My travelling story
Just to give you some sort of context, this anecdote took place a couple of months before September 11th, 2001. And you’ll see how relevant this becomes as I go along with my story...
So here I am, at the Dorval Airport in Montreal, ready to board my plane that will soon depart on a Newark bound flight. My ultimate destination: Quito, Ecuador, with a stopover in Bogota with only passengers boarding or leaving the plane to do as they were directed, while the rest of us remained on board. Little did I know that this trip was going to take a whole new direction (please note the choice of words) a couple of hours later.
So the check-in lady at the counter in Montreal asked whether I wanted my luggage to go straight through to Quito, without having me pick it up between my two flights. Who would say no, right? So I went ahead and gave her the ok on that. Given that I had a good three hours of wait in Newark, I first spotted my next gate (which was given to me in Montreal) and started venturing around the airport. As my boarding time approached, I thought that bringing myself closer to the gate in question was mostly appropriate, so I took a seat in the waiting area. As the next final destination (at my gate that is)on the signs read Lima, Peru, I thought to myself: “well, as there’s already two other destinations for this flight, they probably only post the last one on the board to save space. And anyone who knows their geography of South America would know that Lima is the southernmost location, so I’m good.” But just to make 100% sure that I am at the right gate (other than the fact that this is what I was assigned in Montreal), I’ll get up and ask the check-in lady to clarify this questioning of mine. Even though this happened more than eight years ago, let me quote this conversation:
Myself: I just want to make sure I am at the right gate please
Staff: Sure. Can I see your passport and your boarding card please?
Not only did she verify these two documents, I also handed her my original ticket, which was a paper ticket with a gazillion pieces of information on it, as we all remember
Staff: Yes, just have a seat; we will call the flight shortly.
Now. Honestly. How many of you still think that they would have been finding themselves in a doubtful situation here? The gate number where I am sitting corresponds with the one assigned to me originally, which is also written on my boarding pass, and the lady just checked THREE documents of mine to tell me I was good to go. Now before boarding a flight, all of you know that there isn’t only one person who handles your papers. Indeed, THREE people (isn’t that a magic number!!!) read the information that was written on my documents. And no one noticed that I was about to board a flight that would indeed fly over Ecuador but that would never land there….I was now Lima bound!
The only problem at this point is that I was meeting a friend who had gotten on a flight earlier on that week, so he’d be waiting at the airport…..with his entire family who lives there welcoming me….And the only continent where the plane phones didn’t work in this world at the time was….South America! Lucky me!
I am not one to make a big fuss about these errors, but the only thing I really wanted was for the staff in Quito to inform my friend of the mishap about my new destination….it took him half an hour of fighting with the lady to find out where I was!
I was to return to Ecuador the next day (can you imagine the “where the heck were you smile on his face when I arrived?!), after the airline had taken care of lodging me for the night. And my luggage was stored somewhere in a locker, nothing stolen! Ooofff….
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I guess that just proves that sometimes the trip you leave for isn't the trip you end up on. Glad to hear that the airline covered your lodging and kept your stuff safe. Welcome to Hoostelland!