What a difficult group of people.
A 101-year-old woman was repeatedly confused with an infant in American Airlines’ reservation system during an annual flight to visit family in Michigan.
The mix-up is caused by the airline’s reservation software failing to correctly enter her actual birth year of 1922, instead defaulting to 2022.
“It was funny that they thought I was just a kid, but I was a grandma!” said Patricia, 101, a retired nurse who would only give her first name. BBC reporter Joe Tidy when the two recently flew together on the same plane.
The centenarian said he took the repeated misunderstandings in good humor, but admitted he hoped the issue would be resolved as travel has become unpredictable and inconvenient.
She told the outlet that there were times when airport terminals did not have motorized transportation available because staff were expected to carry babies or push them in strollers.
“My poor girl had to carry her luggage and clothes almost a mile from one gate to another and I would like her computer fixed,” she said.
On another trip, Patricia and her daughter Chris were left at a loss waiting on the plane after all the other passengers had disembarked because the flight attendants didn’t know they needed a wheelchair.
However, she told the outlet that flight crew and airport staff were always kind and cooperative in resolving the mess once they learned of it.
Patricia, who flies from Chicago to Marquette, Michigan once a year to see her family, traveled alone until she was 97 years old. As her eyesight has deteriorated, she now relies on her family to accompany her.
She is already planning her next trip to Michigan this fall.
American Airlines did not respond to The Post’s request for comment Sunday.
