Posted on 06/24/2014 10:09:19 AM PDT by Gamecock
LONDON, England (CMC) — An American dentist says he is suing British Airways for US$34,000 for flying him to Grenada in the Caribbean, instead of the Spanish city of Granada.
After two years without a holiday and a lifetime of longing to see the architectural treasures of Granada, Edward Gamson felt he could at last relax as he sat back on a British Airways flight en route to the capital of Moorish Spain, according to the British Independent newspaper.
The newspaper said that it was only when Gamson and his partner glanced at the electronic map on the in-flight entertainment system and noticed their plane was heading west out of London that they became concerned something was not right.
The newspaper reported that, some nine hours later, the pair found themselves not among the arabesques of the Alhambra Palace, but a full 4,000 miles from their intended destination on the Caribbean holiday island of Grenada.
It said the mix-up initially resulted in apologies from British Airways staff on board the flight, and a promise that the couple would be put on the plane's return trip to Gatwick Airport in London en route to Granada.
Instead, the Independent said they were subjected to a further three-day ordeal, which resulted in them never reaching Spain, and a refusal by British Airways to reimburse their £2,650 first-class tickets.
"I made it absolutely clear to the booking agent I wanted to go to Granada in Spain. Why on earth would I want to go to Grenada in the Caribbean if I was flying back to America from Lisbon?
"It's just so sad. A trip we had been really looking forward to was ruined and BA won't do the decent thing?
According to the legal complaint filed by Gamson, the electronic tickets referred only to "Grenada", without showing the airport code, destination country or flight duration.
But the Independent alleged that BA is resisting Gamson's damages claim for US$34,000.
Earlier this month, a US judge rejected the airline's attempt to have part of his lawsuit struck out; the claim will now head for a full hearing.
"This case proves the truth of Mark Twain's aphorism that 'the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug'. Except here, only a single letter's difference is involved," wrote US Judge James Boasberg.
Proof positive that not all doctors and dentist graduate at the top of the class.
I’m surprised she ever figured it out.
As to the errant flyer and his “partner”(whatever that means), if he was in Lisbon, why not just drive or take the train to Granada. And, if he’s really into “moorish” architecture, I’m sure that isis could show him a few places in Iraq.
I imagine Jackson MS (JAN) and Jackson County MI (JXN)could be a source of confusion, especially since half the country thinks MI is the Mississippi postal abbreviation.
I know for a fact that many many people coming to Bloomington IL (BMI) or Bloomington IN (BLM) wind up in the wrong place. Even some instances of entertainers flying to concerts at Illinois State U or Indiana U.
Years ago I flew to BMI on, I think, AirTran or TTA or something and they tagged my luggage to BLM. I pointed this out to the agent who told me not to worry - they don’t fly to BLM. Luggage made it home with no problem.
The Florida one IS named for the Russian one by an immigrant son from the original, Peter Demens (Dementyev), who as a budding railroad tycoon, cofounded the Florida on in 1888. Of course, during the Soviet era when the original was named for a murdering terrorist, there was no such confusion!
I read years ago that some airline flew a kid to Auckland, New Zealand instead of Oakland California
omgosh... i would have worried the entire flight...
They didn’t know the way to san Jose.
All UK media refer to wife’s and husband’s as ‘partners.’
Have to make sure homosexuals are not excluded and are on par with normal human relationships.
In addition, ‘partner’ sounds so temporary and given the divorce rate in the UK, no one ever refers to husband and wife, it is always ‘partner’ because odds are they aren’t seriously committing to a lifetime of marriage anyway.
Of course, not having read the article, it could very well be a homosexual thing. . .that is why ‘partner’ is used. . .
Heard the same story of the people who bought tickets to Paris at a great price. They ended up in I think Paris Texas!
That was 25 years os so ago. There was nothing in my bag I couldn’t survive without. I did send the actual tag to the local paper and they published it in the local trivia column.
Love your tag line.
Let me tell you about the time I tried to rent a Granada in Vegas and ended up with a Vega in Granada.
At least I got unlimited miles and flood insurance.
LOL. I remember that ad campaign. My friend and I would go downtown and whenever we saw someone driving a Mercedes, we would wave them over and ask them if they liked their new Ford Granada. If they actually were driving the Granada, we would ask if they liked their Mercedes. The reactions of the drivers was so funny. Of course, they thought we were idiots. The Mercedes drivers were all insulted and the Ford drivers were all smiling.
The dentist in question, being an American, is hereby found at fault, ordered to pay court costs and is fined a further 50 Guineas for filling the wrong cavity on his 'partner.'
Good to see more than one picked up that code word “partner” Yep, he’s gay though he’s not smiling now.
I always check, because I fly out of and into San Jose, CA, and it's easy to mis-check the box for San Jose, CR. Although I wouldn't mind ending up in Costa Rica sometime.
I remember in the 80's they had a news story about some guy who was flying from San Francisco to Oakland and ended up on a flight to Aukland, New Zealand.
I especially liked how her high school spanish was so good, she could understand the movies on TV perfectly!
That said -— spoiler ahead -—
The source is Costa Rica’s version of The Onion.
The first time I flew into Calgary, Alberta, I thought we had landed at Fort Worth, Texas by mistake, judging from all the Justins, Stetsons, and cowboy attire. But this was in February and when I stepped out into an arctic blast that could freeze the clothes on your body, I knew it wasn’t Texas.
Attended a convention once in Vancouver, WA, just across the Columbia from Portland. Came time for the keynote speech, no keynote speaker.
He’d booked to Vancouver, BC, and was still driving his rental car.
Thanks for your service. I was in high school in Puerto Rico and a family member worked at Roosevelt Roads Naval Base... been to Vieques many times...
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