The fifteen, in one paragraph
The booking mistakes dispatch sees most: (1) no flight number on an airport booking; (2) "Pearson" without a terminal or airline; (3) the wrong passenger and bag count; (4) children without ages (so no seats); (5) a sedan for a family with luggage; (6) the 4 a.m. pickup set for 4:30 because the passenger guessed the buffer; (7) a peak day booked the day before; (8) a hotel without its full name ("the Sheraton" is three hotels); (9) a stretch limousine booked for an airport transfer; (10) the confirmation unread until the curb; (11) the wrong time zone on a booking made abroad; (12) a wheelchair or walker unmentioned; (13) the 407 declined on a Markham run at 5 p.m.; (14) a cancelled flight's car cancelled twice — by the passenger and then rebooked in a panic; (15) waiting for the car at the taxi stand. Each is fixed by one line on the booking or one reading of the confirmation.
Dispatch's log records every booking that went wrong and why, and the reasons repeat: the same fifteen omissions and habits, in roughly the same proportions, month after month. None is a failure of intelligence — they are what a person does when a form is long and a flight is soon — and each is avoidable with a line of text or a minute's reading. This article lists them in the order they appear in the log, explains what goes wrong for each, and gives the fix; it is the companion to the how to book online article, which explains the fields, and to the cheap limo service article, which lists the operator's mistakes rather than the passenger's.
One: no flight number
The booking says "Pearson, 3 p.m." and the flight lands at 4:40 after a delay; the chauffeur was at Door A at 3 and the passenger walks out at 5:25 to a car that has been cycling the curb for two hours, or that dispatch released. The fix: the flight number, always — it sets the terminal, pegs the pickup to the actual arrival, starts the tracking and gives the international wait allowance. The flight delays article explains what it does.
Two: "Pearson" without a terminal
A car at Terminal 1's Door A for a WestJet passenger at Terminal 3, or the reverse — a kilometre and a Terminal Link ride apart. The fix: the airline and the flight number; dispatch derives the terminal and checks it the evening before. The Terminal 1 vs Terminal 3 article has the map.
Three: the wrong count
"Two passengers" who are four, "two bags" that are six; a sedan at the curb and a family on the arrivals road. The fix: the honest count of passengers, checked bags, carry-ons and strollers, and the engine chooses the class; the luggage capacity article has the numbers.
Four: children without ages
"Two adults, two children" — and a chauffeur who arrives with no seats because "children" could be four or fourteen, and who cannot legally take a three-year-old on a lap. The fix: each child's age and approximate weight; the engine assigns the seats and the chauffeur installs them before pickup. The child seats article has Ontario's stages.
Five: a sedan for a family with luggage
The engine's default is a sedan; a family of four with a week's luggage and a stroller books it because it is first; the chauffeur arrives and the trunk does not close. The fix: let the counts choose the class — two adults, two children and five bags is an SUV — and read the families with luggage article.
Six: the 4 a.m. pickup set too late
A 6:15 a.m. departure from Terminal 3 booked with a 4:45 pickup from Markham, because the passenger reasoned "it's empty at that hour," arrives at 5:25 for a flight whose check-in closes at 5:30. The fix: take the pickup time the engine suggests — it knows the airline's recommended arrival (three hours for international) and the hour's roads — and read the red-eye article on why the buffer is built for the hour.
Seven: the peak day booked the day before
A Sprinter for March break's Friday, requested on the Thursday; a stretch for a June Saturday wedding, requested the Monday before; a 5 a.m. car for December 22, requested on the 21st. The fix: book the peaks when you book the flight or the venue; the how early to book article has the calendar.
Eight: the hotel without its full name
"The Marriott" — there are eleven; "the Sheraton" — three; "the Hilton" — several. The fix: the hotel's full name or its address; the Pearson to downtown hotels article lists them.
Nine: the stretch to the airport
A passenger books a stretch limousine for a Pearson arrival because it is the grandest vehicle; it does not fit the pre-arranged zone well, its trunk is small, and the ride on the Gardiner is worse than an SUV's. The fix: the SUV or the premium sedan for the airport, and the stretch for the occasion it was built for; the stretch limousine guide explains.
Ten: the confirmation unread
Every field is on the confirmation email and the chauffeur's text — and a wrong date, a wrong terminal, a wrong address or a wrong time zone is caught by reading it once the evening it arrives, and is not caught at the curb. The fix: read it, once, that evening.
Eleven: the wrong time zone
A booker in London books a Pearson pickup for "3 p.m." meaning London time, and the engine took Toronto time; the passenger lands at 10 a.m. Toronto. The fix: the engine works in Toronto time and the flight number, not the clock, should set an arrival pickup; a departure booked from abroad should be checked against the confirmation's stated time zone. The how to book online article covers booking from abroad.
Twelve: the wheelchair unmentioned
A passenger who uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer, booked into a sedan, meets a chauffeur who cannot help. The fix: say so — a folding chair for a passenger who can transfer fits any vehicle; a non-transferring passenger needs the accessible van with a day or two's notice; the accessible service article explains.
Thirteen: the 407 declined on the wrong day
A Markham passenger declines the 407 line item on principle and lands at 5 p.m. on a Thursday into a ninety-minute 401. The fix: approve the 407 as a contingency on any booking north of the 401, east of the DVP or west of the 427; it costs nothing unless the chauffeur uses it and the chauffeur uses it only when it saves fifteen minutes. The 407 article explains.
Fourteen: the cancelled flight cancelled twice
A flight is cancelled; the passenger cancels the car; the passenger is rebooked and books a new car in a panic at midnight, when the roster is committed — while the original booking would simply have moved with a text of the new flight number. The fix: never cancel a car for a cancelled or delayed flight; text the new flight number and the booking moves. The winter storm article and the cancellation policies article explain.
Fifteen: the taxi stand's habits at Door A
Walking to the taxi stand and looking for the car; not texting from the carousel and then wondering where the chauffeur is; texting "bags in hand" and then queuing for a SIM card; getting into the first black car at the curb without checking the plate. The fix: read the confirmation's plate, text when you are actually walking out, walk past the stand to Door A, and check the plate. The arrivals doors article has the procedure.
The pattern behind the fifteen
Ten of the fifteen are a field left blank or filled loosely; three are a habit from another kind of ride; two are a decision made on the wrong information. The engine's fields exist because each one prevents a mistake in the log, and a passenger who fills them all and reads the confirmation once has avoided every item on this list. The what to expect article describes the booking that goes right.
A worked booking that avoided all fifteen
A family of four, Rosedale to Terminal 3 for a 6:20 a.m. Sunwing flight on the Friday of March break, booked in February: the flight number (Sunwing's, hence Terminal 3); two adults, two children aged 3 and 7 (a harness and a booster, installed at the yard); six checked bags, four carry-ons, a stroller (hence an SUV — the engine said so); the pickup time the engine suggested (3:35); the return flight's number for the pickup ten days later; the 407 approved as a contingency for the return; the confirmation read that evening; the plate checked at Door A on the return. Nothing in the log but "dropped 04:02" and "collected 23:40."
Booking mistakes quick reference
| Mistake | What goes wrong | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| No flight number | Car at the wrong time; no tracking | Always put it in |
| "Pearson" without terminal | Car at the wrong building | Airline + flight number |
| Wrong count | Wrong vehicle | Honest passengers, bags, strollers |
| Children without ages | No seats; cannot legally ride | Each child's age and weight |
| Sedan for a family | Trunk does not close | Let the counts choose the class |
| 4 a.m. pickup too late | Check-in missed | Take the engine's suggested time |
| Peak booked the day before | No vehicle | Book when you book the flight |
| Hotel without full name | Wrong hotel | Full name or address |
| Stretch to the airport | Wrong vehicle for the run | SUV or premium sedan |
| Confirmation unread | Errors found at the curb | Read it that evening |
| Wrong time zone | Car hours off | Toronto time; flight number for arrivals |
| Wheelchair unmentioned | Wrong vehicle | Say so; accessible van with notice |
| 407 declined at the peak | 90 minutes on the 401 | Approve as a contingency |
| Cancelled flight cancelled twice | Lost chauffeur; panic rebooking | Text the new flight number |
| Taxi-stand habits at Door A | Cannot find the car | Text when walking; Door A; check the plate |
Booking without the mistakes
The engine's fields are the list above in order; fill them, read the confirmation, and the log will be quiet. The how to book online article walks each field.
Three the log sees less often but remembers
The wrong airport: "Toronto airport" booked as Pearson for a Porter turboprop that lands at Billy Bishop, two kilometres from downtown and thirty from Door A; the Pearson vs Billy Bishop article explains the Porter confusion. The wrong date: a booking for the 15th for a flight on the 16th because the flight leaves at 12:40 a.m. — an overnight departure's date is the calendar date of the departure, and the confirmation's date should be checked against the boarding pass. The gate code omitted: a chauffeur at a Bridle Path gate at 4:30 a.m. with no code and a passenger asleep; the notes field exists for it.
Booking notes, in one line each
Flight number. Airline. Honest counts. Children's ages. Let the counts pick the class. Take the suggested time. Book the peaks early. Full hotel name. SUV, not stretch, for the airport. Read the confirmation. Toronto time. Mention the chair. Approve the 407. Never cancel for a cancelled flight — text the new number. Text when walking, Door A, check the plate.
The dispatcher's favourite fix
Asked which single habit would empty the log, dispatchers agree: reading the confirmation the evening it arrives. It shows the date, the time, the terminal, the address, the counts, the class and the fare; every one of the fifteen mistakes above is visible in it before the car leaves the yard, and a text to fix any of them takes a minute. The what to expect article describes the confirmation and the chauffeur's text that follows it.
