'Invisible' Man Flies from Michigan to Florida

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Remember that schtick on the old 1970s daytime drama parody “Soap,” when Bert thought he was invisible?

A Michigan man may relate after what happened to him while trying to fly from Grand Rapids to Fort Myers the other day.

Bob Woudstra got through security at Gerald R. Ford International Airport just fine and was already aboard the Southwest flight when he got an email from the airline saying his itinerary had been canceled because he hadn’t shown up, WZZM-TV reports.

Woudstra, of Cutlerville, said he figured the email, which he didn’t see until the plane landed, was spam “because I just flew on that flight.”

Being invisible to the airline was bad enough.

“It’s terrible,” he said, “I can’t believe the airline didn’t know I was in that seat.”

But then he had to shell out another $465 for a return flight back to Michigan.

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Woudstra thinks it’s only fair that Southwest refund the one-way ticket, as well as the original $616 ticket. The airline says it’s investigating where the goof occurred, and will refund at least the $465 ticket if Woudstra can prove he was on the flight – for example with a concession receipt.

Woudstra didn’t spend a dime at the airport.

Gary Leeuwenburg, who had shared a ride to the Grand Rapids airport and the first leg of the trip with Woudstra, said he plans to vouch for his friend.

Woudstra said the problem is greater than the snafu that made him invisible to the airline.

“These airlines don’t know who’s flying on their planes,” he said. “Our security is supposed to be so good and this is terrible.”

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Photo via Flickr