Struth! Show me the way to San Jose – please!

IN his continuing search for the more weird, wacky and wondrous in the world of travel, David Ellis says a travel agency in the UK has accidentally sent a couple who wanted to catch up with their daughter in San Jose Mexico (airport code: SJD), to San Jose in California (airport code: SJC) – some  2,400km away from where they thought they were going.

Andrew and Julie Kelham from North Yorkshire hadn’t seen their daughter Frankie since she’d taken up a job in San Jose Mexico eight months ago. The first leg of their journey, from Manchester to Chicago went to plan, but they were surprised when their second flight landed in San Jose, California – and on getting off the plane, taking a phone call from Frankie saying she was “at San Jose airport and I can’t find you.”

The 20-hour flight to the wrong San Jose had cost them AU$5,700, and they then had to spend another $1,400 flying the further 2,400km to San Jose Mexico, and arriving there two days later than scheduled. The travel agency gave them $2,500 compensation and a $180 Goodwill Voucher towards their extra costs.

But STRUTH points out it could have been worse: the Kelham’s could have found themselves in any of seven even more-remote San Jose’s in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Texas (which has no less than three such-named towns) and Puerto Rico.

And the travel agent shouldn’t be totally vilified: San Jose Mexico is on that country’s Baja California Peninsula, easily confused with a click of the computer mouse with San Jose, California USA.