Published
Error in booking systemAmerican Airlines Mistakes 101-Year-Old for Toddler
An elderly American woman is mistaken for a child while traveling. Problem: The booking system doesn't recognize her year of birth as 1922, it thinks it's 2022.
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American Patricia tells the BBC how she is mistaken for a child on every American Airlines flight.
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The girl was born in 1922 – that's the problem.
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Passengers want the airline to rectify the error as soon as possible.
American Airlines' reservation system is apparently stubborn: Due to a programming error, the computer repeatedly mistakes a 101-year-old woman for a toddler. The eldest, Patricia, was born in 1922 – American Airlines' reservation system does not recognize this year and assumes Patricia was born in 2022.
The chaos started after the woman celebrated her 100th birthday. Although technical errors cause repeated malfunctions during her travels, Patricia takes it with humor: she once found herself in the terminal without a reserved wheelchair, as airport staff were waiting for the baby. “It was funny that the staff thought I was a little kid. But I'm an old lady!” she says with amusement.
Patricia wants American Airlines to correct the mistake
Staff at check-in and on flights are surprised every time they see her, the former nurse tells the BBC. Your daughter has booked flight tickets online. The system did not recognize that Patricia was issued an adult ticket and not a child ticket.
A senior citizen will be happy if the flight booking system can calculate his real age soon. “I wish they would fix the system because my poor daughter has to carry all our luggage a mile and a half from one gate to the other.”
Despite everything, the 101-year-old couldn't stop the urge to travel. A new trip is planned for the fall.
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