Model Chrissy Teigen and her musician husband John Legend were excited about spending New Years Eve in Tokyo, but a few hours before they were expected to land in the city, the plane they were travelling in had to fly back to Los Angeles. According to tweets by the pregnant model, All Nippon Airways headed back to Los Angeles because they allegedly had a passenger who took the wrong flight.
Teigen tweeted: "a flying first for me: 4 hours into an 11 hour flight and we are turning around because we have a passenger who isn’t supposed to be on this plane. Why...why do we all gotta go back, I do not know…” (sic).
Tiegen said that 150 travellers were inconvenienced.
a flying first for me: 4 hours into an 11 hour flight and we are turning around because we have a passenger who isn’t supposed to be on this plane. Why...why do we all gotta go back, I do not know
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 27, 2017
Lmao after all this I will have spent 8 hours on a flight to nowhere. Like we were all just havin a great time up here flyin in the sky watching gran torino time to go home now
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 27, 2017
I won’t be able to sleep until I know how this person figured out they were on the wrong flight. That’s all I ask. 150 people have been majorly inconvenienced, please, just tell me
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) December 27, 2017
The airline has since apologised. In a tweet, they said. “We apologize to all of our passengers on Flight 175; we failed to deliver the customer service we strive for. Thank you all for your comments and allowing us to connect, learn and serve you better. We welcome ongoing feedback to understand how we can work to make this right.” (sic).
While the lovebirds have finally landed in Tokyo, this incident has taught travellers a vital lesson: always make sure you board the right plane.
While it may seem ridiculous, many travellers are stepping into planes without checking their tickets properly.
In August, IOL Travel reported about how British banker Samuel Jankowsky boarded a flight that he taught was going to London. He later discovered the flight was going to Las Vegas. He claimed that airline staff checked his boarding pass three times and that it had Stansted as the destination.
The owner of Travel Savvy, Jennifer Morris, said people should check that the boarding pass has the correct destination. “If you're unsure how to read the information on the boarding pass, you should always ask someone from the airline. Spend a few minutes to check that both the gate number, destination and flight number at your boarding gate match your boarding pass,” she said.
Morris said airlines should also tighten their checks, but it was ultimately up to the passenger to be vigilant. “Airlines should tighten their checks. During peak season, mistakes can happen and passengers need to be vigilant and accountable for boarding correctly. They should alert the airline if there are any mistakes on boarding passes,” she added.