I stand before you today, deeply humbled. Let me set the scene and you’ll quickly understand why…
Friday evening had been planned for many weeks. It was the night my wife Heidi, son Augustine, and I were traveling to London. Heidi’s sister lives in London and we were going to spend the weekend with her and her husband. I would then return to Los Angeles for one more week of work while Heidi and Augustine would continue to Germany.
We were booked on United—the same flight Augustine experienced his first flight on. The plan was simple: I leave the office at 1:00PM, we have lunch and leave at 2:30PM, arrive about 3:30PM and relax in the lounge until boarding at 4:30PM.
Packing took longer than anticipated and we were not out the door until around 3:20PM. I like being early to everything and it stressed me out that we did not leave on-time. Traffic can be unpredictable on a Friday afternoon. Brutal sometimes…I quickly loaded up the car, put Augustine in his car seat, and asked Heidi, “Do you have your passport and Augustine’s passport?”
“Of course,” she said.
We took off and traffic was bad. It took an hour to go 21 miles, but we arrived at 4:20PM, parked in short-term parking since I would be back on Sunday night, and started unloading the car.
It was there I made the fateful discovery.
Heidi had her passport. Augustine had his. But I didn’t have mine. In my haste to get out to the house, I left my carry-on bag on our bed. I did not have my passport, computer, toiletries, change of clothes, or anything at all…
My heart sank, then sank deeper as I looked at my watch. It was too late. There was no possible way, short of helicoptering it from my house, that someone could bring it to me in time. I almost cried. Heidi could have yelled at me or rightfully called me an idiot. Instead, she just hugged me.
The primary objective of my presence on the trip was to help Heidi with Augustine on the transatlantic flight. He’s no longer an innocent little infant. Now’s he a precocious two-year old who does not like to sit still. Walled in with me on one side and Heidi on the other, we thought the journey would better than Heidi traveling alone.
But the plan failed. I was the idiot who forgot my passport.
I ushered them through security then kissed them goodbye: boarding had already begun.
The Choice
Now I had a choice to make. Do I just go home or do I find a way to get to London, knowing that I still had to fly back Sunday afternoon?
I started thinking about how else I could get there. I knew American, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways had evening flights. I figured only the 9:05PM British Airways flight would have award space, and it turned out I was exactly correct. At that late hour, space was only available in economy class, though that was least of my concerns at this point. If anything, economy class on BA was appropriate penitence for the mistake I made.
But if the point of the trip was to escort my wife and son, was I really going to fly to London just for an evening and morning with my sister-in-law and her family?
Yes. Yes, indeed.
Maybe partly of it was out of embarrassment, partly out pride, but I was not going to be left behind. I could not believe the travel expert had become the travel fool. Then again, this was not the first time I left something important at home.
Although it pained me to drop 25,000 Avios plus $203 on a coach ticket on British Airways, I wanted to fly nonstop and I wanted to depart asap. The website would not let me book for same-day travel because it was after midnight GMT. With minutes to spare before the Executive Club office closed, I phoned British Airways and secured the ticket.
Meanwhile, my passport arrived around 6:00PM thanks to my gracious and ever-generous parents, who wasted half their evening on my stupid mistake.
CONCLUSION
There was drama on the British Airways flight…stay tuned for that. But I’ll say this now. My BA flight ended up departing late, arriving very late into Heathrow, I got stuck for 90-minutes in the passport control queue, and did not reach my family until after 8:00PM. Some weekend indeed.
But I am thankful. That has to be my takeaway. Thankful for an understanding wife. Thankful for gracious parents. And thankful that I never feared that I could not get to London…I think that would be the first thought that crossed the minds of most people. I even knew which flight would have award space before looking. I’m deeply thankful for the ability that miles and points provide to make or change last-minute travel plans.
I cannot help but to feel it was also so unnecessary. I’ve put a small, round green sticker on my dashboard. It will serve as a permanent reminder—and memorial—to always travel with my passport.
Been exactly there bud. Humbling indeed Great self teaching moment though.
@ Matthew — This sounds like something I would do. Don’t feel bad.
Don’t feel bad. I know of someone who was stranded on Easter Island for several days because of a mistake. For you, there were several LAX-LHR flights a day, easing the pain a little.
I guess we’ll find out the rest of the story in due course, but I have to ask.. what happened to your UA reservation? Not making the outbound surely nullified your return? Unless of course it was an award ticket and you canceled the outward journey. An interesting story awaits no doubt!
Was an award ticket. Just cancelled it.
@Matthew – thanks for the clarification. I assumed as much. Looking forward to the rest of the story.
You’re good to share this with us since it’s a mistake any of us could make. What I love about the story is that you found a work around for it.
UA let you cancel the award ticket same day as the flight with no penalty?
If yes that’s actually a really positive thing so you didn’t eat the points.
How did you route home?
There was a penalty – but UA lets you cancel right up until departure. You just cannot be a no-show.
I thought that as a 1K you get free redeposits? Or did you ticket thru another FFP?
I’m Plat…at least for another week or so.
With the amount you travel it’s bound to happen once in a blue moon. I’ve never forgotten my passport or wallet, but I have done the thing where I’ve shown up at the airport on the wrong day (I got it in my head that the flight was leaving a day later). Also did something similar for a hotel reservation where I made it for different days and showed up to the hotel only to be told that my reservation was for the week after. These sorts of screw-ups are rare for me, but they do happen every five years or so.
I once showed up in the afternoon for a morning Sydney – Los Angeles flight — BECAUSE DARNIT I KNOW WHAT TIME VIRGIN AUSTRALIA’S FLIGHT LEAVES. Ahem.
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/06/28/my-biggest-travel-mistake-and-most-embarrassing-moment-plus-a-review-of-the/
It happens to the best of us! 😉
That sounds very stressful!! I had a similar thing happen to me on an around the world first class award trip with my wife for our 10 year anniversary. Needless to say our saving grace was we had left for the airport about an hour earlier then normal just because we were excited for our trip. I had to drive back home, I told her to check in etc and I’d meet her at the gate or somewhere in between if things got worse. I had to race from SFO back to the east bay get my workbag that had my passport race back etc.
Thankfully I made it through security as they were boarding.
Can’t wait to hear the rest of the story.
Have a virtual hug bud.
Thank you!
I guess next time you travel with your family have your wife and Augustine ask you, “do you have your passport?”
Glad it all worked out!
I’m not sure it worked out. She still had to travel alone with Augustine. 😉
I know how you feel Matthew. I’ve traveled for 25+ years. Over 5 million flown miles. I’ve NEVER done that before until a few weeks ago. I was leaving my apartment in Buenos Aires and wasn’t running late. I left to the airport with plenty of time but my passport case fell out of my backpack as I was leaving.
I was so humiliated as I’ve never done that. Fortunately my in-laws had the key to my apartment and they rushed to go get it. I missed my flight but there was another flight leaving through MIA instead of DFW and I made that one.
I was pissed at myself for a while. Don’t beat yourself up. Happens to the best of us.
Oh man, I feel like I need to buy you a beer. Nice to know you’re human and can’t wait for the rest.
I think that those of us who travel a lot have our routines and become overconfident in them, and then can get caught when something is slightly different from usual. For example, we scoff at people who think they need to be at the airport 3h in advance but then we sometimes cut things a bit too close. Last week for some reason I wasn’t able to check in online with UA as my passport had to be verified. I left for the airport later than I should have (though still plenty of time if I had had a boarding pass), traffic was worse than I expected and I almost missed the 60 min. cutoff, after which point there would have been no agent to check me in as Ottawa is a small UA Express station with few flights. While I made the flight, I was so stressed about being late I forgot that I had intended to leave my winter coat in the car as I was travelling to a temperate location. Luckily, YOW has a coat check for this purpose, but it cost me $30.
So much for the checklist, eh?
It was all packed. I just need a packing list in the car to verify before I close the trunk!
I know airlines have quietly done away with the unofficial “flat tire” rule, but sometimes exceptions are made, especially if you have status. Might’ve UA been able to put you on a later flight, like a red-eye to EWR or IAD to connect to a morning LHR flight? Or perhaps on a partner like AC through YYZ. If you tried that, I’d be curious of their response.
For the forgetting of the passport, not an amateur mistake. I’ve heard of pilots forgetting their passports. When traveling, especially with a family you are partially responsible for, it’s so easy to forget or misplace something.
I could have re-routed via IAD or EWR and taken the morning flight, but that would not have arrived until after 8PM versus the BA flight that was (supposed to) arrive at 3:20PM.
I hope you give us a review of BA economy. I like reading reviews from those usually in premium calendars giving their take on the experience further back.
premium cabins*. (don’t know what auto-correct was thinking)
I will be reviewing BA economy class — I’ll have a summary up tomorrow and a detailed post later in the week or next week.
You really shouldn’t beat yourself up. I get it; I have a penchant for leaving stuff behind all the time. Usually it’s something relatively harmless like a phone charger or earphones, but I have left my driver’s license behind a couple of times. That’s led to some tense moments, and an amusing rental car switcheroo with my wife, but thankfully, I haven’t left a passport behind yet. Though I am incredibly paranoid it will happen to me at some point…
I always worry a lot about forgetting my passport and/or my wallet before a big international trip. Don’t feel bad, it happens. I would have felt terrible too.
American Airlines used to mention that people in Latin America call in fake bomb threats to delay a flight if they are late. That was considered racist and removed.
Calling in a bomb threat is not only selfish but 100% of people who do that go to prison. Not 90%. 100%. Still, people occasionally do that.
It’s nice to know my favorite travel blogger is human! If you ever see someone in the airport who forgot their passport give them a hug!
I will!
I also made the same mistake. I was traveling with my wife to Asia on an award seat I had booked a year in advance. OMG!!!! I forgot my backpack with passports etc!!!!!! It was 10:30 PM at night and I frantically called my neighbors, hoping and praying someone would pick up the phone. Thank God one of them did and I begged him to go to my house and bring my backpack to me at the airport which was a 40 minute drive away. I told him the secret location of our house key and our alarm code. Thank God it all worked out and I took him out to a very nice dinner when I got back, plus I still owe him a big favor.
Now, before we drive off, we all confirm that we have everything – absolutely no leaving the house without doing this.
You had some nice neighbors!
Last week a had booked my return award ticket by one month off. Realized it the morning I was leaving. Ended up buying a last minute F ticket for about $500. Figured it was tuition for life learning.
Oh, to be human! So glad that you connected. And praise God that Heidi was so gracious. I hope that your time in Germany will be worry free. Travel well.
Thank you! I am so thankful for Heidi’s patience for me.
Left my passport in my hotel room in Amman. Driver asked me halfway to the Israel border whether I had my passport….. so embarrassing. “It’s a different country you know”. Only time whole trip he got even remotely flustered. As you know Matthew, Jordanians such relaxed nice people. Just had to bite bullet turn around and drive 30mins back to get it.
I think as you get older this stuff seems to happen more and more
Kind of like the Home Alone plot setup.
BA award ticket was a nice save and good deal.
Whenever I fly internationally, I made it a habit that at every step of the travel process, I ask myself “do you have your passport?” Everything else I travel with can be bought at my destination if I happen to forget or lose it… but not the passport. So at every step — leaving the house, getting out of the car, after going through security, etc. I always check to make sure it’s still with me.
it’s nice having two passports… I haven’t forgotten my main one yet, but the extra always stays in my carry on… might be worth looking into, just for peace of mind
there are “rules” to get one, but p much anyone can
We’ve all been there at least once. Luckily, the last time it happened to me, we were staying at the airport hotel in Pittsburgh and I had time to just run home and… [Commenter realizes he hasn’t verified possession of his own passport before an international flight – secures it, returns to cooment] and get it.
Matthew, I feel your pain. I’ve been there myself.
In a hidden space in my bag I now keep a copy of my passport and drivers license. I now also create a checklist for every trip. When I place an item in my bag I check it off the list by placing an “X” in the box next to it. The list stays on a clip board on top of my bag. Before heading out the door I confirm that every box is filled before setting the clipboard aside.
It sux when things go wonky. Especially when there is no one to blame. Except ourselves. Ouch!
With a checklist what could possibly go wrong? Passing through security an alarm sounded. I knew my pockets were empty, Wrong. Before departing for the airport I had discovered my wife had forgotten her cell phone. I picked it up and placed it in my pocket. After kissing her good bye at the airport she headed home, I to my gate. When I discovered I had her phone there was no way to call her. I called my Dad who was kind enough to pick it up and deliver it to her. As usual I had arrived at the airport early… because what can go wrong eventually will.
I really appreciated this post Matt. It is refreshing to realize even the most traveled, most experienced global travelers miss a beat now and then. And your wife is a saint. And you recovered really well too. Everything is a lesson : )
My dad once showed up to a 610am flight with the wrong passport. Thankfully he arrived quite early at around 430 and was able to get someone to bring it in time.
I am so sorry for all your trouble! I once sent my husband to Philly (from DC) with my passport instead of his. He had to drive back to DC and then back to Philly and postpone his flight to the Caribbean to the next day. And, our daughter dropped her passport out of her bag (fortunately, in the house) on the way to the Stuttgart airport for a flight to the States. Fortunately, my husband had returned home after dropping us off and had time to deliver it to the airport, so we made our flight.
I have a small carry on bag that I always take on the plane . I always leave passport and a few other things in the side zippered pocket of that bag , even when home . Before we leave the house my wife must show me her passport. She use to resent my insistence but , she’s okay now .
However I have missed flights : wrong day , wrong time , just plain late and once wrong airport so not perfect at all .
I once discovered at 11:30 pm, as I went to check in for a flight to Israel at 2 pm the next day, that my son’s passport was expired.
At 5 am the next day we were at the NY Passport Agency and we did make the flight, though I was up all night tracking down documents, etc. And of course I paid a premium.
Happy ending and (should’ve been) lesson learned – but shamefully I went on to repeat this scenario not once but twice more. Not all went down the day of, but I did have to go back to NY both times. Best takeaway if you do have to go last minute – no appointment was necessary though the website says it is.