Well, it’s not quite like that, but a British regional airport, in it summary of lost and found for 2019, listed a husband as among items misplaced by passengers.
East Midlands Airport, which serves Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, also listed a rolling pin, medical devices, a walker, an air conditioner and a sprinkler along with more common items such as suitcases and handbags. Not to mention toys, auto safety equipment and a fishing license.
Oh, about the husband. We’re not forgetting him, although his wife apparently did, when she left her seat, reported to the gate, boarded the plane and settled in her seat. And then, as the plane pushed back from the gate, she looked up to speak to him and suddenly realized he wasn’t there. She notified the crew, the plane returned to the gate and retrieved the husband.
While you ask yourself questions such as “Why didn’t she notice,” and “Why didn’t he get up and board?” we’ll ask the big one: “Really? They went back to get him? They backed up the plane, opened the door and took in a passenger who hadn’t been alert enough to listen to the boarding announcements?” Well, it is the season when people believe in flying reindeer and jolly Santas, so… maybe.
In the very early 1980s, my wife and kids were onboard and seated while I was stuck returning the last off-airport car I’ve rented. By the time I got back, the kids were crying, my wife was consoling, and the People Express people were at the gate scanning to see if I would make it.
Fortunately in those days I could run better than now, but when they waved me through the gate, huffing and puffing, they didn’t even wait for me to sit down before they slammed the door and pushed back.
I miss People Express: They couldn’t always deliver what you wanted, but they were always nice about it!
I loved People Express. 1985, SFO to Brussels, $300 rt. I was able to treat a friend so we could spend my birthday together in Europe. But I think air travel is a bargain these days too, compared to when I began flying in the ’60s.
I was late for a flight once, in 1963, & they rolled the stairs back & let me in. Embarrassing though it was, they did those things in the olden days. But now? I’d like to hear the rest of the story. Like was it the CEO?