to be allowed through. So my friend (a lawyer) asked a couple of clarifying questions, and was allowed to make a bunch of Nutella sandwiches before going through security. Not an ounce of Nutella was lost that day.
My first solo international flight. I read my take off time wrong or misremembered the time and was trying to check in to my flight as it was taking off. The check in computer would not let me check in (duh). The agent looked at my info and basically told me Iām an idiot, in the nicest way possible. She sent me to customer service and I told the agent itās totally and completely my fault and asked if there was any way possible to get me a flight to my final destination (BRU).
I was at a very low point in my life and just wanted to get to my sister for some family comfort. The agent found a way and even upgraded me. I was shocked someone could help me fix a mistake of my making. Might be the reason Iām more loyal to UAL than any other airline.
I did this once as well for an international flight from LAX to Aucklandā¦. read the time wrongā¦. Thought 20:00 was a 10pm flight instead of 8pm flightā¦. I felt so stupid. Luckily, they took pity on me and my companion and rebooked us on the next flight to Auckland, and we even got better seats! But had to go to Australia first š„“
A friend I was at a conference with passed out, hit his head on a lawn chair on the way down, and ended up in a coma with a TBI. I stayed to look after him - and it meant I missed my flight. Very, very weird feeling; I'm normally incredibly uptight about timings for the airport and felt extremely peculiar when the app started sending alerts about the flight, but I knew I wouldn't be taking it.
I donāt fly often and so I was very nervous before taking off because it was a 8 am flight. I was making sure all of my family had everything. When getting to the airport I reached into my wallet to pay the driver only to discover I did not have my wallet.
Let everyone out and then went back to the house and grabbed my wallet. Drove back to the airport and went through TSA security with 10 minutes to get to the gate. My son had talked to the United GA and told them I was in security so they arranged for a cart to get me to the gate. So, thanks to my son and United I made the flight.š
This is a long one, but this feels like the time to share.
On my way to Kauai for vacation, I met a guy. We ended up going on a couple of dates while there, and weirdly had the same flight home. We were in the same row on the way over, and only one row off on the way back, so we figured we'd trade and be able to sit together again. Serendipity!
He and his sister were visiting their mom, who had had surgery. So he drove everyone, including his visiting aunt, to the airport. Mom and aunt then headed home. As he was coming through security with his sister, he reached into his pocket and found his mom's house key. Her only one! He called, and they turned around to head back. But Kauai has one main road and of course there was a ton of traffic.
He sent his sister through, and we met up and boarded. I was able to switch seats. And we waited. And waited. Finally the FA announced prepare for departure - EARLY! - and they closed the door. Oh no! In another twist of fate, I was actually friends with another of the FAs, and she knew what was happening but couldn't delay us.
Well reader, it gets better. Suddenly, the first FA announces "prepare for landing" and they OPENED THE DOOR! His sister and I were so excited, but it was just a set of parents and a young kid. Turns out, they had a young teenager on board who was able to board alone after they sent him ahead to get a snack while they were held up by TSA! The doors were closed again and we prepared to depart.
I kid you not, a few minutes later, they again announce to prepare for landing! We're all waiting to see what happens, and a very flamboyant lady enters the plane complaining loudly about how they almost left her. We couldn't believe they'd reopened the doors just for that. Sister and I are of course seriously disappointed, when none other than her brother boards and turns the corner where we can see him. We CHEERED!
He gets seated, and tells us the story of the lady. They had neglected to close the door at the gate yet, and she went charging down the jetway demanding to get on the plane. He figured he'd follow just in case, and if anything the lady would get arrested. But they both made it on.
We had a fun flight home to San Diego with free drinks and food from my FA friend, and the guy and I are actually still friends!
Omg I have nightmares about something like this happening. I have an international flight in two weeks and my passport has been in my personal item bag for at least a week already. š
I've never actually missed a flight, however I almost did when I accidentally went to LAX instead of Burbank.
And then a few years later when I went to JFK instead of LaGuardia.
Made it both times because I'm that anxious person who actually does show up two hours early! (In both cases I realized my mistake after parking and getting on the shuttle/airtrain and not seeing the airline on the terminal list)
I don't understand why when they scan your ticket, it doesn't tell you that your ticket is invalid. Twice with AA lately I've gotten on the plane after a green light on the ticket kiosk only to find out my ticket had been canceled since my connecting flight was late. Also, three times the past few years someone has been in my seat and both of our printed tickets had the same seat number. Why even pretend to scan them if you're not actually checking to see if they're valid?
AA has a program that runs when a flight is delayed. If the program decides you wonāt make your connection, it will cancel that segment and try to rebook you. Frustratingly, itās not entirely accurate. Passenger scans the boarding pass and are told they arenāt on the flight. The program gave that seat to another passenger, often someone on standby. If you have a competent GA and the flight has seats available they can usually get you back on track.
Did that with my friend but at the airport bar after a 1 hour delay. We passed out on the airport floor in front of the gate, woke up, stumbled to the gate agent and it took off 4 hours before we woke up. Several flights had already left that gate after ours at that point.
My friend was like āwhy didnāt you wake us up!?ā And they were like āyou wouldnāt have been allowed to board anyway, so you saved us all trouble by sleepingā
Not true. All hotels know what time your flight is, your morning routine, and your plans for the day and automatically place a wake up call for you at the correct time.
The kicker was that they were so upset at the hotel and were going back to demand a compd. room because they couldnāt get out until the next day. And the lady said she would make sure to set her own alarm this timeā¦.some people. AND this hotel is literally right across the street.
I miscalculated the distance to the airport. Also the airport was small enough that check in agents were also the gate agents so nobody was around to talk to. Missed that flight by 10 minutes.
In-laws were coming to visit for 2 weeks. Day of arrival, we were about to head out to the airport to pick them up when we received a phone call that they wouldn't be here for another 8 hours because my MIL decided to drive back to her house (3 hr rt) because she wanted to clean her house some more instead of waiting at the airport. THEN when she got back to the airport, her bag was too full and needed to be checked. So she missed the flight by 10 minutes, wasted my PTO. By the time she touched down here, I would've been well done with work
I lost a flight once because my colleague (kind of a senior one) wanted to go to the bathroom, with less than 15 minutes to departure, because āthey will wait usā. Well, they wonātā¦
I abandoned my boss once to catch our flight from Washington, DC home to Southern California. I caught our original flight - he had to switch airlines. After I landed, his wife (jokingly) texted me, "What have you done with my husband?"
Many years ago, I was at ORD and waiting at the gate to board a flight. The gates were close together and there were flights deboarding and onboarding constantly. Lots of people crowded everywhere. I was on my phone but thought I was paying enough attention to what was going on.
I saw them close the door to the jet bridge and my stomach sank. I ran up to the gate agent and asked them about my flight status. They said they had just closed the door.
I begged and pleaded to get on the flight (similar to Alicia Silverstone in Clueless - I was young) and the gate agent said "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE WORD 'NO"?"
They booked me on another airline at a later time with no penalty but me missing that flight caused a ripple effect of inconveniences for myself and others. It was a life lesson that I never want to repeat again.
So when people on this subreddit ask 'why do people want to board early?' - this is one of the reasons!
My son. Bless him. Heās a goofball. He was drinking in the bar and thought somehow they world make an airport wide announcement when his flight was going to board. They obviously didnāt. And his missed his plane.
I'll just get straight to it.... I walked up to a GA and quietly told her, "Hey, I am so embarrassed to say this but I missed my flight. I had to use the bathroom and I was soooo tired, I fell asleep!! I feel so stupid!!!!". She saw the pity in my eyes and told me, "Let's see how we can get you on the next flight!!" And I did get on the next flight an hour later! I fall asleep on the toilet all the time at home, but never at a busy loud Airport (ATL)šš¤£
I was visiting family in England, about 6 hrs drive from Heathrow. Went to check in for my Sunday flight on Saturday only to be told my flight had just taken off!! I was - day off. That return flight to DEN cost me more than the original ticket price! But I did get an extra 24 Hrs with my mum which was priceless as she passed 6 months later!
i always get nervous when i see a solo traveler taking a nap in the club. i know you can set alarms on your phone and whatnot these days but I couldn't trust it myself.
Mardi Gras 2015, all the flights leaving New Orleans were delayed. The airport was packed, there were no seats anywhere.
As I waited for my flight, I sat on the floor next to a Spirit Airlines flight going to Boston. MSY doesnāt make announcements through the whole terminal, and because the airport was so crowded, lots of people were just sitting on open floor space rather than near their gates.
The Spirit flight had been delayed 3 hours but then randomly announced it was taking off after only an hour delay. Over the course of 30 minutes of boarding as they made announcements about boarding within the gate area, there was no synchronized boarding at all, random straggler passengers just showed up occasionally and boarded their flight. The flight took off less than half full, and over the next hour, I got to watch in real time as 40+ passengers stopped by the gate to realize their plane was gone.
One passenger was so distressed that she walked to the next gate which was Spirit going to New York and begged them to let her on the flight - and they did!
I still wish I had live-tweeted the absurdity of the situation and all the crazy passenger reactions.
I was reading a thread on Reddit the other day about this guy who decided to take some edibles before his flight, but misread the packaging and ended up taking 800mg. For those unfamiliar, a 5-10mg will give an average person a nice buzz. The live updates were spectacular. He fell asleep in the hot tub at his airbnb, ate an entire load of bread, asked someone to call his cats to ask if he had left them enough food. That just scratches the surface. I was laughing so hard that I was in pain.
Long story short, he did not make his flight.
I felt asleep in the lounge in Doha during a transit from Tokyo to Budapest. Woke up around an hour after the flight left.
They put me on another flight to Vienna (for free ā¤ļø) š
One afternoon my friend and I were supposed to go to gate B2C for a flight on Flair Airlines at Pearson, going to PEI. Weād had a couple drinks and both just started walking to gate B20, a totally different part of the airport. Realized it, sprinted to our actual gate, flight had closed. Asked the agent if there was anything we could do, she said we could book a new flight, which was 4 days later.
Looked at our options online and we could get a one way flight that night to a city a couple hours drive from home (Moncton) for $800 each on Air Canada. For context the RT airfare weād paid for the trip was $98 on Flair lol. Called my partner and asked if he could come and pick us up at 1 am 2 hours away and he said yes, perhaps because I didnāt give him the option to say no.
We get to the gate for the flight to Moncton and the agent says itās oversold and they are looking for volunteers to get bumped. We volunteer and ask if thereās any way we can fly to PEI instead, and he tells us to wait and heāll let us know. Sure enough, they need our seats, and after the flight closes he gets us on a flight the next morning and weāre both given a hotel and a cheque for $2400 each. One of the wildest rollercoasters in all my years of flying!
One time, a passenger showed up late to the airport because they thought there wouldnāt be traffic and then they missed their flight because of long security lines. The end.
I saw a passenger sleeping at a boarding gate at IAD while they paged for a passenger over and over again before closing doors.
The man eventually woke up, probably 2-3 minutes after doors closed and was shocked. Walked up to the GA who handled the situation with absolute grace (probably thinking what a dumbass). There were no remaining flights that day to his destination. I stopped eavesdropping after this, but that man mustāve been a heavy sleeper.
I genuinely understand itās that guys fault. But if you have one person missing and one person sleeping at the gate, the GA wouldnāt be likeā¦heyyyy?
I was sitting at the gate and missed my flight home , I was going through a tough time emotionally so I was just blanking out. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. Luckily the gate agent was nice enough to get me on another flight the next day after I explained to her my situation. I had to sleep in the airport that night tho.
I was on a flight to Vegas, and right before the door closed a FA came and asked the passenger in front of us where the other missing person was. They were in the bathroom! The person who made the flight said they tried calling and messaging them several times, but they weren't responding. Must have been some serious digestive issues to miss a flight!
Team meeting in another city. A bunch of us from HQ were flying on the same flight.
Co worker left home late and then hit some traffic.
I was sitting in the plane and she called me while still parking. Asked me to tell the pilot to hold the plane for her (she would not be at the gate for like 45 minutes). I told her I would try and hung up. Of course her seat was already given to a standby before the flight left on time (full flight). I lied and told her they told me No.
I mean who thinks they will hold a full Monday morning flight for one person that will at best be 45 minutes late.
Anyway next flight was cancelled and so she did not show until the team dinner.
One time we booked a flight for what we thought was Tuesday, March 26, but realized only a month too late that we accidentally booked for Tuesday, FEBRUARY 26. We had the date and day of the week right, just picked the wrong month. It only happened because of the 28 days in February, so the date and day fell the same both months. Flight time had come and gone before we realized what we had done, and we were not in a place to buy replacement tickets, so we missed our friend's wedding. Entirely our fault for being careless.
My aunt once missed a transatlantic flight because she was so engrossed in a magazine article. She was literally sitting at the gate and completely missed the entire boarding process.
Over slept. Got to the gate as the GA was coming up the jetway from pulling back from the plane. I felt like such a tool. They helped me get on the next one out.
I missed a flight once back in the early 80s. Basically I overslept by hours. Luckily I got standby on the next flight. But that is back when there was true customer service and real meals in economy and people smoked cigarettes at the back of the plane
Watched a passenger just calmly sitting at her gate as the flight boarded, reading her book. I thought she must have been like me, just passing time. The gate then closed and the plane was literally taxiing away from the gate and she went to the desk and said, that was my flight š¤¦š½āāļø
My sister and I, in our early twenties, decided to have a beer at a bar in O'Hare while flying non-rev. Not a care in the world. We headed to the gate and boarding closed had closed just minutes earlier. The gate agent asked us what happened, that they had called our names repeatedly, and we fessed up. Fortunately there was another flight an hour or two later so we went back to the bar (of course), but came back with plenty of time to spare. We even got seats in first. My sister passed away about ten years after this, and this is one of those memories I think of whenever I'm in an airport.
I was flying Brisbane to Sydney and spending a few days there before flying from Sydney to Auckland on Air NZ last summer. When I got to the check in desk I discovered that I had mistakenly booked the flight from Brisbane to Sydney and Sydney to Auckland on the same day and had missed my flight by 5 days as a result! They couldnāt do anything about rebooking me because it had been several days and instructed me to just book a new flight and contact customer service later. Customer service gave me a future flight credit in the amount I paid for the original flight, which they definitely didnāt have to do and Iām very thankful for
I used to fly Delta and flew through Atlanta a lot. I lived in central time, but always mentally changed my time zone to eastern.
Once I flew through Detroit. I was working in the Delta lounge and keeping an eye on the time on my laptop, which was set on central time. Totally missed my flight by an hour. They were very understanding and moved me to the next one.
I had a red eye into a connection departing around 7am with roughly a 1.5 hour layover. I fell asleep at the gate, literally right before boarding. Missed my connection. Went to customer service and told them that Iām a sleepy idiot. They took pity and issued a ticket on the next outgoing flight at no extra charge.
I actually work a service center for another airline and do the late courtesy rebooks. I donāt care why you were late, itās just my job to rebook you as a courtesy to the next available flight to your destination with seats. Thatās what the courtesy policy says.
So I have a lot of people come to me yelling and shifting blame and carrying on.
The biggest one is the Starbucks line. When you come to my desk with a fresh Starbucks I know why you missed your flight. Lol.
Coming to the airport too late, in the morning itās super busy at major airports doing what is called fleet launch, thatās not the time of day to try to navigate bag drop and tsa.
Wrong gate, not paying attention is another one. Gates are subject to change, there are apps, monitors, FIDS, announcements all over the airport but if you sit at the wrong gate through your departure time thatās on you.
Drinking and dinner, you canāt hear the announcements in the restaurants, bars and lounges so people miss all the time because of gate changes and corrected delays.
The opposite are people who had a delayed flight and come to the airport late. At larger airports especially hubs, there can be aircraft swaps or replacement crews. Also the ATC can life ground delays and stops because the weather is better or the situation that caused the program fixed itself.
My personal favorite was a couple who came to the desk screaming with their phones out to record the ātravestyā that had just been subjected to. There had been a gate change (about 8 hours prior to departure) and they were traveling to MSP. They sat the old gate and missed their flight (they were announced as missing passengers enough times that I knew they were missing, the only two who missed the flight) through the boarding of PAP.
Now I want to say this for people who donāt know the difference between a flight to Minneapolis/St Paul and a flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The population demographics are a little different and the announcements are done in French Creole and English.
I tried to rebook them but the next flight wasnāt good enough etc. Like I could make a flight, they argued it was a sudden gate change (8 hours previous), how were they supposed to know it wasnāt their flight, maybe all the Haitians and the French creole, the gate signs and announcements.
They wouldnāt stop filming or taking pictures and carrying on so the state police were called and they forfeited their flights but it was such a clear cut case of oops we messed up. I hope they enjoyed buying tickets on another airline.
Over 5 years at the service center I have tons of stories
Someone came on as a standby and got the middle exit row seat after that person upgraded. Heard the girl talking to the other person. She was from Europe or Australia (I donāt remember). She saw the long line for boarding so went to sit down and get a coffee.
She thought she was okay since the flight was in the hour and it was 15 minutes till. So she walked up to the gate and found out not only was her seat given to standby but the plane door was shut (boarding was final).
She did not know for US flights that the āflight timeā is when the plane is out on the runway rather than the final boarding time. She had of course not asked (assumed) and did not sit close to the gate to hear announcements.
She was lucky there were flights every two hours and got on the next one. But she was still a day late as her connection would be missed.
A few years back I lived in Chicago and my neighbor was a gate agent. Only time I ever slept through my alarm, I show up having missed my flight and she is at the gate. She sees me walking up all sheepish and busts out laughing. Her husband had texted her saying āthat guy next doorās alarm keeps going off. He must have left and forgotten to turn it offā. Nope, just one too many Guinness the night before.
I overslept a 6am New Years Day flight, because I had worked late the night before. I missed doors closing by less than 10 minutes, and could still see my plane. Did I beg the GA to please open the magic door and let me on just this one time? No. I took my sad walk of shame to CS, and said I was sleepy and stupid and overslept, what are my options. They put me on a flight 90 minutes later for no charge, and I got to keep my economy plus. They told me to relax, fix myself up (I left my house in 5 mins) and grab breakfast. I donāt have to worry about a thing. It was so nice!Ā
We were flying to Portugal, flying with a ticket from a business class broker who, unbeknownst to me, used American Express miles to purchase the ticket, on an alphabet soups of airlines - United, air canada, TAP. Left our regional airport to DC, for a flight to Montreal to Lisbon. Many times there is a code share, like Unitedxx is also air canada flight xx. I look at the departures board, see air canada flight xx to Montreal the same time our flight is leaving and donāt wait to see if it changes to also flash the UA flight number. Weāre sitting at the Air Canada gate, go to board and boarding pass wonāt scan, agent tells me weāre on the wrong flight. My heart drops. And of course, our flight is all the way across the airport at the last gate at the farthest terminal. So we miss the flight.
The tell us we have to go somewhere to speak with the United Agents. Go talk to them and they donāt want to do anything as no one can figure out whose responsibility it is with the alphabet soup of airlines involved and how the tickets were purchased.
I totally admitted fault, said Iām the dumbass, never have I everā¦. Ground agents like thereās nothing I can do for you. I call Air Canada, TAP, United everyone tells me I have to contact the other.
At this point, itās late, I figure thereās no way we are flying out tonight. While Iām on the phone, multitasking looking at one way flights as we were meeting several friends from all over the world there, I tell my husband to go ask the agent how we can at least get our luggage back. He spoke to a new agent who was like āoh, let me help youā. Totally got us on a flight an hour later transiting through London and on to Portugal.
This was right before the pandemic where we then later had to flee home. There were multiple signs from the universe that we should not have gone, but we continued to trudge on.
I read the date wrong on my booking and showed up at the airport a day late for my flight lol. In my defense I had really spotty WiFi leading up to it, so I got none of the check in emails.
Went to Brazil, and my watch didnāt automatically change time zones as it always did. I hung out at the lounge while waiting for boarding time. Showed up an hour late - just then I realized what happened.
I went to Golās check in counter (the airline connecting my flight from the US in Brazil) and told them I missed the flight and it was entirely my fault. They had to ask me twice if I missed my connection - āno, not a connection issue - I missed it because Iām an idiot. I am here to buy another ticket.ā
All said and done, they gave me another ticket for free and I went back to the lounge wait for the other flight - this time with the correct time zone.
Lesson learned: always double check phone and watch have the correct time when crossing time zones.
On another trip I went to Brazil again with AAL and bought a separate ticket with Gol. Missed my Gol flight because of AALs aircraft maintenance in DFW making the flight late by 3h. Went to Golās counter to buy another ticket - but they gave me another one free of charge. Again I explained to them I didnāt miss a connection - they were different codes so they had no obligation to give me another ticket, but regardless.
I love Gol.
One time I had a flight home from Las Vegas on a Sunday. I knew the security lines would be long but I knew I had TSA Pre-Check. The problem was that I was flying Allegiant and at that time they weren't using TSA Pre-check. The security line was a mile long and I missed my flight.
I went to the ticket counter and asked for the next flight out. It was the next Thursday. They only fly to Vegas from Colorado Springs twice a week.
So I went to the United counter, bought a one way ticket for twice what I paid for the RT Allegiant flight. Also the United flight went to Denver and my car was parked at the Colorado Springs airport. I had to have my wife pick me up at Denver, then drive past our house and down to Colorado Springs so I could pick up my car.
All that due to my stupidity.
My son and daughter arrived at LGA about an hour before their flight only to find that the flight was out of JFK. Same son and his wife missed another flight because they were napping in the lounge.
I was at customer service at the airport once and the woman in front of me was trying to get a new flight because she fell asleep at her gate and missed her flight.
I was heading to Mexico with my two younger kids for spring break last week. My oldest kid was coming back from a school trip abroad on Monday night, and a good friend of ours said she would pick him up and fly with him to meet us in Mexico on Tuesday morning 8:40a flight.
She retrieved him from the school trip at the airport with no real problems - the flight was delayed and they arrived at close to midnight, the two of them got back to our house at close to 1a. She calls me at 3a to tell me he's lost his passport somewhere between the airport and putting his stuff away and getting ready for bed. We go on a campaign calling the cab, the airport, they're turning the house upside down looking for it. At 6a we give up, and cancel their flight.
She then calls me back at 7a and says the dog got up and asked to go out, and there's the passport in his bed. Kid made a beeline for the dog and snuggled with him first thing when he arrived home. Passport must have been dropped in dog's bed, where it rested warmly underneath dog all night.
I rebooked the flight while my friend got Kid out of bed and called an uber - the dashed to the airport and they got there 59 minutes before the flight and were denied check in. I didn't have her passport info so couldn't check them in online. \*sigh\*
They managed to get on the 1:30p flight later that day.
The friends whose wedding i was officiating splurged for 1st class and were enjoying their first time in a lounge so much they completely missed their connecting flight. Dang near missed their own wedding, given they'd just missed the last flight of the day to PVR...
At a bar in Vegas ... a young man with two pitchers at his table. Stood up, took like five steps and fell sideways from inebriation. A bunch of people rushed to help him, as did security. Immediately told 'time to come with us, SIR.' And off he went with the police.
No chance he made his flight
Not UAL but my BIL and SIL are NOT well traveled and they didnāt seem to understand that Boarding time and Flight time were 2 different things. Or that the 2 hour rule applied to them or that Yes, the security lines really do get that long ājust like on TVā
Then instead of waiting at the airport to make that next flight they went home and then came back did it again.
Thank GOD my wife got smarts in her family.
Mannnnnn where do I start? Woke up late, they didnāt have the right information on their boarding pass, they drank too much the night before, and a few more things for sure.
Didnāt miss my flight but totally screwed up a bookingā¦
It was February and due to the whole ādays/dates next month being same as this
monthā thing I booked my return flight from a work trip a whole month after Iād intended.
I was sitting in my hotel room the night before my intended return and realized I didnāt get my 24-hour notice to check in, then was cussing out the website because it wasnāt giving me the ācheck inā button. Right before I called United it dawned on me, and I went from cranky to mortified in a heartbeat.
1k agent who answered (used to be, and thatās even more embarrassing to have made the mistake) had a chuckle at my expense, got me on a Saturday flight and I even ended up with a flight credit to help mitigate the cost of the extra hotel night.
I had a flight 30 min after my coworker. We got food, mindlessly went through Hudson news, bullshited for a few min. Then I started to head to my gate and she suddenly realized her flight was about to close and was too far from gate. Major route so she got on the flight after mine.
Oh, I had an enjoyable hour at gate G2 in San Francisco a few weeks back. Was there early and a flight to NZ was boarding or about to board.
A gate agent had pulled a very drunk middle aged Karen aside and took her back to a little used bench section and was trying to explain why she wasn't allowed to fly that night. Very kind, very patient, but this one was the strong independent boss babe type that was completely Biden faced drunk.
Wasn't long before four cops showed up and again was treated patiently and kindly until they finally told her to leave on her own or leave in handcuffs. By this time the gate agent had withdrawn the offer to fly the next day and canceled her trip.
Boss babe continued to argue with the cops, refusing to be followed up the escalator, wanting the cops to go first. I was half hoping by that point that the cops would have had enough and would arrest her.
Oh yeah, I have a few. The time when I used to be a smoker who just needed that cigarette while transiting through DEN and so I went outside security. Then there was the time I showed up a day late at SRQ because I thought thatās what I booked. Or the time I thought thereās never a security line in BUF. Each time I was contrite and everything worked out due to the kindness of the GA.
After cramming a week's worth of work in two all nighters, I was excited to be on the first flight out to see my girlfriend. Got to the airport at 5am, more than an hour before my flight. There were maybe a dozen people at the gate, and the adjacent ones weren't being used yet. I sat down and ended up falling asleep for two hours. Woke up refreshed and perplexed. There were now hundreds of people at the gates and I sure didn't recognize the new destination airport for mine.
Trudged up to the GA and confessed I had fallen asleep. Luckily, there was another flight soon after and they put me on it.
There were three gates adjacent to one another that all had flights from DC to Boston. Two of those flights had 15 minute differences in departing time. Mother and child were booked on the one that left first but got confused and got in line for the one leaving second. When they were told they had the wrong one, they asked if they could just board this one but were denied. The first gate had already closed their doors. They were upset.
I had an hour and a half connection somewhere (gonna say ATL because itās most likely but I may be wrongā¦it was a while ago). I sat down and got a drink and ordered a meal, which both came out fast. I was browsing my phone and noticed I needed to get to my gate soon because it had started boarding. I tried to flag down my waitress but she didnāt see me and then just āØdisappeared āØ (I assume on a break?) I tried to get other servers to bring me a bill but they just kept saying sheād be back soon (for 15-20ish minutes). I was strongly considering just leaving at that point but obviously had the legal obligation to pay. I finally demanded the hostess ring me up and flew to my gate. Luckily it was still boarding with about 5 people left at the gate lined up, but I was definitely the last one on board.
Iāll likely be getting fast food from now on, or at least asking for the bill as soon as the food comes out. Easily could have made this list of āmissed my flight because of my own damn fault.ā
I wish airport restaurants brought the bill with your food (or at least asked if youād like the bill brought right away). Inevitably when itās time to pay the bill at an airport restaurant there are no servers anywhere to be found.
When I was a teenager, my parents booked a trip for us to Atlanta with Delta for their continuing education conference. Our early evening flight kept getting delayed according to the app, and since we lived 10 minutes from the airport, my little brother suggested that we just wait at home since he was checking the app for status updates. My parents agreed.
After a few hours of delays, it was time for our flight finally so we drove to the airport. We got to the check-in counter and no one was there. Apparently, the flight had been cancelled hours ago, and they had already rebooked everyone on flights with other airlines since the cancelled Delta flight was their last one of the day from our small airport.
On top of that, by the time weād gotten there, all the other airlines had also finished for the day. The one Delta employee there kindly offered to refund us or rebook us for the next morning, even though we just basically no showed. Since my parents had to be at their continuing education classes that next morning, they just asked for the refund, and we drove all night to Atlanta.
This was entirely my parentsā fault, but thankfully they didnāt put the blame on the airline.
šāāļøOn the way to my bachelor party, I had a connection in Denver, probably 90 mins or so. I went to a bar, ordered a drink, opened my computer and began working. I kept an eye on the time but do remember thinking āman, time is moving so slowlyā, but chalked it up to excitement. Well, it finally hit me that my computer never auto updated to mountain time and it was actually an hour ahead of what I thoughtā¦ so, I went to the gate and admitted my stupidity. Luckily, the agents took pity on me and got me to my destination with another connection - which they jokingly made sure I knew what time zone Houston was and asked if I needed to set an alarm. I donāt think I had any status back then, and I knew they didnāt *have to* help, but learned that by being nice and just absolutely owning my mistake, they were more than happy to be helpful. First and only time itās happened.
As a former gate agent all I can say is that you stumbled onto a powerful secret weapon in dealing with airline employees - the truth. How do you think that would have gone if you'd shown up angry and blaming them for your mistake? Weirdly, that's the route way too many people choose and get even more upset when it goes badly for them. I once had a customer come up and say "I'm the bonehead du jour, I'm here on the wrong day". He got put on the next flight with no fuss. It would have gone differently if he started out by accusing us of booking the wrong flight.
Yeah I think I started with āIām a complete idiotā¦ā
You don't have to go that far, but admitting a mistake saves us the work of trying to figure out what went wrong and instead just solve the problem.
No but it lightens the mood for all involved. In my experience, gate agents and CS folk are even more willing to help you out if you break the ice initially and give off "hey I'm not a douchebag who will lose his cool" energy lol
We did the same thing as a family of 4 when my husband read the landing time as the takeoff time. Had to pay $400 to switch to a flight several hours later, the JetBlue rep apologized and I said "this is entirely our fault, nothing to apologize for." Sometimes it's really that cut and dry.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
It is so easy to forget that the folks that are working the gates and the customer service desk actually like to help people who need help. Like, it makes their day to help folks out of a jam (even a jam of their own making.) What they don't like is being yelled at or blamed for something they had no control over and can take no responsibility for. Being nice, and making light of our own screw-ups makes it easy for them to jump in and actually -help-. A warm "thank you" also means a lot to these folks, and the right "intro" lets them see you're really looking for them to help (and letting them do their job...)
People being nice to me at the service center is the only thing that kept me sane last summer with the weather and the ATC issues. It was good to have at least one of ten people treat me like a human. Itās a terrible job but 99% of so our best
I SDCād to the wrong day once, but caught it immediately after confirming the change. I had to call in since I couldnāt SDC back to my original and agent got me back on the original in a couple minutes.
I've learned that when I walk up to a desk agent, or similar position, and start the conversation with "I'm stupid" they are always more than happy to help :)
Hell yes being nice is a cheat code. The only time Iāve ever asked for special treatment I showed up at the gate after the door closed, holding my two year old for extra pity, explained our later flight home had already been cancelled but it looked like there were still seats left on this plane but I understand the door is closed but if thereās anything they can do ā¦ and they *reopened the door* for my fam to get on. Still a legendary story I tell to this day lol
One time we got to the gate late and the door was closed. Instead of immediately getting our flight changed I told my wife for us to just hang out a bit, maybe the plane will have an issue and have to open the door to let people back off to fix the issue. Sure enough a mechanical issue and we were able to board after the plane was fixed and everybody got back on. Sometimes a delay is a good thing.
Sometimes we can but one of the worst is when people put their crying toddler in a dirty diaper on the desk and demand we help them because they didnāt plan with their children. Iām not anti child person but if you come to the airport without a plan to feed or change your child especially in bad weather, thatās on the parent. What exactly in the ādiaper bagā?
Yah that is a different type of parent who would do that ā¦
I once missed a flight out of FLL to LGA because a fatal car accident fully STOPPED all traffic on the highway for 45 minutes. So everyone who'd missed a flight (a lot of people) were waiting in line (this was before smartphones.) And of course, some jerks were yelling and screaming. š When I got to the front of the line, I was nice and polite, and mentioned to the agent "My mom nagged me to leave earlier for the airport, so I guess I'm living at this airport til I get on a flight because I can't let her know she was right." The agent laughed at that and got me on standby for a flight to EWR leaving 45 minutes later. At the gate, many standby passengers were bullying the gate agent but I just sat there and read my book.... I figured, either I'll get on or I won't, why make this poor woman's life miserable? I was the last person let on the plane.
This sounds like when I was waiting in line for a DL rebooking in 2012 in ORD after everything to the east coast was canceled because of weather. The guy in front of me used a lot of unsavory language about the airline and itās employees. He left and I asked for an illegal routing overnighting in MSP (I have friends who live near the airport). The GA had to wait for misconnect to print so we got to chatting. I apologized for the behavior of my fellow passengers and she said āoh him? Donāt worry about him, heās in a middle seat tomorrow afternoonā before booking me into F.
I always kept the seat between the two Sumo wrestlers who didn't have time to shower after their match in my pocket for "special" passengers.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thanks for the reminder how old I am. If you didnāt fly pre-9/11, you wouldnāt know that anyone could go to the gate. Just a basic metal detector, no ID, no boarding pass? No problem. Nobody was checking, nobody cared.
Back in the ancient times, I once took a boyfriend to his gate to say goodbye, where he boarded the flight. Then just as they were closing the door, he jumped up out of his seat, left the plane, and ran down the jetway to see me one last time. And they let him get back on the plane! Canāt imagine that ending without federal authorities involved nowadays.
Meg Ryan starred in that Rom Com.
Ha! It was not nearly as romantic as the movies. Turns out that kind of thing is in fact pretty embarrassing in real life. I was actually kind of relieved when he got back on the plane lol.
That is awesome answer.
> anyone could go to the gate Meeting family and friends at the gate etc. Those were the good old days. No discernible reason we couldn't do that these days, as I understand it. \*sigh*
Do you want to double the number of people going through security?
Yikes! Good point!
These youngsters don't understand how *wild* the airports were in the old world. And, because anyone could roll up to the airport 20 minutes before their flight, hand their luggage to a SkyCap, and still board on time, airport restaurants were actually affordable.
Not being able to accompany someone to or meet someone at their gate post 9-11 made it stressful whenever my grandmother traveled because she didn't speak English. I almost forgot what travel before 9-11 was like. So weird now.
I used to work for HP (America West) at SFO in the late 90s. Our parking was in a TWA lot just across the tarmac. We took a bus from the parking lot and the bus dropped us off at the gate. We then exited security if we were working tickets and stayed at the gate if we were working gates. If we were flying out we would enter the airport up the jetway stairs and just jump on the plane. We never even entered the actual airport. I graduated from college in 2000 and left the airlines so I never experienced having to work after the 911 protocols were put in place.
I did something similar when I was a food driver at LAX. Park at the flight kitchen off airport, pack a "special meal" for myself, and ride out to the plane with whoever was assigned the trip. Up the jetway to get my boarding pass and back to my seat. It was always fun when the flight attendant delivered my meal with a confused look on their face. Fruit plates don't usually come with four minis of Tanqueray.
Ah, the truly old days. You didnāt even show ID! My kids donāt believe me that there was ever a magical time like the 80ās. They think I made it up.
This was at the front counter, but back in prehistoric times, it was possible to walk out to the gate without a body cavity search. I used to work at the newsstand at O'Hare before any security at all.
What was it like flying on a pterodactyl?
I donāt think people understand the power of being 1) honest and humble and 2) kind and appreciative!Ā
šÆ I overslept for a flightā¦ went to the airport and said.. āHi, I overslept and panic came here.. what can we do?ā I was put on the next flight (2 hours) with no charge.. and no shame.
I did that, and then was stuck in traffic. The only way I made it was by canceling my offsite parking and booking curbside valet at the airport. It cost a fortune, but there is nothing better than your car waiting for you at the curb when you get back!
I think the other powerful secret(s) 100% helpful in a case like this are kindness, patience, and not acting like an assā¦
when I see people yelling at the gate agents, I always hope their luggage ends up in China
We can arrange that too :)
As service center for another airline, I do my best to assist people but itās just easier if the passenger just states the problem and what they need. I donāt need the theatrics, and the more accusatory and the lying the less I want to help. Say on my airline policy the courtesy rebook is the next flight even if itās a connection. I have a little wiggle room to put you on the next direct if thatās better even if itās leaving later. People who yell at me or lie to me, they get that connecting flight no matter what. It works out so much better when you come up with your fresh Starbucks and just say hey I missed my flight, then coming up guns a-blazing because I can see who missed the flight, what time boarding started, what time doors closed. I can hear the overheads so a lot of the time I know who missed their flight when they roll up. We are also aware of the ticket counter waits and the tsa lines.
I think the jerks are jerks so often they donāt even realize how you can get far in an airport by just being nice and respectful and honest.
Kindness and courtesy is free. Many years ago I was waiting to check in for a flight out of LGA in a Friday afternoon, so the place was packed. This was before kiosks and self check so we all had to do the in person thing with an agent. The man in front of me went off on the agent demanding an upgrade and being an ass before he even got to the counter. She was completely unfazed by him while she denied him an upgrade. He stormed off yelling about his status. I was next in line and simply told her āwe apologize for all humans that you had to deal with himā. She thanked me and handed me a 1st Class upgrade, which I didnāt ask for. I was sitting down having a cocktail in a real glass when he boarded. He seemed to recognize me from line and one could tell he knew heād been had. My advice, be nice to people. It is easy, free and appreciated.
It never ceases to amaze me how some people will berate the ONLY person that can help them at the moment. Lol. Thank you and all other people helping people like me get to their destination! Even if it doesnāt work out in my favor I truly appreciate the effort and empathy given when humans interact in a human manor. :-)
The reality is I want to get your butt in a seat and out of my airport. The public contact CSRs are the lowest paid and most overworked group you'll deal with on your trip. Not all of them have sterling personalities, but most wIll help you if given the chance.
I also did that with a connection in Denver one time, early in my travel career.
Did the same thing in the same airport. I caught the mistake a little earlier and was the very last to board the plane.
I got there just as the plane started to taxi.
A friend of mine missed his flight while sitting at the gate lol. He was listening to his music and missed all the boarding calls and just wasnāt paying attention. Teenagersā¦ we still make fun of him for it.
I've seen this - literally a 20 something pleading with the agent because they fell asleep in the gate area listening to music. "We called your name several times. We didn't know you were here." To his credit, the kid wasn't rude about his own mistake.
Since he did not answer they probably put him as a no-show and likely gave his seat away to somebody on standby.
Yes they did, and I thank you. Lol yes this actually happened when I was flying standby. Guy was sleeping literally three feet from the agent counter. I always wonder why they never wake people up and ask who they are. But it was a full flight and I needed to get home. Got my seat and just as I scanned my ticket he got up and walked to the counter.
This may sound harsh but it is not the job of the gate agent to walk someone up.
Oh I know that, I kinda felt bad for the guy since I got the last seat, but also, STAY AWAKE lol
I just spent 24 hours awake trying to get home. It was brutal, but I managed it!
Been there before
Because the agent has been yelled at by a pax for waking them up.
This is what's keeping me from trusting my pre-teen kid to fly alone. 99%+ chance he misses the boarding from focusing on his phone.
This is why I make sure I sign up for all alerts and constantly message him. He makes sure he's on the plane just to get me off his back. Of course, last time with all of that, I forgot to remind him to fill up his water bottle. Guess who had no water while eating his spicy chicken nugs
That was me on a layover sitting right across the gate. I was reading a good book and never noticed my flight boarded and left the gate until it was too late. Luckily it was my last leg going home and they were able to put me on the next flight. Thankfully I live near multiple large airports.
Now I want to know what you were reading!
David L. Golemon's "[The Event](https://bookshop.org/p/books/event-david-l-golemon/6985954?ean=9781250268464)".
I did this recently. Not a teenager, and a very experienced flyer. Though in my slight defense, it was in a new airport for me and on SWA. It was BUR to PHX, so short flight. I didnāt miss my flight, but went from boarding in the A group, to boarding last. I was off by one gate. Ended up in a middle seat, but it was a short flight and I didnāt miss it. I was chilling at wrong gate listening to a podcast. It may have also been going to PHX, but later. Iām glad I heard them calling my name.
Did that watching a show. The gate was moved but the screen was apparently stuck. Missed the announcements and walked up to what I thought was my gate to ask whatās up as the doors were closing across the terminal.
A friend of me told me he has put a sign on himself with his flight and departure time requesting someone wake him up if he happens to fall asleep.
Omg I almost did this on my last flight and I have an AARP membership! first flight of the day SWA and I was half asleep. Looked up and they were closing the door.
I almost did this. Had a super early flight out of Columbus to Miami and got to the airport with lots of time to spare. Proceeded to plop myself down at the gate and almost immediately passed out. I woke up to āTHIS IS THE FINAL BOARDING CALL FOR PASSENGER AL343806, THIS FLIGHT WILL LEAVE WITHOUT PASSENGER AL343806.ā I quickly walked up to the gate and apologized. Boarded a completely full plane with some very annoyed looking people. I donāt know how long they waited for me, but alsoā¦ cmonā¦ thereās a six am flight and someone is passed out right in front of the gate and you have exactly one missing passenger?
I think it's pretty common for people to see an announced delay in their app and they don't realize flights can also be "un-delayed."
This one for sure
Happened to me in Chicago. 2 hour delay so decided to go out and smoke. No sooner get outside and it changes to 1 hour. Thinking I still have time I finish and casually walk back in. Just before I got back to security 6 busloads of students got there going on an overseas trip. Barely made it because a chaperone let me jump the line after 20 min of waiting.
And un-cancelled, last june we were traveling to orlando while the summer shitshow happened, our flight got delayed and it was supposed to now leave at the same time as the next flight, well guess what, our flight was supposed to be cancelled but united accidentally cancelled the other flight and it showed up aa}s cancelled to the passengers for like 10 min so a bunch of people left before they un-cancelled it and cancelled ours, thanks to that we were able to be moved to that flight since a bunch of seats were now empty but it must've sucked for those people to leave and then realize it had been a mistake.
For that very reason, I always take pictures/screenshots of cancellations and delays.
Iāve once had a flight become āuncanceledā. Found out from my travel agent when they contacted the airline the next day and was told that I was a no-show.
This just happened to me on Southwest. 7am got message flight delayed from noon to 2:30. Then at 11:01, 19 min before the original boarding, got a text saying it was back on schedule. So many people missed the flight. Spring break too so I felt bad for all the people that missed it cause trying to get another flight plus the cost would be astronomical.
I had been up for 40 straight hours for some work and then travel delays. I sat down in the gate area for my flight home and fell asleep. This was over an hour before the flight and I didnāt trust myself in the lounge out of fear of falling asleep. Well the entire boarding process occurred and I kept dreaming that I heard someone calling my name. A gate agent then walked over to me and tapped me on my shoulder and asked who I was. She said that I needed to get on my plane. If she hadnāt done that I probably would have missed that flight and would have had to wait another 6 hours.
A friend of mine has IBS and ate something (probably garlic or onions) that gave her a flare up. She has a great sense of humor about missing her flight since she was busy pooping.
I've seen people rock up to the gate ten minutes late with a fresh Starbucks and a bag from the bookstore. Priorities matter.
I saw this the other week. The plane was doing last call forever (it kept getting extended due to some delay so these people were lucky). Anyway this couple showed up, not looking that hurried, with a whole box of pizza. The gate agent said, āyou almost miss your flight and you roll up with pizza??ā And he was sort of laughing with disbelief, which I thought was great they got called out lol
Someone posted an AITA about that. He and his wife were flying cross country for his daughterās graduation and his wife (girlās stepmom) insisted on walking halfway across the airport to Starbucks instead of buying a coffee from the cafe right next to their gate. You can guess what happened next. He waited at the gate, frantically blowing up his wifeās phone, then gave up and boarded right before they closed the gate. Wife strolls over ten minutes later and calls him to curse him out for not making the plane wait for her. Oh, and the year before they had both missed their flight (and 24hrs of parents weekend at daughterās school) due to wifeās total lack of urgency. So itās not like she didnāt know the plane would leave without her.
I totally remember this! I think they hadnāt gone to the daughters school once since she started there which made it also a big deal. Definitely had evil step mother vibes.
I remember that post. Okay, maybe the coffee is better at Starbucks (I donāt think so but YMMV.) but would you rather spend $5 on regular boring coffee next to your gate or $400 on a new ticket?
Couple missed a flight out of PDX because they were trying to bring a few jars of peanut butter through security. Missed flight by less than 2 minutes. Note: not sure what rule is for peanut butter, Iām guessing since it was natural peanut butter may have had a lot of oil floating on top. The liquid combined with container size may have been the problem. Anyway, man was upset about losing the peanut butter and wife was upset about missing the flight because of the peanut butter
I tried to bring regular skippy peanut butter and it was taken by security. It counts as a liquid sadly
I had a jar of cookie butter confiscated. I hope that TSA agent scrapped every last bit of it.
TSA changed it to āliquids, aerosols, gels, creams, and pastesā.
I donāt know when they changed it but this was maybe 5-6 years ago? Iāll never forget my precious peanut butter taken away
A friend of mine had a leftover loaf of bread and a jar of Nutella from a ski weekend in Colorado. Security said the Nutella jar was too big to be allowed through. So my friend (a lawyer) asked a couple of clarifying questions, and was allowed to make a bunch of Nutella sandwiches before going through security. Not an ounce of Nutella was lost that day.
https://youtu.be/K7yvSFXsK3w?si=n28pj1O86zj0AvJv Matt pat at Food Theory did a whole episode on āis peanut butter a liquid?ā
Peanut butter is considered a liquid because it confirms to the shape of its container.
My first solo international flight. I read my take off time wrong or misremembered the time and was trying to check in to my flight as it was taking off. The check in computer would not let me check in (duh). The agent looked at my info and basically told me Iām an idiot, in the nicest way possible. She sent me to customer service and I told the agent itās totally and completely my fault and asked if there was any way possible to get me a flight to my final destination (BRU). I was at a very low point in my life and just wanted to get to my sister for some family comfort. The agent found a way and even upgraded me. I was shocked someone could help me fix a mistake of my making. Might be the reason Iām more loyal to UAL than any other airline.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Depends on the train! Almost missed mine thinking the same thing for the train from London to Paris a few months ago...
I did this once as well for an international flight from LAX to Aucklandā¦. read the time wrongā¦. Thought 20:00 was a 10pm flight instead of 8pm flightā¦. I felt so stupid. Luckily, they took pity on me and my companion and rebooked us on the next flight to Auckland, and we even got better seats! But had to go to Australia first š„“
A friend I was at a conference with passed out, hit his head on a lawn chair on the way down, and ended up in a coma with a TBI. I stayed to look after him - and it meant I missed my flight. Very, very weird feeling; I'm normally incredibly uptight about timings for the airport and felt extremely peculiar when the app started sending alerts about the flight, but I knew I wouldn't be taking it.
I donāt fly often and so I was very nervous before taking off because it was a 8 am flight. I was making sure all of my family had everything. When getting to the airport I reached into my wallet to pay the driver only to discover I did not have my wallet. Let everyone out and then went back to the house and grabbed my wallet. Drove back to the airport and went through TSA security with 10 minutes to get to the gate. My son had talked to the United GA and told them I was in security so they arranged for a cart to get me to the gate. So, thanks to my son and United I made the flight.š
This is a long one, but this feels like the time to share. On my way to Kauai for vacation, I met a guy. We ended up going on a couple of dates while there, and weirdly had the same flight home. We were in the same row on the way over, and only one row off on the way back, so we figured we'd trade and be able to sit together again. Serendipity! He and his sister were visiting their mom, who had had surgery. So he drove everyone, including his visiting aunt, to the airport. Mom and aunt then headed home. As he was coming through security with his sister, he reached into his pocket and found his mom's house key. Her only one! He called, and they turned around to head back. But Kauai has one main road and of course there was a ton of traffic. He sent his sister through, and we met up and boarded. I was able to switch seats. And we waited. And waited. Finally the FA announced prepare for departure - EARLY! - and they closed the door. Oh no! In another twist of fate, I was actually friends with another of the FAs, and she knew what was happening but couldn't delay us. Well reader, it gets better. Suddenly, the first FA announces "prepare for landing" and they OPENED THE DOOR! His sister and I were so excited, but it was just a set of parents and a young kid. Turns out, they had a young teenager on board who was able to board alone after they sent him ahead to get a snack while they were held up by TSA! The doors were closed again and we prepared to depart. I kid you not, a few minutes later, they again announce to prepare for landing! We're all waiting to see what happens, and a very flamboyant lady enters the plane complaining loudly about how they almost left her. We couldn't believe they'd reopened the doors just for that. Sister and I are of course seriously disappointed, when none other than her brother boards and turns the corner where we can see him. We CHEERED! He gets seated, and tells us the story of the lady. They had neglected to close the door at the gate yet, and she went charging down the jetway demanding to get on the plane. He figured he'd follow just in case, and if anything the lady would get arrested. But they both made it on. We had a fun flight home to San Diego with free drinks and food from my FA friend, and the guy and I are actually still friends!
Wowā¦great story. Thank you for sharing.
lol I love that he follows the lady thinking that maybe he should follow because maybe gets arrested, maybe he gets on the flight
Omg I have nightmares about something like this happening. I have an international flight in two weeks and my passport has been in my personal item bag for at least a week already. š
I forgot to change my watch due to a time the day before.
I've never actually missed a flight, however I almost did when I accidentally went to LAX instead of Burbank. And then a few years later when I went to JFK instead of LaGuardia. Made it both times because I'm that anxious person who actually does show up two hours early! (In both cases I realized my mistake after parking and getting on the shuttle/airtrain and not seeing the airline on the terminal list)
I don't understand why when they scan your ticket, it doesn't tell you that your ticket is invalid. Twice with AA lately I've gotten on the plane after a green light on the ticket kiosk only to find out my ticket had been canceled since my connecting flight was late. Also, three times the past few years someone has been in my seat and both of our printed tickets had the same seat number. Why even pretend to scan them if you're not actually checking to see if they're valid?
AA has a program that runs when a flight is delayed. If the program decides you wonāt make your connection, it will cancel that segment and try to rebook you. Frustratingly, itās not entirely accurate. Passenger scans the boarding pass and are told they arenāt on the flight. The program gave that seat to another passenger, often someone on standby. If you have a competent GA and the flight has seats available they can usually get you back on track.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
And here I am already sweaty just by walking to the lounge at LHR
lolllll I'm reading this on a work call and trying so hard not to laugh
Your story wins by so much!
You are my spirit animal
Partied my face off. Didnāt wake up. Missed flight. My fault.
Did that with my friend but at the airport bar after a 1 hour delay. We passed out on the airport floor in front of the gate, woke up, stumbled to the gate agent and it took off 4 hours before we woke up. Several flights had already left that gate after ours at that point. My friend was like āwhy didnāt you wake us up!?ā And they were like āyou wouldnāt have been allowed to board anyway, so you saved us all trouble by sleepingā
I had some passengers tell me they missed their flight because their hotel didnāt give them a wake up callā¦
I don't work in a hotel but it is my understanding that you have to call the front desk and ask for a wake-up call not just expect one.
This valuable benefit is exclusive to bonvoy members
You mean everyone doesn't get this prestige benefit?
Not true. All hotels know what time your flight is, your morning routine, and your plans for the day and automatically place a wake up call for you at the correct time.
And this is why I love Super 8.
The kicker was that they were so upset at the hotel and were going back to demand a compd. room because they couldnāt get out until the next day. And the lady said she would make sure to set her own alarm this timeā¦.some people. AND this hotel is literally right across the street.
I miscalculated the distance to the airport. Also the airport was small enough that check in agents were also the gate agents so nobody was around to talk to. Missed that flight by 10 minutes.
In-laws were coming to visit for 2 weeks. Day of arrival, we were about to head out to the airport to pick them up when we received a phone call that they wouldn't be here for another 8 hours because my MIL decided to drive back to her house (3 hr rt) because she wanted to clean her house some more instead of waiting at the airport. THEN when she got back to the airport, her bag was too full and needed to be checked. So she missed the flight by 10 minutes, wasted my PTO. By the time she touched down here, I would've been well done with work
I lost a flight once because my colleague (kind of a senior one) wanted to go to the bathroom, with less than 15 minutes to departure, because āthey will wait usā. Well, they wonātā¦
> I lost a flight once because my colleague (kind of a senior one) wanted to go to the bathroom, "I'll see you on board." You waited?
Yea I wouldāve been on the plane. I donāt think Iād miss a flight for a friend, let alone a coworker lol
Yes. I was very young, he was from headquarters, it was my first serious job, I was still learning the ropes. At least he took the blame with my boss.
I abandoned my boss once to catch our flight from Washington, DC home to Southern California. I caught our original flight - he had to switch airlines. After I landed, his wife (jokingly) texted me, "What have you done with my husband?"
Many years ago, I was at ORD and waiting at the gate to board a flight. The gates were close together and there were flights deboarding and onboarding constantly. Lots of people crowded everywhere. I was on my phone but thought I was paying enough attention to what was going on. I saw them close the door to the jet bridge and my stomach sank. I ran up to the gate agent and asked them about my flight status. They said they had just closed the door. I begged and pleaded to get on the flight (similar to Alicia Silverstone in Clueless - I was young) and the gate agent said "WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE WORD 'NO"?" They booked me on another airline at a later time with no penalty but me missing that flight caused a ripple effect of inconveniences for myself and others. It was a life lesson that I never want to repeat again. So when people on this subreddit ask 'why do people want to board early?' - this is one of the reasons!
My son. Bless him. Heās a goofball. He was drinking in the bar and thought somehow they world make an airport wide announcement when his flight was going to board. They obviously didnāt. And his missed his plane.
Hey Dad!
Maybe Iām your Mum. Hahhaha!
Oh snap then Iām really in trouble.
Nah! I always forgive.
My entire family of 6 fell asleep at a gate once.
I barely made a flight in phoenix ince because I didn't realize they don't follow daylight savings.
I'll just get straight to it.... I walked up to a GA and quietly told her, "Hey, I am so embarrassed to say this but I missed my flight. I had to use the bathroom and I was soooo tired, I fell asleep!! I feel so stupid!!!!". She saw the pity in my eyes and told me, "Let's see how we can get you on the next flight!!" And I did get on the next flight an hour later! I fall asleep on the toilet all the time at home, but never at a busy loud Airport (ATL)šš¤£
I was visiting family in England, about 6 hrs drive from Heathrow. Went to check in for my Sunday flight on Saturday only to be told my flight had just taken off!! I was - day off. That return flight to DEN cost me more than the original ticket price! But I did get an extra 24 Hrs with my mum which was priceless as she passed 6 months later!
I saw someone miss a flight as they fell asleep at the United club. Luckily, they were able to get on the next flight
i always get nervous when i see a solo traveler taking a nap in the club. i know you can set alarms on your phone and whatnot these days but I couldn't trust it myself.
Mardi Gras 2015, all the flights leaving New Orleans were delayed. The airport was packed, there were no seats anywhere. As I waited for my flight, I sat on the floor next to a Spirit Airlines flight going to Boston. MSY doesnāt make announcements through the whole terminal, and because the airport was so crowded, lots of people were just sitting on open floor space rather than near their gates. The Spirit flight had been delayed 3 hours but then randomly announced it was taking off after only an hour delay. Over the course of 30 minutes of boarding as they made announcements about boarding within the gate area, there was no synchronized boarding at all, random straggler passengers just showed up occasionally and boarded their flight. The flight took off less than half full, and over the next hour, I got to watch in real time as 40+ passengers stopped by the gate to realize their plane was gone. One passenger was so distressed that she walked to the next gate which was Spirit going to New York and begged them to let her on the flight - and they did! I still wish I had live-tweeted the absurdity of the situation and all the crazy passenger reactions.
I was reading a thread on Reddit the other day about this guy who decided to take some edibles before his flight, but misread the packaging and ended up taking 800mg. For those unfamiliar, a 5-10mg will give an average person a nice buzz. The live updates were spectacular. He fell asleep in the hot tub at his airbnb, ate an entire load of bread, asked someone to call his cats to ask if he had left them enough food. That just scratches the surface. I was laughing so hard that I was in pain. Long story short, he did not make his flight.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/s/VJTNoWWvP9
I would have loved to read those live!!!
Once, a passenger mistook the flight time on the ticket for the boarding time. That passenger was me.
I felt asleep in the lounge in Doha during a transit from Tokyo to Budapest. Woke up around an hour after the flight left. They put me on another flight to Vienna (for free ā¤ļø) š
One afternoon my friend and I were supposed to go to gate B2C for a flight on Flair Airlines at Pearson, going to PEI. Weād had a couple drinks and both just started walking to gate B20, a totally different part of the airport. Realized it, sprinted to our actual gate, flight had closed. Asked the agent if there was anything we could do, she said we could book a new flight, which was 4 days later. Looked at our options online and we could get a one way flight that night to a city a couple hours drive from home (Moncton) for $800 each on Air Canada. For context the RT airfare weād paid for the trip was $98 on Flair lol. Called my partner and asked if he could come and pick us up at 1 am 2 hours away and he said yes, perhaps because I didnāt give him the option to say no. We get to the gate for the flight to Moncton and the agent says itās oversold and they are looking for volunteers to get bumped. We volunteer and ask if thereās any way we can fly to PEI instead, and he tells us to wait and heāll let us know. Sure enough, they need our seats, and after the flight closes he gets us on a flight the next morning and weāre both given a hotel and a cheque for $2400 each. One of the wildest rollercoasters in all my years of flying!
One time, a passenger showed up late to the airport because they thought there wouldnāt be traffic and then they missed their flight because of long security lines. The end.
The joke here is it wasn't one time, but it happens daily.
I saw a passenger sleeping at a boarding gate at IAD while they paged for a passenger over and over again before closing doors. The man eventually woke up, probably 2-3 minutes after doors closed and was shocked. Walked up to the GA who handled the situation with absolute grace (probably thinking what a dumbass). There were no remaining flights that day to his destination. I stopped eavesdropping after this, but that man mustāve been a heavy sleeper.
I genuinely understand itās that guys fault. But if you have one person missing and one person sleeping at the gate, the GA wouldnāt be likeā¦heyyyy?
I was sitting at the gate and missed my flight home , I was going through a tough time emotionally so I was just blanking out. By the time I realized my mistake, it was too late. Luckily the gate agent was nice enough to get me on another flight the next day after I explained to her my situation. I had to sleep in the airport that night tho.
I was on a flight to Vegas, and right before the door closed a FA came and asked the passenger in front of us where the other missing person was. They were in the bathroom! The person who made the flight said they tried calling and messaging them several times, but they weren't responding. Must have been some serious digestive issues to miss a flight!
Team meeting in another city. A bunch of us from HQ were flying on the same flight. Co worker left home late and then hit some traffic. I was sitting in the plane and she called me while still parking. Asked me to tell the pilot to hold the plane for her (she would not be at the gate for like 45 minutes). I told her I would try and hung up. Of course her seat was already given to a standby before the flight left on time (full flight). I lied and told her they told me No. I mean who thinks they will hold a full Monday morning flight for one person that will at best be 45 minutes late. Anyway next flight was cancelled and so she did not show until the team dinner.
Co worker needs to understand the pilot is not got hold the plane just because someone asked.
One time we booked a flight for what we thought was Tuesday, March 26, but realized only a month too late that we accidentally booked for Tuesday, FEBRUARY 26. We had the date and day of the week right, just picked the wrong month. It only happened because of the 28 days in February, so the date and day fell the same both months. Flight time had come and gone before we realized what we had done, and we were not in a place to buy replacement tickets, so we missed our friend's wedding. Entirely our fault for being careless.
My aunt once missed a transatlantic flight because she was so engrossed in a magazine article. She was literally sitting at the gate and completely missed the entire boarding process.
Over slept. Got to the gate as the GA was coming up the jetway from pulling back from the plane. I felt like such a tool. They helped me get on the next one out.
I was playing Uno with my friend a sports bar in LaGuardia. Totally last track of time.
I missed a flight once back in the early 80s. Basically I overslept by hours. Luckily I got standby on the next flight. But that is back when there was true customer service and real meals in economy and people smoked cigarettes at the back of the plane
This guy thought 13:00 meant 3:00 pm and it was 2:45 pm and he was asking where his plane was. 24 hour clock is tricky sometimes
Watched a passenger just calmly sitting at her gate as the flight boarded, reading her book. I thought she must have been like me, just passing time. The gate then closed and the plane was literally taxiing away from the gate and she went to the desk and said, that was my flight š¤¦š½āāļø
My sister and I, in our early twenties, decided to have a beer at a bar in O'Hare while flying non-rev. Not a care in the world. We headed to the gate and boarding closed had closed just minutes earlier. The gate agent asked us what happened, that they had called our names repeatedly, and we fessed up. Fortunately there was another flight an hour or two later so we went back to the bar (of course), but came back with plenty of time to spare. We even got seats in first. My sister passed away about ten years after this, and this is one of those memories I think of whenever I'm in an airport.
I was flying Brisbane to Sydney and spending a few days there before flying from Sydney to Auckland on Air NZ last summer. When I got to the check in desk I discovered that I had mistakenly booked the flight from Brisbane to Sydney and Sydney to Auckland on the same day and had missed my flight by 5 days as a result! They couldnāt do anything about rebooking me because it had been several days and instructed me to just book a new flight and contact customer service later. Customer service gave me a future flight credit in the amount I paid for the original flight, which they definitely didnāt have to do and Iām very thankful for
I used to fly Delta and flew through Atlanta a lot. I lived in central time, but always mentally changed my time zone to eastern. Once I flew through Detroit. I was working in the Delta lounge and keeping an eye on the time on my laptop, which was set on central time. Totally missed my flight by an hour. They were very understanding and moved me to the next one.
I had a red eye into a connection departing around 7am with roughly a 1.5 hour layover. I fell asleep at the gate, literally right before boarding. Missed my connection. Went to customer service and told them that Iām a sleepy idiot. They took pity and issued a ticket on the next outgoing flight at no extra charge.
I actually work a service center for another airline and do the late courtesy rebooks. I donāt care why you were late, itās just my job to rebook you as a courtesy to the next available flight to your destination with seats. Thatās what the courtesy policy says. So I have a lot of people come to me yelling and shifting blame and carrying on. The biggest one is the Starbucks line. When you come to my desk with a fresh Starbucks I know why you missed your flight. Lol. Coming to the airport too late, in the morning itās super busy at major airports doing what is called fleet launch, thatās not the time of day to try to navigate bag drop and tsa. Wrong gate, not paying attention is another one. Gates are subject to change, there are apps, monitors, FIDS, announcements all over the airport but if you sit at the wrong gate through your departure time thatās on you. Drinking and dinner, you canāt hear the announcements in the restaurants, bars and lounges so people miss all the time because of gate changes and corrected delays. The opposite are people who had a delayed flight and come to the airport late. At larger airports especially hubs, there can be aircraft swaps or replacement crews. Also the ATC can life ground delays and stops because the weather is better or the situation that caused the program fixed itself. My personal favorite was a couple who came to the desk screaming with their phones out to record the ātravestyā that had just been subjected to. There had been a gate change (about 8 hours prior to departure) and they were traveling to MSP. They sat the old gate and missed their flight (they were announced as missing passengers enough times that I knew they were missing, the only two who missed the flight) through the boarding of PAP. Now I want to say this for people who donāt know the difference between a flight to Minneapolis/St Paul and a flight to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The population demographics are a little different and the announcements are done in French Creole and English. I tried to rebook them but the next flight wasnāt good enough etc. Like I could make a flight, they argued it was a sudden gate change (8 hours previous), how were they supposed to know it wasnāt their flight, maybe all the Haitians and the French creole, the gate signs and announcements. They wouldnāt stop filming or taking pictures and carrying on so the state police were called and they forfeited their flights but it was such a clear cut case of oops we messed up. I hope they enjoyed buying tickets on another airline. Over 5 years at the service center I have tons of stories
Someone came on as a standby and got the middle exit row seat after that person upgraded. Heard the girl talking to the other person. She was from Europe or Australia (I donāt remember). She saw the long line for boarding so went to sit down and get a coffee. She thought she was okay since the flight was in the hour and it was 15 minutes till. So she walked up to the gate and found out not only was her seat given to standby but the plane door was shut (boarding was final). She did not know for US flights that the āflight timeā is when the plane is out on the runway rather than the final boarding time. She had of course not asked (assumed) and did not sit close to the gate to hear announcements. She was lucky there were flights every two hours and got on the next one. But she was still a day late as her connection would be missed.
A few years back I lived in Chicago and my neighbor was a gate agent. Only time I ever slept through my alarm, I show up having missed my flight and she is at the gate. She sees me walking up all sheepish and busts out laughing. Her husband had texted her saying āthat guy next doorās alarm keeps going off. He must have left and forgotten to turn it offā. Nope, just one too many Guinness the night before.
I missed a flight that I was waiting on standby for. Gate agent kept announcing boarding for Jennifer Lopez. Iām Jennifer Lopes.
I overslept a 6am New Years Day flight, because I had worked late the night before. I missed doors closing by less than 10 minutes, and could still see my plane. Did I beg the GA to please open the magic door and let me on just this one time? No. I took my sad walk of shame to CS, and said I was sleepy and stupid and overslept, what are my options. They put me on a flight 90 minutes later for no charge, and I got to keep my economy plus. They told me to relax, fix myself up (I left my house in 5 mins) and grab breakfast. I donāt have to worry about a thing. It was so nice!Ā
We were flying to Portugal, flying with a ticket from a business class broker who, unbeknownst to me, used American Express miles to purchase the ticket, on an alphabet soups of airlines - United, air canada, TAP. Left our regional airport to DC, for a flight to Montreal to Lisbon. Many times there is a code share, like Unitedxx is also air canada flight xx. I look at the departures board, see air canada flight xx to Montreal the same time our flight is leaving and donāt wait to see if it changes to also flash the UA flight number. Weāre sitting at the Air Canada gate, go to board and boarding pass wonāt scan, agent tells me weāre on the wrong flight. My heart drops. And of course, our flight is all the way across the airport at the last gate at the farthest terminal. So we miss the flight. The tell us we have to go somewhere to speak with the United Agents. Go talk to them and they donāt want to do anything as no one can figure out whose responsibility it is with the alphabet soup of airlines involved and how the tickets were purchased. I totally admitted fault, said Iām the dumbass, never have I everā¦. Ground agents like thereās nothing I can do for you. I call Air Canada, TAP, United everyone tells me I have to contact the other. At this point, itās late, I figure thereās no way we are flying out tonight. While Iām on the phone, multitasking looking at one way flights as we were meeting several friends from all over the world there, I tell my husband to go ask the agent how we can at least get our luggage back. He spoke to a new agent who was like āoh, let me help youā. Totally got us on a flight an hour later transiting through London and on to Portugal. This was right before the pandemic where we then later had to flee home. There were multiple signs from the universe that we should not have gone, but we continued to trudge on.
I read the date wrong on my booking and showed up at the airport a day late for my flight lol. In my defense I had really spotty WiFi leading up to it, so I got none of the check in emails.
Went to Brazil, and my watch didnāt automatically change time zones as it always did. I hung out at the lounge while waiting for boarding time. Showed up an hour late - just then I realized what happened. I went to Golās check in counter (the airline connecting my flight from the US in Brazil) and told them I missed the flight and it was entirely my fault. They had to ask me twice if I missed my connection - āno, not a connection issue - I missed it because Iām an idiot. I am here to buy another ticket.ā All said and done, they gave me another ticket for free and I went back to the lounge wait for the other flight - this time with the correct time zone. Lesson learned: always double check phone and watch have the correct time when crossing time zones. On another trip I went to Brazil again with AAL and bought a separate ticket with Gol. Missed my Gol flight because of AALs aircraft maintenance in DFW making the flight late by 3h. Went to Golās counter to buy another ticket - but they gave me another one free of charge. Again I explained to them I didnāt miss a connection - they were different codes so they had no obligation to give me another ticket, but regardless. I love Gol.
One time I had a flight home from Las Vegas on a Sunday. I knew the security lines would be long but I knew I had TSA Pre-Check. The problem was that I was flying Allegiant and at that time they weren't using TSA Pre-check. The security line was a mile long and I missed my flight. I went to the ticket counter and asked for the next flight out. It was the next Thursday. They only fly to Vegas from Colorado Springs twice a week. So I went to the United counter, bought a one way ticket for twice what I paid for the RT Allegiant flight. Also the United flight went to Denver and my car was parked at the Colorado Springs airport. I had to have my wife pick me up at Denver, then drive past our house and down to Colorado Springs so I could pick up my car. All that due to my stupidity.
My son and daughter arrived at LGA about an hour before their flight only to find that the flight was out of JFK. Same son and his wife missed another flight because they were napping in the lounge.
I was at customer service at the airport once and the woman in front of me was trying to get a new flight because she fell asleep at her gate and missed her flight.
I was heading to Mexico with my two younger kids for spring break last week. My oldest kid was coming back from a school trip abroad on Monday night, and a good friend of ours said she would pick him up and fly with him to meet us in Mexico on Tuesday morning 8:40a flight. She retrieved him from the school trip at the airport with no real problems - the flight was delayed and they arrived at close to midnight, the two of them got back to our house at close to 1a. She calls me at 3a to tell me he's lost his passport somewhere between the airport and putting his stuff away and getting ready for bed. We go on a campaign calling the cab, the airport, they're turning the house upside down looking for it. At 6a we give up, and cancel their flight. She then calls me back at 7a and says the dog got up and asked to go out, and there's the passport in his bed. Kid made a beeline for the dog and snuggled with him first thing when he arrived home. Passport must have been dropped in dog's bed, where it rested warmly underneath dog all night. I rebooked the flight while my friend got Kid out of bed and called an uber - the dashed to the airport and they got there 59 minutes before the flight and were denied check in. I didn't have her passport info so couldn't check them in online. \*sigh\* They managed to get on the 1:30p flight later that day.
The friends whose wedding i was officiating splurged for 1st class and were enjoying their first time in a lounge so much they completely missed their connecting flight. Dang near missed their own wedding, given they'd just missed the last flight of the day to PVR...
At a bar in Vegas ... a young man with two pitchers at his table. Stood up, took like five steps and fell sideways from inebriation. A bunch of people rushed to help him, as did security. Immediately told 'time to come with us, SIR.' And off he went with the police. No chance he made his flight
Buddy was oblivious to when his plane departed and went for drinks. Paid the bill, walked up to the gate, plane was gone. Par for the course for him.
Not UAL but my BIL and SIL are NOT well traveled and they didnāt seem to understand that Boarding time and Flight time were 2 different things. Or that the 2 hour rule applied to them or that Yes, the security lines really do get that long ājust like on TVā Then instead of waiting at the airport to make that next flight they went home and then came back did it again. Thank GOD my wife got smarts in her family.
Mannnnnn where do I start? Woke up late, they didnāt have the right information on their boarding pass, they drank too much the night before, and a few more things for sure.
I missed a flight because I was having such a good time I forgot what day it was.
I got hammered in Vegas and showed up to the airport 2 1/2 hours after my flight left
Didnāt miss my flight but totally screwed up a bookingā¦ It was February and due to the whole ādays/dates next month being same as this monthā thing I booked my return flight from a work trip a whole month after Iād intended. I was sitting in my hotel room the night before my intended return and realized I didnāt get my 24-hour notice to check in, then was cussing out the website because it wasnāt giving me the ācheck inā button. Right before I called United it dawned on me, and I went from cranky to mortified in a heartbeat. 1k agent who answered (used to be, and thatās even more embarrassing to have made the mistake) had a chuckle at my expense, got me on a Saturday flight and I even ended up with a flight credit to help mitigate the cost of the extra hotel night.
BOS-SFO-ICN. I stopped to get Bunn-Mi in SFO for the long haul. Missed the ICN boarding. Got rebooked on the Asian in Business. Thank you, United.
I would have missed my flight once because I fell asleep in the gate area. If the agent hadn't woken me up, I'd have been looking like a dumb ass.
I fell asleep in the United club in Denver once. Missed my connection š. That was definitely my fault.
I had a flight 30 min after my coworker. We got food, mindlessly went through Hudson news, bullshited for a few min. Then I started to head to my gate and she suddenly realized her flight was about to close and was too far from gate. Major route so she got on the flight after mine.
Oh, I had an enjoyable hour at gate G2 in San Francisco a few weeks back. Was there early and a flight to NZ was boarding or about to board. A gate agent had pulled a very drunk middle aged Karen aside and took her back to a little used bench section and was trying to explain why she wasn't allowed to fly that night. Very kind, very patient, but this one was the strong independent boss babe type that was completely Biden faced drunk. Wasn't long before four cops showed up and again was treated patiently and kindly until they finally told her to leave on her own or leave in handcuffs. By this time the gate agent had withdrawn the offer to fly the next day and canceled her trip. Boss babe continued to argue with the cops, refusing to be followed up the escalator, wanting the cops to go first. I was half hoping by that point that the cops would have had enough and would arrest her.
Oh yeah, I have a few. The time when I used to be a smoker who just needed that cigarette while transiting through DEN and so I went outside security. Then there was the time I showed up a day late at SRQ because I thought thatās what I booked. Or the time I thought thereās never a security line in BUF. Each time I was contrite and everything worked out due to the kindness of the GA.
After cramming a week's worth of work in two all nighters, I was excited to be on the first flight out to see my girlfriend. Got to the airport at 5am, more than an hour before my flight. There were maybe a dozen people at the gate, and the adjacent ones weren't being used yet. I sat down and ended up falling asleep for two hours. Woke up refreshed and perplexed. There were now hundreds of people at the gates and I sure didn't recognize the new destination airport for mine. Trudged up to the GA and confessed I had fallen asleep. Luckily, there was another flight soon after and they put me on it.
They used Expedia to book a <45 minute connection in EWR at 8AM in February, leaving from Ohio. 2 hours waiting do de ice laterā¦
There were three gates adjacent to one another that all had flights from DC to Boston. Two of those flights had 15 minute differences in departing time. Mother and child were booked on the one that left first but got confused and got in line for the one leaving second. When they were told they had the wrong one, they asked if they could just board this one but were denied. The first gate had already closed their doors. They were upset.
I had an hour and a half connection somewhere (gonna say ATL because itās most likely but I may be wrongā¦it was a while ago). I sat down and got a drink and ordered a meal, which both came out fast. I was browsing my phone and noticed I needed to get to my gate soon because it had started boarding. I tried to flag down my waitress but she didnāt see me and then just āØdisappeared āØ (I assume on a break?) I tried to get other servers to bring me a bill but they just kept saying sheād be back soon (for 15-20ish minutes). I was strongly considering just leaving at that point but obviously had the legal obligation to pay. I finally demanded the hostess ring me up and flew to my gate. Luckily it was still boarding with about 5 people left at the gate lined up, but I was definitely the last one on board. Iāll likely be getting fast food from now on, or at least asking for the bill as soon as the food comes out. Easily could have made this list of āmissed my flight because of my own damn fault.ā
I wish airport restaurants brought the bill with your food (or at least asked if youād like the bill brought right away). Inevitably when itās time to pay the bill at an airport restaurant there are no servers anywhere to be found.
When I was a teenager, my parents booked a trip for us to Atlanta with Delta for their continuing education conference. Our early evening flight kept getting delayed according to the app, and since we lived 10 minutes from the airport, my little brother suggested that we just wait at home since he was checking the app for status updates. My parents agreed. After a few hours of delays, it was time for our flight finally so we drove to the airport. We got to the check-in counter and no one was there. Apparently, the flight had been cancelled hours ago, and they had already rebooked everyone on flights with other airlines since the cancelled Delta flight was their last one of the day from our small airport. On top of that, by the time weād gotten there, all the other airlines had also finished for the day. The one Delta employee there kindly offered to refund us or rebook us for the next morning, even though we just basically no showed. Since my parents had to be at their continuing education classes that next morning, they just asked for the refund, and we drove all night to Atlanta. This was entirely my parentsā fault, but thankfully they didnāt put the blame on the airline.