I can understand them not recognizing him. I don't think I am alone in being in my own space in airports, and not paying attention to most of the people around me. People in wheelchairs are no exception. Also, everyone we've seen so far was dealing with personal trauma. Jack had his father's body with him; Boone was reliving sleeping with snickerbitch; Kate was manacled to the marshall, etc.

But why doens't anyone remember the guy in the wheerchair, who boarded the plane before they did?

I know that I don't pay much attention to who is preboarding. I'm more likely to have my selective hearing set for my row number while I kill the time reading. I do think it's odd that at least one person didn't notice Locke, but I think that the chances of him really standing out in anyone's memory are a bit dim. Also, if they saw him and thought he was the guy who pre-boarded in the wheelchair, their first inclination may have been to think "nah, must've been mistaken."

It's possible that someone may revise that "mistaken" assumption once they twig to the oddness going on.

Even after seeing the wheelchair in the wreckage and using it to move stuff, why were there no questions about its owner?

They may have assumed that the owner was among the dead.

The other answer might be, pre-boarding is often done quietly and a lot of people don't notice it's happening. And once he's in the seat and the wheelchair is all folded up and stored someplace, who's to know?

The real question is, why does he get to be called by his last name, when everybody but the crazy Frenchwoman has to go by first name? Clearly this is a marker of insanity rather than coolness. Let us all give a moment of thanks that this is fiction, and thus there are not five people all named Rob, two of whose last names are Polish.

Kate was manacled to the marshall, etc.

Actually, she'd be my best candidate to have recognized Locke, because she would have been extra-alert looking for a possible escape. (And thinking about it, I'm much more surprised that people didn't notice the chick in handcuffs than the guy in the wheelchair. Unless she was pre-pre-boarded so nobody ever saw her standing up.)

They may have assumed that the owner was among the dead.

Someone, I think Charlie, made a comment about the wheelchair's owner being "one of the lucky ones" or something like that.

Unless she was pre-pre-boarded so nobody ever saw her standing up

They always preboard people with small children and special needs. My assumption is that Kate would get on first so she can be cuffed to the seat (afterwhich she had her hands in her lap to draw as little attention as possible to herself). Then Locke with the wheelchair and then everyone else.

The real question is, why does he get to be called by his last name

Jack calls him John.

They always preboard people with small children and special needs.

I know. My point was that an average looking guy in a wheelchair isn't an odd enough sight to turn any heads, but a woman in handcuffs probably would have been. So I wonder where they hid her.

I thought of all those things too. I still find it odd that not one person noticed him. Maybe it is all Walt. He seems like the observant type.

Secret message to lisah: Hi! Florida is 75 degrees and sunny today. It will get back down into the low 50s as a high early next week, but it will be back up into the 70s by late in the week. It's good to be home. I miss you. Does the band have a CD yet?

I don't know a lot about philosophy, and I'm late to the thread so maybe this has been discussed, but has anything been made of the fact that his name is John Locke?