Wrong Spelling on Last Name

It is going to be a dice roll. No one can say for sure what will or will not happen. I know minor misspelling of first names has not been an issue. It is not a minor error since last names are critical when the airline and TSA are supposedly running your name against a no-fly list so a misspelling could be significant. If you get caught you might trying playing dumb and being equally surprised. Good luck.

Just to clarify, who caused the misspelling? If it was all done online (I assume by the parents?), why would it be the third party site's fault? They're not the ones entering the information or verifying the accuracy of the input. It's up to the passenger to check the ticket right away for any errors. This would be true even if the ticket was booked right on the airline's own site (neither the airline nor the third party would bear responsibility, nor would they allow you to make the change without reissuing the ticket). I don't know if third parties abide by the 24-hour free cancellation rule, but at, any rate, this is a moot point since the error wasn't caught for 4 months. I would definitely not assume that this is a minor issue since the ticket needs to match the passport spelling. Good luck finding a good solution to this, if possible.

Some posters like to use any excuse to rip on third party vendors. The vendor certainly did nothing wrong so why rant on them? If you had booked directly with the airline the results would be the same. If the airline wanted to change the name for free they could but it is just another way to increase revenue.

The only wrong thing the booking site vendor did was offer false hope (with no evidence). The articles used to back up the rant point to the culprits in each case...that being the person who did the booking and made an error, not the third party site. Sounds like an ad hominem fallacy.

It's not who made the error, it's the willingness, or perhaps ability, of the third-party to correct an error without having to cancel and re-book. Or, would the answer be the same if one bought a ticket directly from the airline? Who knows? Who has had experience with this?

I do know that the consumer advocate websites are filled with cases exactly like this: third-party vendor, mistake, costly correction. The answer they get is always the same.

I agree that this is a roll of the dice. It's really bad situation and I empathize with you. We had this happen once when my wife's last name was slightly misspelled on the ticket. We had booked directly with United, changed in Frankfurt with no issues. I don't think booking through a third party site makes it any more likely you will have a problem, but of course our experience is no guarantee that you won't. I tend to think Frankfurt would be one of the stricter airports though. Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do, and how it turns out.

I booked two tickets with Air New Zealand on line directly with them during a black Friday sale and made an error in my own name. I called right back and had to void the transaction and do it again. The representative on the phone said the names have to match up with the passport. She was really insistent that the misspelling would be an issue. Good news was it was caught right after booking it. Lesson learned to not get distracted when doing this and double check my work.

Sorry to hear about this situation.

I sometimes book flights for my friends when we are traveling together. I make it a point to email the travel confirmation to them to double check names dates etc. I do that to avoid issues just like this one.

OP I hope it all works out for you.

I don't think anyone (airline or third party) can just change a field in the ticket (whether it's name, flight date, or some other variable) without reissuing the entire ticket at today's price. I think this is by design so that, for security's and safety's sake, exact spelling of names is taken very seriously. Each ticket with unique spelling is treated as a unique ticket for a specific person, so they really can't mess with it. The one sure protection a ticket bought direct from the airline has is only within 24 hours of purchase, when it can be cancelled and changes made to it with no penalties. That's why it's really important to check everything within that 24-hour window.

The issue is likely to be at the start of the trip. TSA will go over your documents with a fine-toothed comb. Once overseas, it is not as likely to be a problem, in my experience. So it is indeed a roll of the dice.

Of course there will be a seat available on your flight, the one your husband cancels! Yes, it will cost more but that's what happens when mistakes are made. Personally, I wouldn't chance it.

It was a problem with my wife's, whose long hyphenated last name got shortened. But only with the American TSA. Don't chance it.

Frankly, I wouldn't risk finding out at the last minute you would not be allowed to board. Does it really matter who made the mistake?

I would call the airline again and escalate until you can find someone who will change the name -- it's not as if you are going from James to Smith; it's one letter of a commonly misspelled word!

And even if the purchaser spelled out the name over the phone ... the letter "a" (pronounced "eh" here) could be understood as the letter "e" (pronounced "eh" -- letter "a" is pronounced "ah") (And letter "e" pronounced "ee" here could be understood as letter "i")

I once mistyped my OWN first name on a train ticket, but luckily SNCF accepted "Luara"

FYI, train tickets and passes are a different issue, with no TSA pre-flight approval. A couple of letters wrong don't matter for rail travel, even when the product is personal and nontransferable. (Many train tickets are transferable and don't use names at all.)

When I made a mistake booking for a friend who was traveling with me to Europe I was able to make the name change just by paying the $200 change fee. The change was to add her first name to the ticket so the name matched her passport. (I had booked it using her middle name only since that was the name I knew her by). Subsequently, I have always obtained detailed passport name, date of birth, etc. when booking for others.

They did reissue the ticket and there was no additional cost beyond the $200. Perhaps this might be a solution if the airline is willing to use this approach. My experience was with American Airlines.

They did reissue the ticket and there was no additional cost beyond the $200. Perhaps this might be a solution if the airline is willing to use this approach.

The only problem is that the prices have changed over 4 months, so it's a matter of a change fee plus the difference in fare. If the mistake was caught early enough, then the change fee idea would work.

If your parents do not know that they spelled your husband's name wrong, tell them that the ticket vendor changed the spelling. Don't tell your parents how no good they are for doing this, if you are traveling with them.

Can you cancel your whole trip, and rebook another trip farther into the future? Should you complain to your parents about what they did and try to make them pay the extra $1,200 to fix their mistake? Why can't you just use a pen to cross out the name on the tickets and write in Gray instead of Grey? Because the wrong spelling is in the airline's computer system? Why can't you just pay a fee to the airline so they will give you new tickets with the right spelling?

So sorry you're dealing with this. We've had similar experiences with my husband, who has a III (third) after his name. Some airlines (looking at you, Delta), truncated the whole name which meant it didn't match his passport. Fortunately, we never missed a flight but it was a pain. Some frequent flyer programs won't let you use points unless your name matches your passport. We've spent the past year or so getting everything--credit cards, frequent flyer numbers, IDs, everything in our full names with no discrepancies. Good luck.

I am sorry that this happened to you. However the name on the passport has to match the name on the ticket. I bought a ticket through a travel agent and before she completed the transaction, she sent everything to me to review. I had to respond via email that everything was correct so if anything was not correct it is on me.

Unfortunately, you are going to have to have your husband's ticket reissued in his correct name. Boy is anyone else old enough to remember when you could call the airline and transfer the ticket to another person? Meet people at the gate.

For what it's worth, I just did my online check-in for a flight on Emirates, and they gave me a chance to review and change the spelling of my name (no charge). I don't remember seeing such an option with other airlines I've used, but hope it will be the way of the future.

I sure hope TSA notices when they check the ticket against the passport that the name is different. If not, it makes for a really scary scenario of ineffective security

Have you contacted TSA to see if there is a solution they will accept?

I would think the best solution would be to make the correction directly with the airline and pay the change fee and fare difference. This way you all fly together. If the airline will not do that because of the way you bought the ticket
then the choice is your husband buys a new ticket on whatever airline has the best fare and meets you there.

Going to the airport and hoping the difference goes unnoticed is the absolutely worst idea.

Here is another article on a misspelling and just how much of a hassle it takes to correct it! I doubt you will find that many agents willing to help.

http://seniornomads.com/blog-feed/2016/01/mexico-to-letter.html?rq=alaska%20airlines

I always triple check my name spelling and will ask my wife to double check too. "Operator error by the consumer" in booking airline tickets is real pain after the 24 hour window closes.

Ed

Care to share how you resolved this?

It might help some other person in your unfortunate situation

I stupidly booked tickets to London, using frequent flyer miles on United, with my daughter's maiden name – even though she's been married for three years. It took several months for me to realize the problem. Fortunately I was able to call United and they made the correction for me without charging anything.

Good luck getting this all worked out, and have a great trip in spite of the challenges!