Wrong name on plane ticket
 

I booked a flight to Maui last week through Funjet, and realized that I didn't put my husband's legal name (he has a hyphenated last name, but only goes by one name).

Turns out that to change his name (just adding the hyphenated second last name), they would have had to reissue the ticket and charge me processing fees,etc...which would have been about $400 (I didn't get the travel protection, should have!).

Anyway, turns out that the agent called United and they can just add a note called an OSI, which will mention that he has a hyphenated second name.

Have any of you experienced any problems with not having your middle names or hyphenated names on your ticket? I know there's a chance that we'll have problems at the check-in counter.

Middle names are "not required" for US citizens as long as their passport first and last names are correct, but I always see the immigration folks inspect the "middle names" for non citizens - most know that coming into the US and are pretty compulsive about their documents.
That said, his Driver's License or some other "government issued" picture ID with the non-hyphenated name should get him through.
M

He needs some sort of official ID - which has a name that matches that on the ticket.

My last name is hyphenated but my passport only has my maiden name. I always keep a copy of my marriage license in the back of my passport cover. I've never been asked to show this but better safe than sorry.

Make sure your husband has some official ID that matches the ticket.

I would call the airline back. You aren't asking for a new ticket, but merely correcting a mistake made on the ticket name. I wouldn't assume the agent you spoke with understands the issue or even their airlines policies. (I had one reservation agent who insisted that I couldn't change my son's seat assignment with his farecode, despite the fact that he was 2 years old and sitting 4 rows away by himself!. When in doubt, as for a supervisor.)

Say something to the effect that "it looks like part of my husbands legal name was left on when it was ticketed. Whay ID does he need to show." That should be correctable without needing a new ticket and a large fare. It's not like he's usually an entirely different name, merely on that doesn't include part of the name.

My wife has had this happen a few times and we've NEVER been told we needed a new ticket nor has she been denied boarding. Her legal name is Smith-Jones. Occassionally she's been ticketed as Jane Smith or Jane Jones.

Not the same situation but last year I was in Houston TX and lost my wallet. I had to come home on NWA without any id. We were told to arrive early for security search. We did and I was able to board with no problems, just took a little longer to check in at the ticket counter and the full baggage search. Make sure you arrive extra early too.

Until this year, I ticketed my flights using my nickname- Jane- b/c I had my Northwest FF account set up under Jane. I'm Korean-american so my legal name is Jung-Eun and that is the name on all of my IDs. Despite the discrepancy, I never had a problem getting on a flight. The most "hassle" I had was needing to show some document that had my nickname + last name which was easy enough to do (my corporate credit cards is under that name).

But most of the time, they just waved me through- very rarely did they ask me about the discrepancy in names. I have since changed my NWA account to reflect my legal name as a precaution for the future.

If your husband has a US passport or you have a joint passport bring it. It is the best way of identifiying who he is. But go to the airport now and present it to see if his present ticket will be accepted with the passport info. IMHO.

Thanks for the advice...he doesn't have any government ID with just his first last name, but he does have his credit card. We'll try to find some other ID.

I'll call United and see if this note has been added, and if there's anything else we can do. I work for the Canadian Consulate, so maybe I can get a notarized letter saying that he goes by both names,etc..

Hi Celine
I am a former travel agent and currently work as a travel coordinator. The agent you spoke to was right. The OSI field is an area where an agent can put notes about the reservation that anyone else from the airline who views the reservation can read what was written.

This is very common especially since 9/11. When you check in, and I do recommend that you check in, you can ask the ticketing agent if she can issue your boarding pass in the correct name. She can do this.

Do not under any circumstances do the online check in w/ UA. You must go to the counter and get the correct boarding pass and this will make clearing security MUCH easier.

I would also recommend that you call UA again and ask them to double check that the comments were put into the OSI field.

You will be fine, but the more documentation you have the better.
Relax and have a wonderful trip!

PS: Interesting story about OSI fields and what goes in them...One of the faculty where I work was late checking in (15 minutes before the flight!) and they refused to let her board. She became very upset, hollered and threw a fit. They wrote the whole incident down in the OSI field and forwarded it to our agency.

have a great trip! You will be fine.
J

I had this happen to me with a Southwest flight. It was no problem when I called and asked for a correction. They told me ahead of time to bring two forms of ID instead of one just to be on the safe side. I called a couple of days before the flight to confirm that the change had been made in their system and all was fine.

Just one note... the OSI field is visible only to airline employees and travel agents.
A note in the OSI field will NOT help you if you are questioned at the security check point or by customs.
My license has my maiden name and married name and all my other docs have my middle and married name.
I have only had one TSA agent question it and she was a little ignorant... really.
But as a travel professional I am very careful that all my reservation documents match my passport exactly.
Sure, you may never have a problem but you COULD if your passport says Jane Doe and your ticket says Jane Smith.
Even if you don't have a big problem you could be held up long enough to miss a flight or delay the check in process for everyone behind you!

Celine......Just a couple of additions....I'm assuming now that at least the hubster is a Canadian citizen.Going to Maui,proof of citizenship is required.POC and ticket must match exactly.However, most airlines are at least "forgiving" in the hyphenated name issue.OSI=Other Service Information is the tool whereby the airline, in this case United, can officially confirm that the POC and the traveller match.Most, if not all major airline computers cannot accept the hyphen in the hyphenated name.So if one goes by "Smith-Jones" as the last name,then it will appear in the airline reservation as "-SMITHJONES/RICHARD" or whatever.It is a bit odd that the character used to designate a passenger name in the computer is actually the hyphen itself! I have come across similar situations in my travels.Airline employees have explained that when the GDS systems began to evolve in the late 60's,use of hypehanted names by travellers was not common at all.There was no need for a provision of this sort in the realm of programming.Maybe those with hyphenated names just didnt fly!Who knows.Now as to charging for actually changing the name on the ticket,its up to the airline/tour operator (Funjet in this case) to assess a charge.Whoever issues the ticket--TA,tour company,etc--must follow the rules of the fare,which are mandated by the airlines.So if the rule of the fare requires a charge for reissuing the ticket, there you go.I hope this helps and best of luck!

Thank you so much! I feel much better. We'll make sure to have extra ID, check in in person and have them print the boarding passes correctly.

I'll also call United a few days before to make sure the note is there.