Different name on passport than on ticket
 

I just discovered that the name on my husband's ticket does not include both of his given names, which are what's on his passport. American charges $100 to change the ticket but has sent the correction on to BA for our connecting flights. I've written the TSA about the problem--does anyone know whether the name difference will be a security glitch as long as one of his given names is used on the ticket? Help!!!

If his ticket only says Billy, and not Billy Joe then he will have no problem. Wouldn't most people assume one of his given names was simply his middle name?

Billy Joe on the passport / Billy on the ticket - absolutely OK

Billy Joe on the passport / James on the ticket - absolutely not OK

How big a difference are you talking about? Are you saying the name on his ticket is something like "Joe Peter Smith" or even Joe Smith" and the name on his passport is " Joseph Peter Smith". In that case you probably won't have a problem. If, however, the given names are completely different from the name on the passport such as "Joe Smith" on the ticket and "John Smith" on the passport then you may have a problem when you check in to get your boarding pass.

To get past the TSA security checkpoint your husband will need an ID that matches the name on the ticket. That ID doesn't necessarilly have to be his passport - he can use any government issued photo ID like a driver's license. So if he has an ID that matches the ticket he should use that to clear security rathere than his passport. Here again, if the ID he uses says "Joe Smith" and his ticket say "Joseph Peter Smith" he'll be fine.

If you can give us a bit more information or some better example regarding what the name difference perhaps we can be more helpful.

Yes - clarify. By "not both given names" I just assumed his middle name was omitted . . . . .

Thanks very much! It's my husband's first name that's omitted on the ticket, which shows only his middle name--the one he uses all the time His passport, of course, had to match his birth certificate.

So the passport says:
SMITH
JOSEPH PETER

and his ticket says:
PETER SMITH

Those look like two different names to me, but a ticket saying:
JOSEPH SMITH
would certainly be ok.

hi, if the passport says JAMES ROBERT SMITH, the ticket should/can say JAMES ROBERT SMITH, JAMES SMITH or even JAMES R. SMITH, is an acceptable option. ROBERT SMITH is another person. The first and last names on the ticket have to match at least the first and last names on the passports. Middle name added to the ticket is optional.

American can put a message in your reservation about the name discrepancy, however, you are "chancing it" about the airline accepting the ticket as the first and last names don't match.

I always travel with my passport, since most of my travel is international, so I don't know that the TSA cares if you show them a passport or driver's license to get in the security line. I would be more concerned about clearing foreign immigration and passport controls.

If I were you, I would pay the $100 in advance and get the ticket changed now/before departure. I work in the travel industry and I have seen people denied boarding due to a name mismatch, up to and including having to buy a new one way ticket just to be able to get home. Not pretty.

not necessarily....

My passport lists...
First Name, Middle Name, Maiden Name, Married Name

I do not use my first name - only my middle name. So all my airline tickets are printed as Middle Name + Married Name.

My 2 children are the same way - go by their middle name and tickets are issued as such.

We've never had a problem. Now, our last name is very unusual and 2 of us have rather unusual middle names, so maybe that comes into play. Don't know..... I just know that in 7 years of doing it like this we have never had a problem.

Grcxx3, you have been lucky. Good for you!

Underhill, I still suggest you pay the $100 to get the ticket corrected. I wouldn't be worth it to me to "chance it" and possibly have your vacation/trip ruined. simply not worth it. If your husband is not let on any of your scheduled flights, how much money will you lose then? More than $100 I am guessing?

I would also pay the $100 - I travel internationally at least once a month, and have for the last 4 years, and I have seen people turned away due to name mismatches. It just sounds like one of those things that MIGHT be okay - or won't, and do you really want to take that chance? Don't risk it........

The airlines don't care a thing about your middle name. Name on airline ticket must show legal first name and legal last name.

You could take your chances but there's no way I would.

It's pretty clear that even the airline considers the current name on Underhill's husband's ticket to be for "different" person otherwise they wouldn't be asking for the $100 change fee. Like mrwunrfl says Joseph Peter Smith is not the same as Peter Smith.

Avoid problems, pay the change fee and get the matter resolved BEFORE your trip. If you are denied boarding, telling the ticket or gate agent that a couple of the contributors on Fodor's Airline Forum said it would be OK is not going to help YOU one bit.

My husband also goes by middle name. His tickets have always been issued by middle and last name as that was the name on his frequent flyer account. We never had a problem flying American - or with connections. However, because of some mileage on BA that wouldn't post because of the name difference on passport, we have changed his FF account to his full name. (Of course, then I had a problem paying for an airline ticket on the internet because the name on the credit card had to match the name on the AA account exactly!) Anyway, I'm assuming your husband has been traveling this way for years without a problem, so one more trip will probably be just fine. Who knows? I would probably just chance it - as we have done for the last ten years without a problem.

It's very easy for others to tell you to "just chance it" afterall it's not their trip that will be ruined if your husband runs into problems.

Underhill is already expressing concerns. No one like to spend $100 needlessly but when you think of the agrevation Underhill's husband will face if he is not given his boarding pass when he check's in you'll see it's a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Pay the change fee and be done with it while it's easy.

Again, pay the fee.

The plot has thickened: we would have to pay not only the $100 fee but also for putting my husband's FF mileage back into his account (another fee) and then have it taken out again, assuming that he can then get the seat already booked.

The name difference is that my husband's passport shows Indiana Jones Junior, whereas his ticket just says Jones Junior.

Additional fees notwithstanding, nothing has altered the fact that the name on the ticket and the name on the passport do match - no matter how you slice it the difference in names can be construded as belonging to 2 different people. You really have no choice but to pay the change fee.

Um, wouldn't the fact that the photo matches my husband's face indicate who he is, regardless of the name?

No.

But clearly you are looking for someone to agree with you that you should do nothing. That's not going to happen. You are hoping the TSA staff at security is willing to let you slide. Good luck!

He <i>might</i> be OK. But there are definitely no guarantees. Do you feel lucky?? And can you afford to pay full walk up fare to get him on the plane if things fall apart??

The only way to ensure things work out is to pay the change fee. Only you can decide whether to do so . . . . . .

(BTW - even IF he gets on the flight out, there is no guarantee he will get on the return flight)

EXACTLY! But, it's not my money or my husband. And I certainly not stupid enough to gamble with the TSA.

The TSA already indicated that the differing names were no problem, as my husband's driver's license will suffice--and that has his middle name with his first initial.

I'm going to call AA and talk to a supervisor.

As has been pointed out you have 2 major problems: A) gettng past TSA Security and b) Getting the airline to issue your husband's boarding pass. The latter is going to be more difficult since the ticket name doesn't match his passport which the airline will definitely have to check BEFORE the boarding pass can be issued.

Now, if you don't get the name matter resolved NOW there are only 2 possible results: A) Nobody will question the different names or 2) He'll be denied boarding. It makes no difference whether the &quot;odds&quot; are in your favor or against you or what others on a travel think MIGHT happen. What matters is what actually happens the day you travel and what you plan to do or how you and/or your husband will react if your husband is denied boarding. Since you already know there is a problem do whatever you have to do to get it resolved now.

I jut spoke with a supervisor at AA, and he said that the ticket agent will make the name change at the time we check in. That will be before we clear security; so by then we will have the ticket with the correct name on it. Phew.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

My situation is similar to yours. I use my middle name and that is the
name on frequent traveler accounts.
In order to get credit for international flights, I was told the name on ticket must match name
on FF account. My passport reads
xxxx yyyyy zzzz/ ff account is: yyyyy zzzz. I had
no worries showing my drivers's
license which is yyyyy zzzz and
passport at check in. Glad it's all
worked out for you.

I'll let you know when we get back!

I noticed this because a friend had trouble boarding an international flight just within the last month -- without revealing her name, the problem was the equivalent of someone whose legal name (on her passport) is Christina, who has always gone by Tina, and whose tickets are always in the name of Tina. Even though the name she uses is a shortened version of her formal, full first name, she was not able to board without paying to have her ticket reissued.

I was worried on our recent trip to Scotland because Delta misspelled one of my sons' names on our tickets. My husband tried to correct it as soon as we noticed it only to be told by Delta that it did not matter. We did not have any problems, but you can be sure that I will be spelling and re-spelling and asking people to repeat spellings back to me before I buy any tickets over the phone in the future. (Usually I buy them online and so at least the names are spelled correctly.)

Is this more of an issue when it involves a nickname/shortened version of a given name?

As I've said, my tickets (and those of my sons) always have our middle names on them because those are the names we use daily. No nicknames (we use the full names normally). And we have never had a problem.

It's to do with shortened versions of names / use of nicknames, middle names instead of first name, incomplete or mispelt names and international travel. It can be caused by people not realizing when they complete an online profile that the name entered is the that ends up on an eticket.

Also there is an assumption that if you depart from a country with incorrect names you can also arrive and get out of the arrival country without a problem. It is a matter of chance whether the errors are noticed or not, hence the different experiences.

In my case, we had to change from going by middle &amp; last name to first middle and last name for any US trips, since middle and last would not be accepted from travel from the UK to US.

I just don't know. We have never had a problem and have never even been questioned. Occasionally the passport control people will call my sons by their first names, but they are used to that and respond accordingly.

I have more concerns about my kids' passport photos no longer &quot;resembling&quot; them due to puberty changes!!! My younger son is still okay, but my older son looks like a different person! Our 7 years overseas adventure (and endless travel) is complete now, but I will work on getting a new passport for him sometime soon (even tho he still has 2 years on it).

Unfortunately, we're dealing with human unpredictability here. My friend has traveled for years with the name on her passport being a lengthier version of the name on her tickets, and it was never an issue before. So I don't doubt that many of us have traveled successfully with a ticket showing our middle names, but I wouldn't count on it always working.

I have had a similar issue with names. I have always used a shortened version of my first name for everything. All my credit cards, bank accounts, frequent flyer accounts, etc. use this shortened name. I always purchased tickets using this name. The only 2 things that have my &quot;real&quot; name were my driver's license and passport. All was fine with travel - all I had to do was give a quick explanation of the name mis-match - until 9/11. With heightend security, I increasingly ran into trouble with getting through security. I have often been pulled for &quot;special screening&quot;. The last time, I almost didn't make it on the plane. It was after this that I made the somewhat drastic decision to legally change my name to the shorter version (that everyone knew me by anyway) and was then able to change my license and passport so now everything &quot;matches&quot;. I know this is a step that most people might not want to do, but it worked for me. And, to the OP - I'd pay the change fee...not worth missing the flight and I know this can happen!
Good luck!

Hyphenating my last name when I got married was the stupidest thing I ever did. What a PITA with everything from airline travel to buying a house. Wish i never did it.

My husband had no problem with the mis-matched passport and tickets, perhaps because both his given names were on both documents--just not in the same order.