Air travel can be a nightmare, a theory that’s been proven once again by a TikToker who recounted how United Airlines ended up sending him around the world instead of the direct flight that he originally booked.
User Magicmansteve (@magicmansteve1) described his whirlwind tour of airports across multiple continents after the direct flight he wanted to take to Dublin was mistakenly booked for Dubai.
@magicmansteve1 #paris #cdg #istanbul #usa #ewr #cdg #bkk #united #oopsie #oops #travelfail #travelhacks ♬ Good Time – Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen
Steve shared how United Airlines mistook a flight to Dublin for a flight to Dubai, and the chaos that followed. “So I wanted to fly direct to see my wife and kids on United, and, of course, there were weather delays which were not United’s fault,” he began.
“However, when they couldn’t book my next ticket, because they put it into Dubai when it was supposed to be Dublin, they had to cancel my reservation,” he explains.
“Then they couldn’t find my reservation because it was pre-canceled. After that, they gave me a ticket to Paris. From Paris, I go to Thailand, and from Thailand, I go to Manilla,” he continues. However, his flights were still crossed as United Airlines errantly booked him for a flight to Narita, Japan, instead of Thailand.
In Paris, Steve had to wait for the airline to fix their mistake, which they finally did. “Before I got to Paris my ticket was waitlisted. Now I’m flying to Istanbul from Paris and then Istanbul to Thailand,” he concludes, summing up a bizarre whirlwind of tickets that took him to his final destination in the most roundabout way.
The video was viewed over 117,000 times as of Friday, and users applauded Steve for having a great attitude in such a stressful scenario.
“You couldn’t do that again if you tried. That’s insane and you seem so nice about it,” one user said.
“I like that you’re still smiling throughout this ordeal!” another added.
One commenter also pointed out a silver lining, writing, “‘All the miles you’re accumulating though.”
Others remained confused about Steve’s flight pattern and joked about how United Airlines was giving him a free world tour.
“Where did you WANT to go?” asked one user, while another quipped about how confused they were, writing, “I need a flow chart for this.”
“Dubai, Dublin, same thing. BTW, will you get to spend any time with your family this year or before your vacation ends?” one person wondered.
Someone joked to Steve that United Airlines, “booked you around the world!”
“Next stop, the moon to Istanbul to Paris. All on standby,” another user added.
However, Steve’s journey had another wrinkle, which he shared in the comments.
“I forgot to mention they lost my baggage. They think it went to Narita,” Steve said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Steve and United Airlines via email.
Update 4:50pm CT, July 8: Steven responded to our request for comment by explaining how frustrating the ordeal with United really was and how it was never fully resolved:
“It took three days to get to Thailand and of course they lost my luggage. I was on hold for hours and then told by United they were not responsible for my bag or helping me because when they transferred me to other airlines it became the other airlines responsibility. Furthermore they confirmed (in writing) my bag was never put on any plane and is still in Newark at the airport but the other airline would need to discover it. Anyway the original flight was in the 26th and now it’s July 1 and there is no luggage or help with compensation. Final note. Life does go on. My wife is more upset I think because the bag had a gift for her that she really wanted and for the children for finishing the school year. Worst part is stress from United not assisting and having the nerve to not help. Furthermore the website I’m supposed to use at United says the bag is in cdg Paris but the text message from United says it never left Ewr. So how does a system that depends on scanning the bag when it arrives show cdg? Someone is lying.”