Several years ago, a distressed passenger sued British Airways over confusion over travel geography. He thought he booked a ticket to Granada, Spain. Instead, he was bound for Grenada – in the Caribbean – because his travel geography and that of the reservation agent did not align.
While many at the time cried “frivolous”, I can recall a few of my own similar tales of booking woe. After these, I am now extremely cautious – triple-checking destinations and details before pulling the trigger.
What Have I Done?
When I first started booking travel professionally (30+ years ago), I was not yet well-traveled. Despite having a great knowledge of maps and locations, my travel geography was not as sharp. I booked someone to go to Columbus, Ohio, instead of Columbus, Georgia. I didn’t think to verify where the CMH airport code was until I saw the final airline itinerary. Luckily, back then, tickets could be voided more easily!
I once booked a great first-class fare for a mileage run based on a quick text from a friend. This great mistake fare was first class from SFO-MIA-SJO-MIA-SFO. I was convinced until a few days before the trip that we were going to San Juan, Puerto Rico (SJU). Going so far as to book a hotel room and make plans s to meet up with friends who live there, I was committed. Thankfully, friends straightened me out. They explained that we were headed to San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO). I give myself grace as I was under a lot of work stress at the time.
It took me way too long to figure out that SAN stands for San Diego, not San Antonio (which is SAT).
And then there is the time I booked a ticket to Charleston, South Carolina, instead of Charleston, West Virginia. I didn’t figure that one out until I was trying to board my connecting flight. Luckily, the correct flight was only a couple of gates away, and seats were still available. Still, that was a very costly mistake!
How Do I Avoid Errors?
As a travel professional, I keep the secrets of a few friends and colleagues who have made similar gaffes. Thus, I know this is more common than it should be. I’ve run into it with clients who tell me where they want to travel. They are often surprised to find it is to a different country than they first thought.
I find that loading all my relevant details into TripIt helps me avoid these kinds of mistakes. It also makes my expense reporting much easier, but I primarily use it for itineraries.
Another checkpoint for me is pulling up hotels on a map and noting the city and airport locations. I need to be certain it is where I think it is – state, even country.
And finally, unless I am sure I have the three-letter airport code correct, I will double-check that it matches up. I know a lot of obscure airport codes, but it never hurts to be certain.
What About You?
Since it’s out there, what is YOUR biggest booking mistake? And what steps do you take to make sure you are headed to the right place?
I want to make sure that I do everything right while preparing for my upcoming vacation. It makes sense that I would want to have trip reservations! that way I don’t have to worry about there not being enough room for me.
Never actually made the mistake of booking to the wrong destination (yet) but when I book, I always look up by the airport code.
Close ones I’ve caught myself before confirming the booking are Rochester NY (ROC) and Rochester Minnesota (RST), Houston Hobby (HOU) and Houston International (IAH), Dallas Ft Worth (DFW) and Washington Dulles (IAD), Charlotte (CLT) and Charlottesville (CHO)