Cathay Pacific- Name on airline ticket is wrong
 

Name should be listed like Smith, John Doe but they switched the first name w/ the middle name. So it is Smith, Doe John. Travel agency says they can't change it and it won't be a problem. We are flying on Cathay Pacific. Has anyone had to do a name change/correction before? We called Cathay Pacific and they said it would be fine as long as the passport has both the first and middle name on there. I'm still a bit worried since we are going overseas. I plan to go to one of the Cathay Pacific offices. Just wondering if others have gone through this before and if it's possible to correct it. Thanks!

I know when we were at London's Gatwick airport my husband had a problem with his ticket and passport not "matching." He had routinely booked air tickets under "Joe" not "Joseph" and passport was "Joseph." Immigration said they normally could charge us up to 100 GBP to "fix" this but did it for free. Since then, he has changed his air tickets to just "J. Lastname." So I don't know if you will have a problem but I'd certainly check it out before going to the airport.

I wouldn;t risk this. simply tell the travel ageny it is their error and they MUST fix it. Any cost is their problem (assuming you gave the the correct info).

Unless they are going to be standing by your side fixing it if you have trouble getting on the plane - at either end - they need to fix this now.

Is it possible to send an e-mail to the airline customer service? I would like to have something in writing in this case.

Called airline about name change. They said only the travel agency could do it. They said it was noted in their computer and I will definitely have not problems with Cathay Pacific. No airline won't give confirmation since it wasn't a name change. It was just noted in their computer.

Tried talking to the travel agent. She keeps telling me that there's no problems with the name. As long as Cathay Pacific knows. We had a shouting match about it. =(

According to the Cathay Pacific Reps that I spoke to (3 of them), they all said that I should be fine going through immagration and customs as long as my passport has both the first middle and last name on there. Even if the order is off a bit. They said it's not like I'm missing a name or letters in my name.

Travel Agent is definitely no help. =(

BTW, I'm going to HK. I'm not sure how strict they are.

On a recent trip one of our group had his last name mispelled on his ticket. I called the travel agent who said he would call American Airlines and let them know. Even though the spelling did not match his drivers license and passport, he had no problem.

I just have one question. Are you saying you bought these tickets through a travel agency and they are no help getting the problem fixed? I sure hope you never use them again. I thought that was the main advantage of using a travel agent -- to fix problems.

There's no such thing as "can't change it"! Get hold of the MD of the Travel Agency & insist that it be changed immediately. It's their error - and responsibility to have it correct. Yes, it may be a nuisance for them to have to re-issue the ticket. Bad luck, they should have done it correctly in the first place. That's why they're paid a commission.

Tell the T/A if they quibble you will report them to whatever the governing body for Travel Agents is in your country. And do it if they do quibble.

Sorry if I sound pedantic, but have had this nonsense myself with a lazy clerk and had all sorts of problems because the name on the ticket wasn't identical with a passport.

You might be lucky and the check-in clerk might not notice, or care, but do you really want to risk the hassle?

Amen, Bokhara!!!

Here's the Cathay Pacific policy on name changes:

**** Name change policy **** It is strongly recommended that passenger name in the PNRmatch the name shown in passengers travel document at the time the PNR was first created.
Change of PAX initials/given name by subscriber may be allowed subject to the flight situation.
For surname/lastname change request, please refer below procedure..

CRS Surname Change Procedures
1. Agents should ask for the name change authorization from CX reservation office by SSR oths element.
2. CX office authorize/ reject by SSR oths elements.
3. Upon authorization, agents to proceed for the name change
4. All name change without authorization will be rejected when TTY Q handled by TTY handling Centre.

Hope this helps... you need to go back to your TA. If they refuse to help, I have contacts at Cathay you can try.

My friend books everything under "Dave", but all his id has "David". He's never had a problem with this.

Patrick: Thanks ... I'm a firm believer of the "99% sweetheart, 1% (&^%*), interchangeable without notice under provocation" rule ! (LOL)
What's that saying "Speak softly, carry a big stick" .. Rarely have to use it - but won't abide rotten/ stupid service.

Sounds like a totally useless, lazy TA. Another reason they are going the way of dinosaurs and travelers checks.

Go to the TA office and stand in front of the manager's desk until the ticket is re-issued. . . . . . .

forget travel agents. next time, just book yourself. now, i work for an airline, and i've heard of problems when just one letter is wrong. better to be safe than sorry. the thing is, no matter how much cathay says it should be o.k, it's up to the check in agent (often, not employees of the airline) and security if they want to accept it. that said, i've also heard alot of things slide. again, better be safe than sorry. good luck.

Purchased the ticket from a Chinese Travel Agency so there are no higher-ups. She's not willing to help. I had a long conversation with her and all she could do is raiser her voice at me and tell me there's no problem. Name is the same. I do this all the time. This and that. Pretty much at the end of the conversation, she was yelling at me.

Cathay airlines said that it's fine since all the names are spelled right and it's just reversed.

Thought about buying a new ticket but I paid $1000 for this one already. It shouldn't be so much stress to go on vacation. =(

If it were me, I'd report the TA and the TA company to the Travel Association body (assuming they are members) and to the Regulator in your country. In writing. And give a copy to the Agent.

As the person you're dealing with seems incapable of having a rational discussion, it may be worthwhile putting your requirement in writing, with a copy of the posting on here regarding the Cathay procedure. Attach a copy of your letter to the TA Association & Regulator & advise her that unless you have the altered ticket in your hands in 24 hours, these complaints will be sent.

It's TA's like this one who give all the good, hard-working, helpful Travel Agents a bad name, and they don't deserve it.

Sorry - should have said "re-issued" ticket. Last thing you need is one with her scratched out alterations on it!

Bokhara...

Travel agents no longer get commissions.

Going Places: Thanks, I stand corrected. As a matter of interest, how are they now remunerated? Cheers

Bokhara...They charge ticketing fees.My TA charges $30 per ticket.They do make commissions.Depending if they are a part of a large consortium---ABC, Carlson, etc etc they may have negotiated commissions to certain routings/destinations.They also usually get "override commissions".So an airline will set a revenue gola for them.If that goal is surpassed then they get a commission from the first dollar.But all of that is negotiated between the agency and the airline and every contract is different.They also get commissions on packages, like vacation packages with air/hotel/etc.I was talking to my TA last night and he had booked a family of 6 to the Caribbean over New Years for just under $19K and the agency will earn $2.5K commission.So it is not totally correct to say they do not earn commissions.I havent heard of any who do not charge fees.Hope this helps.

What BeachBoi says is particularly true for Asian fares - and this is a thread about CX. All airlines flying Pacific routes, including UA and NW, still sell a lot of tickets via a few large wholesalers. And travel agents specializing in Asian travel (mostly Asian-owned/run ones) can get fares from these wholesalers.

Sometimes you can get the same fare on united.com, for example, and sometimes not. And when you call up one of these agents, they'll simply tell you the total cost they'll charge you. One agent in Chinatown may quote you a few dollars more than a 2nd one. And some may be even willing to lose a few dollars if they want to get the rebate for matching specific goals that BeachBoi mentioned.

So, it's still a complex matter, and travel agents can still make money selling air tickets to Asia. However, the margin is very slim and it's nothing like the days before internet. Many of them now try to concentrate on hotel/air packages or escorted tours - with much higher margin.

Thanks BeachBoi & rkkwan. I guess there are differences in remuneration forms from country to country.

The point I was making was that, as the TA was assumedly being paid for making the booking, they ought do it properly, and promptly remedy any errors they make. After all, we all make mistakes; the difference is what we do about it. And how we go about it. (I'm going to be a bolshy old bird in my dotage .... come to think of it, what do I mean "going to be"?!) LOL :)

While this does not help, I find it interesting that it was a Chinese agency, since names in Chinese are often in different order than names in English, with last names first. That could explain the "difference of opinion" between you and travel agent.

How long does it normally take to reissue a ticket because of a name correction?

I went back to the Travel Agent and talked to them. They finally agreed to do the name change for a $25 Travel Agent fee. They gave me a receipt (says ticket reissue or revised on it) They said they are not sure how long it'll take but it'll take longer than a normal ticket would. They said they'd have to wait for a waiver from Cathay Pacific. What does this mean? Anyone know how long it should take? It's been 4 business days already. I will call the travel agency on Friday to see what's up. Just wondering if anyone can explain to me how reissuing the ticket works. She says it's the same flight and everything. The only thing that's being changed is the name.

TTT as this is incredibly absurd!!

The TA has the nerve to charge you $25 to fix their mistake. Absolutely incredible!! I assume, once you've taken this trip, you don't plan on ever using this TA again. . . . .

The original posting was 2005, but I guess the problem still exists. I did an on-line booking for myself and my wife, so no TA. When I contacted CX to use some frequent flier miles they pointed out that my wife's name had been entered in backwards. I contacted CX customer service and said it would cost me a $100 re-booking fee. I pointed out that my name was correct and her AsiaMiles number and name in the correct order was on the booking, but the only thing they would do for free is notify New York, Hong Kong and Bangkok that the name was backward, but did not guarantee I wouldn't have a problem. The crazy thing is when I go to the "Manage my Booking" on the CX web site, half the time her name is correct and mine is reversed, so they obviously don't have any consistency as to the order that the name is shown.

Hi!

Just wanted to check, I have a similar case but on my passenger name there is a missing letter on my middle name. The travel agency says that there is a limit in their system. Would I face an issue of not boarding the flight because of missing letter.

Beware of TRIPAIR.com, this is the site. They are charging me 86euro for name change, which I don't get since how can they make the change if the system does not allow or exceeds the number of characters.

Thanks in advance to those who will answer my question.