A 101-year-old woman continues to be mistaken for an infant due to an error in American Airlines’ reservations system.
The problem – says the BBC – occurs because the airline’s systems apparently fail to calculate that Patricia was born in 1922, rather than 2022. “It was funny that they thought I was just a little girl and instead I’m an old lady!” , Patricia said.
The centenarian, however, now wants the error to be resolved as it has caused her quite a few problems in the past. For example, on one occasion, airport staff did not have transport ready for her within the terminal as they were expecting a child who could walk.
For a recent trip with her daughter from Chicago and Marquette, Michigan, Patricia booked an adult ticket. But it appears the airport’s computer system was unable to process a birth date that far in the past, so it defaulted to a date 100 years in the future.
The former nurse, who flies every year to see family and escape the cold winters, says that on both occasions American Airlines staff were friendly and helpful, despite the confusion. However, American Airlines did not make any statements to the BBC.
Patricia traveled alone until she was 97, but now she only flies with her relatives. “Now I have some problems with my eyesight so I wouldn’t want to do it alone,” she said. The IT problems won’t deter her from flying, though, and she says she’s looking forward to her next flight in the fall.
By then he will be 102 years old, and perhaps by then the airline’s computers will have figured out his true age.