Before this week, Jim Hourihan of Liverpool, England, had never heard of Manchester, N.H. But thanks to a mix-up, he ended up there this week while trying to fly to another Manchester — the one on the other side of the Atlantic.
Hourihan boarded a Continental Airlines flight in Los Angeles on Monday, but it wasn't until he got on a connecting flight in Cleveland — a 50-seat regional jet — that he realized he was headed to New England instead of jolly old England.
"When I first saw the plane I thought, 'That's not going to Manchester, England,'" Hourihan told WMUR-TV. "And it was then that it dawned on me. There must be two Manchesters."
Tuesday evening, after a stay in Manchester, Continental booked Hourihan on a flight to Newark, N.J., to connect with a flight home, at no extra charge, said Brian O'Neill, assistant director at Manchester Boston Regional Airport.
Hourihan said he liked Manchester, but felt it could use a few more pubs.
Even with the detour, Hourihan said he was having a great journey home.
"He did receive the VIP treatment while he was here," O'Neill said.
He said he learned Hourihan is not the first passenger to have landed in the wrong Manchester.
The mix-up came as the airport spreads the word about its new name. It's just added "Boston Regional" to the name, so Manchester pops up for travelers and agents looking to book flights to the Boston area.
Previously, he said, Manchester might not show up until on page 11 or 12 of a computer flight search, but now it sometimes appears on the first or second page.