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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