Grandpa and grandson take wrong flight to Sydney

By Julie Schwietert On August 18, 2009 · 11 Comments

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The right Sydney. Photo: Corey Leopold

What would you do if you thought you were going to Australia and ended up in Canada?

It was definitely a long-haul flight for Joannes and Nick Rutten, a grandfather and his grandson who planned to take their holiday in Sydney… Australia.

But when their plane landed and they made their way toward Customs and Immigration, something seemed a bit amiss.

The pair weren’t in Sydney, Australia; they’d landed in Sydney, Nova Scotia, located on the east coast of Cape Breton Island.

The wrong Sydney. Photo: Smudge 9000

They weren’t the first pair of travelers to make the mistake, according to this article in The Cape Breton Post. Apparently, the two Sydneys are mixed up with relative regularity.

Who can blame the Ruttens for wandering onto a flight that they thought was going to Sydney? The question is, who was checking their tickets as they boarded?

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Julie Schwietert

Julie Schwietert Collazo is a writer, editor, researcher, and translator currently in New York, formerly of Mexico City and San Juan. She is Matador's managing editor and is the lead faculty member of MatadorU's travel writing program.

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http://musictravelwrite.wordpress.com Michelle

Another question is where do they live? The plane descending short of at least 12 hours in the air would’ve been a clue, right?

Too funny.
http://collazoprojects.com/ Julie Schwietert

They’re from Amsterdam.
You know, you read something like this and think “Oh, they’re so dumb,” but I wandered onto a flight from Houston once (when I was supposed to be going to Philadelphia) and didn’t realize it until the flight attendant announced “Welcome to Houston.” I was taken aback, to say the least! (And then spent several hours trying to get rerouted back to Philly).
http://www.evaholland.com Eva

I remember the last time this happened – a British couple had pre-purchased a two week holiday package on Expedia or some site like that, for the wrong Sydney. So it wasn’t a matter of getting back on the plane, they were stuck there! They were actually pretty jerk-y about it, considering it was their own fault. The locals tried to show them around, bring them food, etc, and they wouldn’t leave their hotel room.

Re: stupidity or not, I can understand getting on the wrong flight once, but there’s no way these Europeans are getting direct flights to Sydney. You’d think they’d notice when they transited in Halifax instead of Los Angeles or Hawaii, right? So strange. Funny!
http://www.tvrotsyourmindgrapes.com/ Marissa

Wow. It kind of makes me laugh but also makes me want to double-check that there is no other Seattle or Los Angeles the next time I fly out to visit friends.
http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/vmcalves vmcalves

I never actually got on the wrong flight but the first time that I tried to buy a ticket to Auckland, New Zealand, when I was still living in Portugal, the lady thought I meant Oakland in the US. She told me how much the flights would cost and I thought “cool, that’s pretty cheap” and only realised that she’d got it wrong when she printed out the quote. Needless to say I was pretty disappointed I wasn’t going to get the same price to fly to Auckland…

Christine

That reminds me of when I was in Lusaka, Zambia, and was trying to get to Niamey, Niger. Long story short, the woman thought I was saying “Miami” instead of “Niamey,” and it would have been about $1400 cheaper for me to go round trip to Miami than one way to a city on the same continent I was on.

http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo

Thank god Sidney, British Columbia is spelled with an “i”!

I just wonder about the travel agent who booked this. Who’s mistake was it? Did the agent think she was booking Sydney, Australia? (in which case I don’t think she is cut out for the job.)

Or did she really think that these people wanted to go to Canada? In which case, wouldn’t she have been like “you want to go WHERE?”

(Disclaimer: I used “she” because traditionally travel agents are more likely to be women, not that I think only a “she” could make the mistake)

http://www.evaholland.com Eva

Hey now, Carlo, Cape Breton is God’s country! Sydney isn’t exactly a tourist destination in itself (unless you dig toxic industrial waste) but it *is* the jumping-off point for the Cape Breton Highlands and the Cabot Trail, the Bras d’Or Lakes, etc. Lots of good reasons to go there.

/Nova Scotia tourism promo

http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo

Haha…sorry Eva, didn’t mean any offense!

http://matadortravel.com/travel-community/candicew86 Candice

Freakin’ hilarious.
Eóin

I am a very careful and experienced traveller – though that said I literally JUST had the revelation that my girlfriend (who flies tonight!) had booked herself from San Francisco to London, ONTATRIO, CANADA!!!! Not London, England, so just had to spend £400 bailing her out of that to still get her here so there goes my free cash. Ah well, gotta laugh!

Grandpa and grandson take wrong flight to Sydney

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