I thought it would be interesting to start a thread about any odd/humorous flying experiences that members have had during their lifetime.

Mine involved a trip I took in 1988 from Columbus, Ohio to Ft Myers, Florida with an aircraft change in Atlanta. I was sitting at the gate in CMH reading a book when I looked at my watch and saw it was 15 minutes until departure; however there was no aircraft on the ramp...not a good sign. Soon thereafter an airline rep announced that the aircraft scheduled to fly our first leg had gone tech, but that a plane traveling from Buffalo to Atlanta was being diverted mid-flight to CMH to pick us up. After it landed I was assigned seat 32F in a 727-200, and carried my (VERY heavy) duffle/garment bags to the back of the plane. After takeoff, I noticed on my boarding pass that the number of this diverted flight had changed to 7775. The segment I was to travel ATL-RSW was Flt #775, so I thought maybe this plane was the one I was going to take to Florida, since the flight #’s were so similar. I asked a F/A if he knew if this aircraft was continuing on to RSW after landing in ATL, and he said no, the flight was terminating there and would not continue on. Upon our arrival, I lugged my (VERY heavy) duffle/garment bags off the plane (last in line, I might add), and trudged up the jetway. When I got into the terminal, I saw people waiting to board the plane. I thought that was odd, since I was told the plane was spending the rest of the day on the ground. I turned to look at the departure sign to see where it might be headed to and, sure enough, it was Flight #775, bound for Ft Myers! As I turned and waited in line for my new seat assignment, the F/A I had spoken to passed by me, and, looking very sheepish, admitted that the flight CREW was not continuing on to RSW, but the PLANE was! After a long wait in line, I got my new seat assignment…you guessed it…32F!! So I had to carry my (VERY heavy) duffle/garment bags all the way back to the seat I had just gotten up from!!

It’s funny to look back on that adventure now, but at the time I wasn’t laughing very hard.

Edit: I might add for those that might not know...back then, if you were on a flight that had a stop between cities and the plane you were on was continuing to your final destination, you were allowed to stay on the plane in your same seat until it departed again.

PennPal wrote:

Edit: I might add for those that might not know...back then, if you were on a flight that had a stop between cities and the plane you were on was continuing to your final destination, you were allowed to stay on the plane in your same seat until it departed again.

Only "back then?" When did it stop? I flew SFO-MCI-MKE in 2004 and we MKE pax were allowed to remain on the plane at MCI if we wanted to (I didn't.)

Flair flies from YYZ-YEG-YVR-YLW and you stay on the plane in your seat the whole way.