Passenger Boards Wrong Flight, Doesn't Realize Till Midair
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Instead of a quick trip to Southern California, one passenger got an unexpected flight to the Lone Star State.
"I did look at the monitor. I saw the gate and I thought I was in the clear," said Fernando Giron, who was traveling for a work meeting.
He didn't realize the major mistake till midair.
"When the pilot made the announcement that the weather was going to be clear and a smooth flight to Dallas," he said.
Fernando's normal flight from Sacramento to LAX takes less than an hour.
Instead, Fernando ended up flying for nearly three hours and more than 1,400 miles away.
"Everybody was shocked, the crew, the people at the counters, the people at the doors; they had no explanation for what happened," he said.
Records show the gate to LAX is right next to the gate for Dallas Fort-Worth in Sacramento and were boarding at the same time.
"What I don't understand is that they scanned my boarding pass and that I was able to go all the way to the plane," Fernando said.
American Airlines spokeswoman sent this statement:
"We are aware of the incident and we are investigating with our Sacramento team how it occurred. Our customer relations team will contact the passenger directly."
Fernando said he not only missed an important meeting and a potential client, but it puts passengers at a serious risk.
"It's a matter of national security because they don't know who's on the plane," he said.
Now hoping he'll get a second chance at a meeting, but definitely won't be flying.
"Hopefully for next week, but I'm driving this time," he said.
Still no word on how this happened or what American Airlines plans to do for Fernando and the mix-up.
