SORRY PARD, LOOKS LIKE YOU DONE LANDED IN THE WRONG SIDNEY

Due To Typo, German Tourist Sent To Montana Rather Than Australia

By Todd Wilkinson, 12-30-06

Save for the fact that there are no kangaroos or koalas, no dingoes or oceans within say, a long, long way—and considering that it's winter here and summer there—it's still entirely possible that when German tourist Tobi Gutt stepped toward his puddle-jumping plane bound for Sidney, Montana this week rather than arriving in the civilized metropolis of the same name in Australia, he might have seen similarities between the Aussie outback and the badlands of the American high plains. But don't count on it.

"I did wonder but I didn't want to say anything," the 21-year-old Mr. Gutt told the German newspaper Bild. "I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the United States."

According to a report from Reuters, this is how he almost arrived in Sidney rather than Sydney: "Dressed for the Australian summer in t-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany Saturday for a four-week holiday. Instead of arriving 'down under', Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana. Gutt's airline ticket routed him via the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon, to Billings, Montana. Only as he was about to board a commuter flight to Sidney -- an oil town of about 5,000 people -- did he realize his mistake."

For more, read the Reuters story "Confused Tourist Lands In U.S., Not Australia." It's a hoot. [End of article]

Comment By Celia Bell, 12-30-06

I encountered a similar experience once while flying from Florida to Houston. The plane would continue on from Houston to Portland Oregon. When my seatmate got on I was surprised that he was dressed in a very winter looking black wool suit, much too heavy I thought for any of the places this plane would land. When he sat down we began a conversation and I learned he was going for a job interview in Portland. Some time later into the conversation I realized he thought this plane was going to Portland Maine. It was not! I suggested that he check with the flight attendant before we arrived in Houston. When she checked his ticket, sure enough, it was a ticket to Portland Maine. I don't know how much longer it took him to arrive for his job interview.

Comment By Larry Kralj, Environmental Rangers!, 12-30-06

You mean to tell me that there's AIR SERVICE to Sidney?? Wow! I didn't know that. Who in the hell wants to get their bad enough to fly???

Comment By Nick Domitrovich, 12-30-06

I lived in Beaune, France for awhile and American tourists travelling around the area would always end up headed to Bonn, Germany because of mispronounciation when buying train tickets.

Comment By Red Dancer, 1-01-07

Notice that Reuters (or AOL) posted a picture of Big Sky instead of Sidney? They couldn't be more far apart or geographically different. Funny. Montana is so stereotyped. I live in Tennessee now and everybody here thinks the whole state looks like a tragically romantic Brad Pitt movie, not understanding that most of Montana is plains and grassland.

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