‘I knew I was in trouble when I saw snow-capped mountains’: New Yorker embarks on dream trip Down Under, only to realize on arrival he bought his ticket to Sidney, Montana instead of Sydney, Australia booked

A New Yorker embarked on a dream trip Down Under, only to discover he had booked a ticket to Sidney, Montana instead of Sydney, Australia.

Kingsley Burnett, 62, was hoping to escape the state’s cold winter and instead enjoy sunny weather and a Sydney cruise.

However, the flight was shorter than expected and he realized something was wrong when he couldn’t see the beaches, the Harbor Bridge or the Sydney Opera House.

“I saw a mountain peak covered with white snow. At that point I knew I was in trouble,” Mr Burnett told local television station KTVQ.

Instead of going to the Australian city of Sydney with 5.3 million inhabitants, he booked and caught a flight to the small town of Sydney in the US state of Montana with 6,346 inhabitants.

Kingsley Burnett (left), 62, was hoping to escape the state’s cold winter and instead enjoy sunny weather and a cruise in Sydney (pictured with American Airlines’ Carol).

Burnett arrived in Sidney in gloomy weather (pictured during a downpour on a summer day).

Flights from New York to Sidney, Montana still require a transfer and can take anywhere from nine to 25 hours – which explains why Mr. Burnett didn’t realize the mistake until it showed up.

Instead of traveling nearly 10,000 miles to his dream vacation, Mr. Burnett traveled just 1,800 miles to another US state.

He added that he didn’t notice the difference in price – which is usually $500 for Sidney but $2,000 for Sydney – because he was traveling on a tight budget and thought he was getting a cheap round-the-world ticket.

It’s about shortcuts. The SYD as opposed to SDY. Someone has to fix it,’ Mr Burnett said.

He was referring to the codes used by the respective airports that led to the error that caused him to land in Billings, Montana, to board a connecting flight to Sydney.

Mr. Burnett had expected to step off the plane into the Australian heat – with winter temperatures reaching 26C – but was instead faced with lukewarm Montana weather of around 2C.

The holidaymaker added that he should have focused on making sure his final destination was correct rather than traveling in the most economical way.

He was staying at a Boothill Inn while waiting for a flight home, where manager Shelli Mann said the Sidney-Sydney mix-up had happened before.

Mr Burnett had hoped to travel to Sydney for the trip of a lifetime (Photo, file image)

Sydney, Australia is known for its beaches and beauty. Sidney, Montana (pictured) is known for its wheat fields and oil wells

“This is the second time a guest has tried to come to Sydney, Australia,” she said.

Mr. Burnett was very grateful to American Airlines’ Carol Castellano for helping him get a flight back to New York.

“There were no kangaroos in Montana. It had Carol. And that was good enough for me,” he said.

He has now postponed his one-off trip to June – where he will hopefully have more success.

Kingsley Burnett (pictured) thought he was getting a flight to Sydney, Australia. Instead, he was headed to Sydney, Montana

There is also a Sydney – similar to its better known namesake – in Nova Scotia, Canada.

In March 2017, Dutch teenager Milan Schipper landed on the east coast of Canada instead of the east coast of Australia.

When he booked the flight, the then 18-year-old found one ticket almost $300 cheaper than the other.

“So I was like, ‘Well, let’s discuss it,'” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at the time.

He only realized something was wrong when he landed in Toronto for a layover and saw the Air Canada plane heading to Sydney.

“The plane was very small, so I thought would it make it to Australia?” he said.

He got in anyway, then saw the map on the screen on the seat in front of him.

“I saw the flight plan going to the right, not to the left. That was about the time I realized there was another Sydney,” he said.

Herr Schipper was anything but alone. An American woman on the same flight as him made the same mistake, he said.

In 2002, two British teenagers landed in Sydney, Nova Scotia while trying to reach Australia, as did an Argentine tourist in 2008, a Dutchman and his grandson in 2009, and an Italian couple in 2010.

There is also a Sydney Parade in Dublin, Ireland. It has a cricket ground and railway station, but no airport, so no attempts have been reported by people confusing it with Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Canada or Sydney, America.