Name on Airline Ticket
 

My husband and I will be traveling to Europe in October. We received our plane tickets in the mail yesterday and our last name is spelled incorrectly. Should be CRAMER and appears on the ticket as CHAMER. We called the airline and they said they would put a note in the computer and that everything would be fine. How important is it that the name on the ticket match the name on the passport?

I have done the same thing myself on several occasions...I would not worry bout it...

Where in the world did you buy the ticket from????? You may have problems through customs, it's not the problem with the airlines, it is going through the country's customs area. I am a former ticket agent. Experience speaks. <BR>WHO did youo buy the ticket from????

It is the responsibility of the agent to verfiy names with the client in order to avoid things like this. I certainly hope you will not go back to that agent. It is very important that the name on the ticket match the one on the passport. Without the "H", you are a completely different person. It's not like having one too many "s"'s in "anderson".

More than likely she booked on an online site. When people become their own travel agents..look out! And by the airline stating that would be not problem is wrong too! May not be a problem for them but good luck going through customs!

I had a similar problem and in Italy on the way back we had some difficult time to explain these were our tickets. And yes, they assured us we will not have a problem. Go back to your travel agent and ask her/him to correct a mistake that she/he made even if it means additional cost. Plaese do not pay. It is not your fault and you shouldn't pay for it but get new tickets. Have a great trip

Thanks for all the responses. I booked the tickets over the phone directly with the airline. They had even read back the spelling and it was correct. I contacted the airline again and they said to send back the tickets and they will reissue them with the spelling of the last name corrected.

Glad you got them changed. My wife and I just got back from Paris and ran into some trouble as a result of her name not matching her passport (we just got married last year). Fortunately i had the last minute sense to pack our wedding license. In essence, they are checking every little detail. Have a beautiful trip.

Hi, just wondering if anyone has had a problem with middle names on airline tickets. My boyfriend's passport has A. as his middle name, but the ticket says Andrew ( which is his middle name, it just doesnt appear in his passport). His first and last names are ok. Do you think this would be a problem? Thanks

As long as the first and last names match, it should be fine. I have my full middle name listed on my passport but have never had an airline ticket issued with my middle name on it, just first and last. I haven't had it questioned so far.

Hello everyone.

I have a question about this aswell. I just realized that I booked the trip with the short form of my name *Barb* and my passport reads *Barbara*, I hope this isn't going to be a problem anywhere. Any thoughts?

Barb

Call the airline directly and have them put a note in your record that your full name is Barbara so that it matches your passport. And remember when booking again, whether domestic or itinernational - always use your given name that appears on your license or passport used for ID.

Barb, you might have a problem. In 2002 I was booking a ticket to Italy for my dad. I told them his first name was Don. The lady asked me if the name on his passport was Don or Donald. I didn't know so I asked how important it was. She said it was absolutely imperative that the ticket should match the passport. It turned out it was Donald, so the ticket had to be booked that way.

I hope all it takes is a call to put a note into the system, but it's possible they will have to re-issue your ticket. I'm a little surprised the ticket agent didn't ask you if Barb was your legal name, and this might be a good arguement for waiving any re-issue fees. Good luck, and please post back and let us know how it goes.

Well I don't know what to think. I contacted my travel agent and she said that I shouldn't be concerned about it at all. Maybe I should phone the airline direct. I guess I could just trust her opinion....ahh geez. It is a direct flight from Canada to the Dominican Republic on a Charter. Maybe I could get my travel agent to add a letter to the tickets. I will have to think about this, my TA has been doing this for 20 years but I wish she would have mentioned it, although it's not solely her fault. I guess I have just been Barb for so long I forgot about Barbara...lol. Hope she is well...lol. Ok, I am not gonna panic, I will trust her opinion and let it ride.

Barb

Barb, PLEASE call the airline!! I would never trust someone else's opinion on something so important, and most TA's that I have dealt with are not as knowledgeable as an experienced traveler. It will only take a few minutes from your day, and you will get accurate info straight from the source.

I have a similar problem....which I wasn't concerned about...until reading this thread.

I booked FF tickets to Italy and they were reserved under the name on her FF account, Marje. Her passport says Marjorie.

The airline said that they can't resissue the ticket because it would mean canelling her FF ticket first and the gettign a new FF ticket...but there isn't another award ticket available.

Since her passport is up for renewal, she is going to try to get her passport resissued in the same shortened name.

On flyertalk one poster reports being able to correct problems with the name by visiting the ticket counter at the airport, showing them the ticket and ID, and asking them to fix the problem. I wouldn't wait to the last minute to try this.

Dick, did the airline say it was imperative that the name on the ticket should match her passport? What will happen if there is no match? Will she be denied boarding?

Barb, no disrespect intended, but why did you ask the advice of this board if you're just going to LOL and ignore what we recommended? Travel agents will have us believe they know everything about travel, but that has not been my experience. I would hate for you to have problems using your ticket because of an error like this.

I think the suggestion to see an airline rep face to face is a good one. As someone who worked in customer service for many years, I learned that it's a lot harder to tell someone &quot;no&quot; in person than over the phone. Good luck to both Dick and Barb.

P M,

It gets more complicated. I'm using USAir FF miles for reward travel on United and then on Lufthansa and BMI in Europe. So, first, I have to hope that the tix wil be honored.

The airline said they had to match. They said that travel on United won't be the problem. The potential problem will be in Europe. I was told of the possibility that the foreign airlines may deny boarding if the ticket and passport aren't an EXACT match.

Our best bet is the chance that we can get a passport issued in the name that matches.

Barb....You need to go back to the Travel Agent.The charter airline will most likely NOT have a rep at your local airport until day of departure.IMHO, you need more assurance than &quot;shouldn't have any problems&quot;.Get some specifics from the TA..could she change your name for a nominal fee.And if she can, I would ask her to pay the fee!! Any travel agent worth their salt KNOWS that names, tickets, passports, ID's must must must match.And, if she has been doing this for 20 odd years,I will eat my cap if she has never booked a &quot;Barb&quot; or &quot;Barbara&quot; before.Best of luck!

I am not ignoring anyone's advice here and I resent you saying I am laughing at anyone. I was not. Since this I have called the tour company, they told me to call my TA, which I did. I called the airline and they told me to call my TA, which I did. She told me to rest assured I will have no problems. So the only place to go from here is insist she changes it. Which I may yet do. Thanks anyways. Again I was not laughing at anyone. I think posting here was a mistake. Sorry to inconvenience anyone if I did.
Barb

Barb, I'm sorry if I upset you, that wasn't the intention. The end of your last post was read, &quot;lol. Ok, I am not gonna panic, I will trust her opinion and let it ride.&quot; It sounded to me like you weren't very concerned and didn't see this as possible hinderance to travel. Unfortunately, in today's world of heightened security most people at the airport are very nit-picky about such things. An incorrect name on your ticket can cause you considerable trouble on an international trip. I would hate to hear that you were denied boarding because of this, and I hope it will be resolved soon. Enjoy your trip, and I hope you will continue posting on this forum.

It's time for everyone to be sure that the name on their Frequent Flyer account/s, match that on their Passports (which indicate your given name [not nickname] taken from a birth or baptismal certificate or the like), and always provide your given name for airline tickets regardless if travel is domestic or international. And once your receive your ticket (if paper) check that all spelling, flight numbers, from/to is correct. If an E-Ticket call and reverify that all pertinent info, as above, is correct under your locator number.

Except for my mother who calls me Sandra, I'd never answer to anything but Sandi... 'cept for airline tickets and other official documents, I've learned to acknowledge my given name.

On rereading this, I note that Barb's or Barbara's is not a flight to or from or within the US, so perhaps the travel agent is correct.

All of these name/picture-id requirements devolve from US government mandates, and very well may not apply to flights which are not within US jurisdiction.

I think it was addressed earlier. I have my ID that has my name with middle initial also no hyphen on my last name just goy my Passport no middle initial and a hyphen in my last name. Do I need to worry. For what I got from reading above no. But just checking

The answer to &quot;will I be OK at the airport&quot; is &quot;maybe, maybe not&quot;. It depends very much on who you get at the counter and the security line. I have never heard of anyone actually being denied boarding over a name mis-match, but you are quite likely to get more hassle. I am always amazed how many people- even when asked what their LEGAL name on their ID is- will insist that they only go by a nickname... As far as the passport reflecting a nickname- a passport should have your LEGAL name, same as your birth certificate. I suppose you could change your legal name if you don't ever want to use it :)