Excuses, excuses - you missed your flight because.....

[Alanslegal]

I have missed a couple of cheap but very early Saturday morning flights .... purely because I couldn't be bothered (for whatever reason) to turn up. I have used OLCI the night before and I know that QF is trying to locate me when my phone starts ringing at 615am. Usually they call twice, give up and depart without me (who is still in bed)

 

[Smackbum]

I have missed a couple of cheap but very early Saturday morning flights .... purely because I couldn't be bothered (for whatever reason) to turn up. I have used OLCI the night before and I know that QF is trying to locate me when my phone starts ringing at 615am. Usually they call twice, give up and depart without me (who is still in bed)

Would it really kill you to answer the phone and say "Sorry - can't make it"?

 

[serfty]

Many years ago I had a late notice booking. Using "All-in-1" (it was some time ago ) I emailed the Coy travel arranger for 6:30pm flight out and 4:30pm return the day after.

Since it was late notice I had to collect the paper ticket at the airport, only to find upon arrival that I was listed as a "no-show" as the clerk had booked for 6:30am. :shock:

I was VERY keen to look up the email ...

Fortunately, B class fares are quite flexible ...

 

[thewinchester]

Only ever missed one, and that was an 0730 Monday QF SYD-MEL last month, thanks to a jammed solid Eastern Distributor, General Holmes and terminal roads. Took nearly 20min to get from EDib to QF Departures concourse.

Enough said about that, already a 9pg+ thread on that topic alone.

 

[N860CR]

I was booking GA tickets out of DPS about 6 months ago over the phone (no, not for me!) and the sales agent managed to confuse the 00:10 departure so much that I'm not supprised the "average Bali" type would stuff it up.

Me: "I need 10 seats out of DPS on GA*** on 11th Jan"
Him: "So thats the night of the 10th Jan yeah?"
Me: "No, departing on the 11th Jan"
Him: "Yes it's a late night departure, night is the 10th Jan"
Me: "No, the morning of the 11th Jan"
Him *annoyed*: "So that's the night of the 10th is it not?"
Me: "No, it's the morning of the 11th, please just book on 11/01 at 00:10 "

No wonder people miss flights if the airlines can't even make it clear!

 

[sr81]

I can put my hand up for a missed then almost missed.

I had been at a conference in Liverpool and the Gala Dinner was a big one. I had booked and pre-paid the 9am morning train to London to catch up with a mate for lunch and more drinks.

I had an excellent time at the dinner and got back to the hotel about 6am. Thought that I would "just get a little shut eye" and woke up at 10:50am with the train long gone and me fully dressed.

I remembered that the only other direct train that day (it was a Sunday) was the 11:15am. Packed and ran to checkout then into a Black cab at 11:08am. Told the driver that there was 10 quid in it for him if I got to the station by 11:10am. At 11:12am we got to the station, paid with a 10 pound note (no change required driver!) and bolted. Jumped on the train as the door shuts. Sat in the First Class section and paid the walk up fare of 255 pounds! The conductor told me that it would be extra to sit in First but the look on my face and the credit card bill in my hand was a compelling argument for me not moving.

As an aside the GF and I are on the late night TG flights MEL-BKK-MEL. I am telling her that our flight is 0030 on the 22nd hence we need to get a flight from HKT at 2000 on the 21st to connect. I have a Gant chart drawn up to help explain.

I did have a staff member once miss a flight because he said “the ticket didn’t clearly state who I was flying with”. This is the same person that makes spaghetti bolognaise sauce with sweet chutney and decided that the best thing to do about a splinter was to try and burn it out – nuff said.

 

[munitalP]

I have a history of missing flights... my job creates issues that cause me to be up to a day out (my worst) when checking in...

I have been driving into ROK from the Bowen Basin and noticed a QF flight leaving, I commented that I didn't think there was a flight that early in the arvo to my travelling mate - we went to check in and got told we had missed the flight by 1/2 an hour...

Arrived at Arlanda for a 7pm to LHR - oops it was a 7am - my mistake when entering the flight info into my PDA

BNE - arrived (knowingly about an hour late because I slept in) expecting to plead and beg for a new flight, LOL, flight had been delayed by 2 hours and got on...

A couple of months back, missed 3 flights in one day - admittedly the same destination 3 times - SYD/MEL
#1 - stuck in meeting, PA came in for something and was shocked I was still there, lost that bottom of the bucket (fare class) ticket, #2 - replacement for #1, still in same meeting, again time had gotten away and there was no way I would make it to the airport - fare lost again! (thanks FC Corp), #3, crash on M3 (or which ever motorway), Y class fare this time, made a call and pushed the flight out to 10PM - I changed again at the airport... bad day (and expensive!)

My best wasn't actually a miss - I had been out on a friends 42' big game boat for 6 or so days fishing and diving off great barrier island (NZ) and had planned to fly from Tryphena (GBI) to AKL then AKL/MEL. This cut a bit over a day on the boat, but after 6 days afloat with your best friends, a 42' launch is nowhere big enough, so it was a welcome relief.

I alighted at Port Fitzroy and hitched a ride to where I thought I had to go to - after a hour or so of no activity at the airstrip, I was getting worried, so I hiked up the road about 2km to the top of a hill to get mobile phone coverage, and called the airport. I was in the wrong place, they told me to sit tight and they would send someone to pick me up.

The first sign of life I saw while waiting for my ride was an old red plane similar to a piper training aircraft except a long nose... I watched him land on the grass runway and returned my focus to the road not wanting to miss my ride... LOL, the plane pulled up behind me and I was to to climb on board, this was my ride One of the scariest flights I have ever had, but I loved every second of it...!

Mr!

 

[liamg]

Wow! That's a cool story, if ever I've heard one! Some other really good ones here

I've missed one flight in my life, was lucky a second time, and almost missed a third about seven weeks ago.

First was in 2005 when the TA had booked for 6/7 instead of 7/6 or something like that. With the fam in Florence, trying to get to Zurich on a little prop, they were all booked correctly, I wasn't (they were all on the same ticket, I was on separate, being difficult as always). Very nice ticket office at the airport was happy to let me wait until the last minute to see if anyone didn't rock up (the plane was full) and get me on for free if so. Luckily there was a single no-show and so I got the last seat. *That* almost screwed up the trip

Second was a TT flight PER-MEL red-eye a few months after they'd started (July 2008?). At the pub with friends before the flight doing some collective goodbyes, decide to go off to finish packing and get ready a little early, travelling partner wanted to stay and try his hand at one of the ladies. He was pushing and pushing for this girl, didn't end up making it, and long story short, our friend drove us to the airport very quickly, but managed to miss the 45 minute cut off by 2 minutes. No other flights that night to MEL, so $350 to get a DJ flight the next morning to be back for a meeting. I wasn't very impressed, to say the least.

I understood we'd broken the rules and had to give up the ticket, but friend was pretty damn angry at Tiger. I've known of many people to have done similar things with DJ and QF in the past and they let them on or move them to the next flight, so I resolved to stick with those two carriers from now on.

Last one was a few weeks back in Oslo on a separate ticket, delayed trying to get to FRA-SIN-MEL to (finally!) come home after a holiday side of a work trip. There was lots of ice in FRA so all flights were delayed. Luckily ours was only by a couple of hours and not the 4 or so I needed to miss the flight. I was on the edge of my seat at OSL for hours watching screens to make sure I wasn't going to miss the connection! Phew!

L.

 

[Flying Fox]

So far the only flight I have missed was a 6am due to me thinking that I set my alarm clock when didn't.

 

[ronza]

Not me but my mate who I was backpacking with - we had to catch a short 1 hr LAN flight from CUZ to LIM. Booked for 11.30AM and a 1 hour check-in.

We'd just finished the Inca Trail up to Macchu Pichu the day before and had a big night on the turps back in Cusco till about 3AM. I hauled myself fragily outta bed at 8AM, nudged my mate to tell him I'd meet him at the airport as I had to go to the police station to pick up a mobile phone that I had pickpocketed off me a few days before. I get to the airport panting at around 10.15 with a line snaking through the terminal. LAN agents are all over the queue trying to offload passengers onto tomorrow's flights (this was the Sunday after the Xmas/New Years hollies = packed and a $50 LAN coupon didn't tempt anyone too much).

No sign of my mate at check-in, no sign at security and no sign at the departure lounge. Neither of us had working Peruvian phones either. I get on the full plane bar the one seat next to me. We sit on the tarmac for about 15 minutes past departure until one of the FAs asked if my mate would be joining me. Let out a sheepish "No ser, lo siento" and a standby pax was more than happy to get a seat out of there.

As all the flights were booked out solid the next day as well and his flight back to Aus was in 2 days from Lima, he ended up taking a 22 hour bus back into Lima with an almighty hangover. Poor bloke threw up 2 hours into it from the winding road and was definitely a happy camper by the time I met back up with him...

 

[Warks]

I'm surprised no one has nominated this method of missing a flight.

I booked a SYD-MEL flight through our office person responsible for all travel. I specified that I didn't want to be booked on INTL flights on that route due to it being a pain to get to the INTL airport and everything else associated with that. Of course she must have taken it to mean I DID want to be booked on such a flight!
Arrive at SYD T3 to check in with 25 mins to spare or so to be told I need to go to T1. Not bloody likely in the remaining time! Had to go and buy the difference to go on the next flight from T3. Company paid at least.

They don't take domestic pax in INTL flights internally any more do they? When did that stop? This was about 2004.

I always leave home with about two hours to spare for the 45 minute drive. I don't normally breathe until I clear the Harbour Tunnel and then the Eastern Distributor. One accident there and you're stuffed.

 

[QF WP]

Hmmm, I think I've misssed 3 flights in my life - 2 internationally and 1 domestic.

First was February 1991, my EI flight DUB/FRA was delayed, so I missed my connecting LH flight to MUC. At least I spoke passable (conversational) German back then and I was upgraded to Business on their next flight. Giving the LH check-in girl a koala certainly endeared me to her

Second was August 2001, whilst on a J RTW, flew on BA LHR/GRU (using my Irish Passport) only to find out on board that an Irishman had been caught in Columbia training local insurgents. Needless to say, they searched me and my bags, so that I missed my connecting Varig (I think) flight to CNF (I think I had a 4 hour layover initially). Was worried that I couldn't speak the language and no way to tell me friend meeting me at CNF that I had missed the original flight. The Varig CSA was brilliant, booked me on their next flight and met my friend (who had guessed I had missed the flight). Then I told him the reason why...he laughed all the way home

Last one was about 5 years ago, missed a QF ADL/SYD due to meeting over-run with clients. I approached check-in and they knew as soon as I asked "have I missed check-in for SYD?" who I was. So thankfully (K class) allowed me to get re-booked on next flight. Missed a meeting in SYD, but did it by teleconference instead in the QP.

 

[serfty]

...
They don't take domestic pax in INTL flights internally any more do they? When did that stop? This was about 2004. ...

It stopped becuase Qantas no longer have domestic segments on international flights.

JQi is your only option these days.

 

[medhead]

It stopped becuase Qantas no longer have domestic segments on international flights.

JQi is your only option these days.

Yet i was offered QF 82 (or 81) for ADL-SYD on 12 April (if that is a monday) a few times in the last 6 weeks or so.

Didn't take it of course.

 

[serfty]

Yet i was offered QF 82 (or 81) for ADL-SYD on 12 April (if that is a monday) a few times in the last 6 weeks or so.

Didn't take it of course.

Oops - forgot that one. Last year there the was an OMG hours one between SYD and BNE as well.

I used to actually chase them especially in the evenings ... the good old days of the QF21 MEL-SYD or the QF188 SYD-MEL.

 

[Keith009]

I've missed 2. One was a CX TPE-HKG (and consequently my connecting flight HKG-SIN), the other an MA MXP-BUD. Both for no reason other than sleeping in.

I had to wait at the airport the entire day with the MA one for the next MA flight - and unfortunately Malpensa Airport isn't exactly a hop and a skip from downtown Milan. Could've gone back to spend more time at Prada otherwise. And MA ground staff at MXP were truly PITA to deal with as the ticket was issued by AA (oneworld visit Europe). The AA counter at MXP was only open for their sole flight to ORD (or some other US city), and they mucked up in issuing my tickets but were closed by the time I had to go on my flight- so I ended up having to buy a brand new ticket for myself. Raised hell and got a refund from AA for the new ticket after I got home.

In contrast, CX at TPE could've have been more helpful even though I was on a DONE4 issued by AA. The guy at check in rebooked me on the spot and I got to SIN only 2 hours later than planned. CX and KA also has plenty of flights between HKG and TPE which helped.

Lesson learnt... never fly before midday if possible.

 

[Bundy Bear]

I have missed a few flights intentionally

2001 BNE-SYD too sick so I just booked the next day.
2007 MEL-OOL plans change so I just didn't bother canceling it.
2007 I booked MEL-MTG(Mount Gambier)-Adelaide, was checked in for the first flight but it was really delayed so I just got off that flight and went and brought a direct ticket instead; I did get a call on the phone from a Mount Gambier number.

I came close to missing one in New Zealand this year, lucky I had no bags so I was able to get on the waiting flight.

 

[2muchplastic]

I've missed 4, and come embarassingly close to missing a very important one:

The first one was what should have been a very simple BHX-CDG, and the train to the airport suffered an electrical failure half in and half out of Birmingham New Street station. Sat there for 30 minutes before they managed to manouver to train back into the station, and the "train manager" announced it was going no further, whereupon about 60 people erupted from the train and headed for the taxi rank and headed convoy style to the airport.

The other 3 were fairly straight forward traffic/overslept/didn't leave enough time/missed connections.

The nearly embarassing one was my honeymoon flight - LGW to SDQ. Our wedding was held on a saturday, with the flight for the honeymoon booked so that we had to be at London Gatwick (about 180 miles - 290km away from home, or about 3 hours on a good run) at 0630 on the Sunday morning.
We basically slept where we fell after getting in from the wedding reception at 2am, intending to have only an hours sleep. One hour turned into 3, and we woke in panic at 5am - especially panicked knowing that the next available flight was on wednesday

We made check-in. And the car probably needed the 2 weeks that we were away to cool down

 

[NM]

Oops - forgot that one. Last year there the was an OMG hours one between SYD and BNE as well.

QF19 still operates on Thursdays SYD-BNE and its not too bad timing at 10:55am.

 

[JohnK]

They don't take domestic pax in INTL flights internally any more do they? When did that stop? This was about 2004.

The list is getting shorter all the time but there are still a few QF flights talking domestic passengers from International terminal.