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.
My gut reaction is that this guy is an idiot.
Just like anything else you do in life, double check everything and don’t trust anyone else to do the right thing.
I know of a guy that booked himself an Amtrak ticket to Las Vegas. Problem is that Amtrak serves Las Vegas, New Mexico, not Las Vegas, Nevada.
The airline charged him $5000 for two return tickets England-Spain and he didn’t say anything?
Even with first class, that’s obviously too much for a short flight.
If I were the judge, that lawsuit would be dismissed so fast his head would spin. If he didn’t check his tickets, too bad, his problem.
Yeah I in 1983 ended up in Grenada as well(Operation Urgent Fury) in USS Independence CV-62.
Partner? If he's gay, that makes his victimhood score jump much higher.
uhhh....besides the different spellings, didn’t he notice how long it was taking to get there? What an idiot.
That is what I noticed too.
All things considered, there are worse places he could have ended up.
Grenada, is from little I’ve heard and seen, a beautiful Caribbean island.
Spelling ping!
I hope you receive this post with the humor I am trying to send with it.
It just fit our previous conversation too well not to share.
Cheers!
exactly... i have made plane reservations several times this past year, and i double check everything... even if i type in San Jose International Airport as my destination, i will sometimes be shown flights that land in San Francisco...
one of the first things i check before and after i make my reservation is the flight length of time... that right there should have told him that he was not going to Spain...
not too long ago i read an article about a silly girl who thought she was going to San Jose, Costa Rica--to learn the language... but she unknowingly landed in San Jose, California... was there for a good five days before she realized! she only found out because she posted pics on facebook, and a friend of hers told her she was in California and not Costa Rica!
i think she had posted a picture of herself at a San Jose Sharks hockey game... and she had been going on about how easily she could understand the people...
dumb!
You say “Grenada”, I say “Grenada”, yada, yada, yada.
You say Grenada, I say Granada....
This guy’s obviously an idiot. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to go outside and wash my Hyundai Accord so it’s all shiny for my date with actress Evan Longoria.
I've spent a lot of time in the Caribbean. The thing you never want to forget is that you are in a 3rd world, high-crime, area. The resorts and tourist spots are quite nice, everything else is generally a slum.
The booking agent made the mistake, so ...
That’s the funniest thing I’ve read in ages.
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