Back to Basics: A.M. or P.M.
July 2, 2008 by Mary Jo Manzanares
Filed under Air Travel, Back to Basics, Travel Tips
A.M., or "ante meridiem" in Latin, means before noon.
P.M., or "post meridiem" in Latin, means after noon.
One letter difference, but if you aren’t paying attention it could mean missing your flight.
It always amazes me how otherwise bright people can get totally confounded by departure times.
There was a situation involving a friend who has a 12:30 a.m. departure. While the rest of the gang was pleasantly imbibing at the airport bar, one friend was missing in action. Boarding time came, and the gang got onboard the aircraft. Still one missing friend. Next thing you know, it was wheels up, and the gang was en route — minus one.
What happened to this responsible executive? Did he deliberate no-show his pals?
No, it was nothing like that. It was those a.m. initials that him all off kilter. Something he didn’t realize until he checked in for his flight, believing that it would depart a little after noon.
Moral of this true story — check your departure time. Does it say a.m. or p.m.? (I think the problem occurs mostly in the 12-1 a.m. time frame, because it’s dark and people think of it as night time rather than as being before noon.)
And if you’ve got to mix things up, better to be 12 hours too early for your flight, than 12 hours too late.
Photo credit: SXC
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The same holds true for travel dates, especially while on a vacation, when losing track of what day it is can be very easy to do.
Hey guys,
So, why can’t we just go back to using military time like so many others. It just helps out that much more. What do you think? It’s not as hard to get confused with the time using that structure.
Thanks,
Ryan M. Rodriguez
Good post and a great reminder! I almost fell victim to this myself once and had to re-arrange my ride to the airport. I would have missed my flight too had I not had a moment of inspiration and double checked.
This almost sounds like its happened to you. hmm…
Jon: Dates can be a problem when it’s an overnight flight too. Forgetting that you gain or lose a day when booking a connection.
Ryan: I use military time (the 24-hour clock) for work, and think it works fine. I’m sure, however, that there’s confusion with it, too.
No, it hasn’t happened to me, but to a good friend who no-showed a group trip!