Name on plane ticket vs name on passport
Jan 3rd, 2018, 03:23 PM
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Name on plane ticket vs name on passport
We made the mistake of letting Chrome autofill fill in the fields when booking a plane ticket online this past year. Instead of putting in "Robert", autofill put in "Rob" - the name DH usually goes by. Because it didn't match up with his passport name, they wouldn't let us board our flight until we corrected it. It took an hour to rectify it, but thankfully, we got to the airport early. The agent actually said, "Do you see why we tell people to get to the airport early? You just never know what problem you might encounter."
In booking our tickets for Europe on Air France this past week, I'd noticed that DH's two second names had no space on the ticket confirmation, as in "Robert DavidJohn Smith" (he has two middle names). I called the airline just in case this was a mistake and would cause a problem when checking in, but the agent said they will sometimes truncate names this way for lack of space.
There was another time when my name was truncated on the ticket in such a way that it looked erroneous. The agents at the desk were initially hesitant to let me board my flight but finally did after seeing that the extra letter tacked on was part of my middle name.
Thought I would share this as a reminder to ensure the name on your plane ticket indeed matches the one on your passport in a way that won't cause you any delays.
Boots
In booking our tickets for Europe on Air France this past week, I'd noticed that DH's two second names had no space on the ticket confirmation, as in "Robert DavidJohn Smith" (he has two middle names). I called the airline just in case this was a mistake and would cause a problem when checking in, but the agent said they will sometimes truncate names this way for lack of space.
There was another time when my name was truncated on the ticket in such a way that it looked erroneous. The agents at the desk were initially hesitant to let me board my flight but finally did after seeing that the extra letter tacked on was part of my middle name.
Thought I would share this as a reminder to ensure the name on your plane ticket indeed matches the one on your passport in a way that won't cause you any delays.
Boots
Jan 4th, 2018, 12:47 AM
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Middle name is not required on air tickets. Airline systems often remove spaces in names due to space restrictions in that field. The OPs advice should be to be careful when typing in the name, make sure that you look at what you are typing or what’s being auto filled before submitting so you don’t end up with letters from a middle name being tacked onto a last name for instance or a general mess as the first example.
Jan 4th, 2018, 09:58 AM
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>> Middle name is not required on air tickets.
When we booked our tickets on Air France, the ticketing agent asked for all of our middle names, and prudently went over the correct spelling with us.
When we booked our tickets on Air France, the ticketing agent asked for all of our middle names, and prudently went over the correct spelling with us.
Jan 5th, 2018, 02:53 AM
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Online forms can be tricky, even if you are very alert. Hubby's passport has an upper case first initial, for a name he does not normally use, then his middle name and of course surname. Sometimes it is not possible to fill it in that way and the space and upper case on middle name are eliminated. I recently got notification when doing online check in that the name did not match the passport, even though they were identical on the computer screen. I phoned the airline and was on hold for 45 minutes before being assured boarding would not be a problem.
I think things are regulated more tightly now. He was advised when he renewed his passport that he should use his full name as it is on his birth certificate but as we already had airline tickets in the ‘initial’ name he opted not to. It may cause problems yet.
On a recent trip to East Africa the visa application for Kenyan required the name on the birth certificate, the Tanzania one required it to be exactly as on the passport (or maybe the other way around).
Of course to make things simple and worry free we should all have our passports and all other i.d. using our names as per birth certificate, or as registered at marriage. But in fact a very large proportion of the population uses names that differ from what they were given at birth (myself included) .
I think things are regulated more tightly now. He was advised when he renewed his passport that he should use his full name as it is on his birth certificate but as we already had airline tickets in the ‘initial’ name he opted not to. It may cause problems yet.
On a recent trip to East Africa the visa application for Kenyan required the name on the birth certificate, the Tanzania one required it to be exactly as on the passport (or maybe the other way around).
Of course to make things simple and worry free we should all have our passports and all other i.d. using our names as per birth certificate, or as registered at marriage. But in fact a very large proportion of the population uses names that differ from what they were given at birth (myself included) .
Jan 5th, 2018, 07:38 AM
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I always worry about our last name, which has a capital, an apostrophe, and another capital. Like O'Reilly 
Some systems, even in the 21st century, lol, don't accept the apostrophe and return an "invalid character" error, so one is forced to run the letters together, like OReilly, and sometimes the system automatically changes that to Oreilly. Which is really not like what's on the passport!
No problems yet after 25 years of travel with this name, more for my SO, but I always worry.
Some systems, even in the 21st century, lol, don't accept the apostrophe and return an "invalid character" error, so one is forced to run the letters together, like OReilly, and sometimes the system automatically changes that to Oreilly. Which is really not like what's on the passport!No problems yet after 25 years of travel with this name, more for my SO, but I always worry.
Jan 5th, 2018, 07:46 AM
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"...we should all have our passports and all other i.d. using our names as per birth certificate, or as registered at marriage."
I think that's a bit of a simplification. I don't believe there are "shoulds" in this case. People are free, at least in the US, IME, to use the names we're known by as long as we're consistent in their use. The name on my passport and on everything else is neither the one on my birth certificate nor, strictly speaking, other official designations. I got fed up keeping it all straight and chose 1 first name and 1 last name and no one questioned it, including the passport office when I renewed. It's made my life easier never having to remember just what my name is for which purpose. I recommend the practice for those not overly attached to more names than 2.
I think that's a bit of a simplification. I don't believe there are "shoulds" in this case. People are free, at least in the US, IME, to use the names we're known by as long as we're consistent in their use. The name on my passport and on everything else is neither the one on my birth certificate nor, strictly speaking, other official designations. I got fed up keeping it all straight and chose 1 first name and 1 last name and no one questioned it, including the passport office when I renewed. It's made my life easier never having to remember just what my name is for which purpose. I recommend the practice for those not overly attached to more names than 2.
Jan 5th, 2018, 10:27 AM
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MmePerdu, here in Canada we too are free to use what ever name we choose as long as we don’t do it for fraudulent purposes. I didn’t mean to suggest we should stop doing that, only that it would easier and less hassle if we stuck to our registered names. But as NewbE points out, even that has its drawbacks.
My ‘passport name’ excludes the first name I was given at birth, but there is a note in my file noting this. I was once asked at US border control if I had ever used a different name, and when I apply for an Australian ETA if always takes 24hrs to be approved although hubby’s goes through immediately. Other than that it cases no difficulty. For quite a few years I used a middle name that I chose and still use that initial in my signature but otherwise have dropped that. Both my given name and my married surname are very common however so sometimes I get confused with others with the same name.
My ‘passport name’ excludes the first name I was given at birth, but there is a note in my file noting this. I was once asked at US border control if I had ever used a different name, and when I apply for an Australian ETA if always takes 24hrs to be approved although hubby’s goes through immediately. Other than that it cases no difficulty. For quite a few years I used a middle name that I chose and still use that initial in my signature but otherwise have dropped that. Both my given name and my married surname are very common however so sometimes I get confused with others with the same name.
Jan 5th, 2018, 11:32 AM
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I panicked a while ago booking my son a ticket with Easyjet. I didn't put his middle name or initial down...I then managed to find an info section that said middle names were not required...phew...
I've just booked myself on easy jet and didn't put my middle name info down. I do vaguely remember being chided for something to do with a middle name but it's so long ago I can't remember now what it was.
I've just booked myself on easy jet and didn't put my middle name info down. I do vaguely remember being chided for something to do with a middle name but it's so long ago I can't remember now what it was.
Jan 5th, 2018, 11:45 AM
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I suspect that agents--humans, I mean--ask for middle names when they are not actually required. I further suspect that you could tell them to kip the middle name and that would be fine.
My middle initial is the same as the first letter of my last name, which looks so dumb and is the main reason I avoid using it.
My middle initial is the same as the first letter of my last name, which looks so dumb and is the main reason I avoid using it.
Feb 7th, 2018, 11:32 AM
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MMePerdu--you came across a kinder passport office than my uncle did. In 2005, we did a big family trip to see my brother.
My uncle hadn't flown in a long time so he needed a passport. He had his birth certificate, driver's license and other proofs. All of his ID except the birth certificate showed that he went as "Robert Brian Smith." This also included his Social Security account, for example. But his birth certificate named him as"Brian Robert Smith."
The passport person at the post office insisted that his passport MUST be Brian Robert --AND that my uncle MUST go change all of his other ID to match before he would submit it to the State Department. Well, my uncle was an innocent and basically did what this guy demanded. I was furious but it was over half done by the time I was informed. The hardest part was informing Social Security and his benefits were threatened to be held up.
My uncle's airline ticket had already been bought. A friend who was then still a travel agent made our reservations. She charged us so very little for her services. But yes, she did the tricky thing of getting a name change on a ticket. Which apparently got much harder after 9-11.
My uncle hadn't flown in a long time so he needed a passport. He had his birth certificate, driver's license and other proofs. All of his ID except the birth certificate showed that he went as "Robert Brian Smith." This also included his Social Security account, for example. But his birth certificate named him as"Brian Robert Smith."
The passport person at the post office insisted that his passport MUST be Brian Robert --AND that my uncle MUST go change all of his other ID to match before he would submit it to the State Department. Well, my uncle was an innocent and basically did what this guy demanded. I was furious but it was over half done by the time I was informed. The hardest part was informing Social Security and his benefits were threatened to be held up.
My uncle's airline ticket had already been bought. A friend who was then still a travel agent made our reservations. She charged us so very little for her services. But yes, she did the tricky thing of getting a name change on a ticket. Which apparently got much harder after 9-11.
Feb 7th, 2018, 03:39 PM
#14
5alive, maybe they're harder on men than on woman, some of whom change their names regularly. I'd been using first-name + 1st-married-name + 2nd-married-name. I hadn't used my birth middle name or maiden name for a long time. So when it came time to renew my passport I just dropped my second married name, which left me with the name by which I was known personally & in business, my first name & 1st married name. Passport people didn't bat an eye (2003). Then I changed it on everything else and am left with the name I'd used longest and ever since. The only objection I got was at my very long-time bank where I'd used the new name for years before remarrying. I put my foot down, said "Just do it!" And she did.
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