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I once got on a flight to the wrong island. Almost, anyway--they stopped me halfway down the jetway.
Did this happen decades ago before boarding passes were scanned? Because I find it hard to believe otherwise since it validates everything and shows green or red
Did this happen decades ago before boarding passes were scanned? Because I find it hard to believe otherwise since it validates everything and shows green or red
I think it's still very much possible and does still happen from time to time. All that's between a person and boarding the wrong flight is the display board (which people may not look at in a rush) and a gate agent who needs to scan the boarding pass. Some airports have infrastructure where you have a turnstile that will only let you pass if the BP has been scanned, but not by any means all. Some airlines will have multiple staff posted directly at the gate to keep an eye on things, but again by no means all for all flights.
I've occasionally seen that gate agent so distracted by other stuff that it would have very easily been possible to go past them without having the BP scanned. In fact, I've practically had to alert them to the fact that they had not scanned my BP yet. Nothing would have stopped me from walking onto the plane.
Did this happen decades ago before boarding passes were scanned? Because I find it hard to believe otherwise since it validates everything and shows green or red
There was a local story about a Russian air traveler who somehow ended up in Petersburg, Alaska instead of St. Petersburg, Florida many years ago. It was during winter or early spring and the poor woman thought she had been sent to a gulag by the communist government.
It's definitely possible to get off at the wrong airport on the "milk run" flights to/from Seattle that travel through SE Alaska. Used to be some people would cheat the airline by buying a seat to the nearest town and then stay on the flight all the way to Seattle.
However, in the case above it seems like this must have been a ticketing mistake.
Did this happen decades ago before boarding passes were scanned? Because I find it hard to believe otherwise since it validates everything and shows green or red
There are a few gate set ups out there where two gates feed into one jet bridge, which then splits off into, say 47E and 47W at the end and you do have to pay a little attention to make sure you get onto the plane on the left going to Phoenix and not the plane on the right going to Sacramento. The airlines do try to avoid boarding two flights at once from those kinds f gates but sometimes they have to in order to prevent a delay with one flight from cascading.
There are also some bus gates out there like the late unlamented 35X at DCA where the whole holding pen scenario is chaotic and confusing and you could end up on the wrong shuttle bus to the wrong plane.
A typical gate will have two to three agents to coordinate with the flight crew and manage boarding, Williams said. Gate 35X will have one agent per door — so one per flight — with a coordinator managing on the main concourse level and down at the gate. That leaves everyone stretched thin while managing confused or misguided passengers who might end up at the wrong door, or on the wrong bus to the wrong plane.
“We have to have eyes up scanning the peripheries when we’re boarding. We’re responsible for what happens before the flight,” Williams said. “We double-check boarding passes, look out for anyone who looks lost or confused, make each person in a party hold their own pass — it can get chaotic, and it doesn’t work unless we all work together.”
What Act or FAR forbids airlines from verifying disability status? Someone mentioned earlier that such a law exist. I find that hard to believe, and that such a law would be specific to the airline or public transportation industry.
I'm aware of the privacy laws that affect disclosure of medical records, but determining or not whether an individual is disabled is verifiable.
We would have a nation full of fraudsters taking advantage of The ADA, if there wasn't some sort of verification.
I tend to think the airlines have other things to worry about, and just don't care about the wheelchair issue, rather than some existing law that forbids them from verifying disability status.
Requiring proof of disability is discrimination against those who have a disability(ies). Regular passengers don’t require a doctor’s’ note to fly, so requiring it of a person with a disability to have to get one every time they want to travel (and everything else) is discrimination. Goes against the first right listed at that link.
Certain things do need to be documented, like traveling with a powerchair that has lithium-ion batteries, or such like that. That is not discrimination.
We all want a solution to this problem of fakers, but the solution shouldn’t be hurting the ones who need the service provided.
yes, just change wheelchairs to first on = last off and the incentive starts to diminish.
It makes sense to do so, to assist passengers with connections and for 'quick turn' at gates. congestion in doorway and jetbridge would be reason enough to make wheelchair passengers wait for others to disembark. The wheelchair customers are escorted to their next gate, and swept away by a motorized cart, so little likelihood they will be late for a connection.
To piggyback on that concept, it would be great if the front sections following 1st/biz class were only open to connecting passengers
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arktikos
That's the current policy, at least for legitimate wheel chair passengers.
It seems to me it would be practically impossible for flight attendants to enforce this with the cheaters.
"Seats 20F, 11D, 14C, don't move, not even to let passengers in your row get out!"
Yes, it's a can of worms, especially if abused, unless they required passengers who load via wheelchair to exit the same (but that will never fly).
Had 3 flights yesterday. All wheelchair passengers were off before I was (row 7). Including (2) who were legitimately required to be 'transferred', as in lifted from their airline seat onto a narrow chair, then transferred again in the jetway to a larger chair. I made my 20 min connection by a hair. Those in row 20+ probably not so lucky.
No easy answers, and a very selfish community of fliers taking advantage of early boarding. (I have done it when injured / medically required), so it's nice to have available, just not possible to enforce.
I do greatly appreciate not getting fleas on flights since the ESA tightened up. That's a plus!
Did this happen decades ago before boarding passes were scanned? Because I find it hard to believe otherwise since it validates everything and shows green or red
No, eight or ten years ago. None of us were paying enough attention. Hang loose, braddah!
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