Name misspelled on air tickets--will this be a problem?

[niklynn1]

For the first time ever, I used a travel agent to book my cruise and airfare.
When I got my online confirmation, I noticed that my name had been spelled incorrectly by ONE letter (a "C" where there should have been a "K"). I immediately pointed it out to him, and was reassured that he had notified the airline of the error, and was told it would be "fine" and they would "make a note of it".

However, with all of the info I've been hearing about how particular airlines are being with your ticket matching your identification EXACTLY, I'm still a bit worried about showing up to board, and it being a problem.

What do you think? Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[sam_gordon]

You should be able to go online to the airline, look up the reservation via confirmation number, and confirm the name change has taken place.

ASSUMING it has, when you print boarding passes they should have the correct name. If it hasn't, keep checking with your TA about getting it changed. I'd keep hounding (depending on how far away the trip is).

 

[niklynn1]

You should be able to go online to the airline, look up the reservation via confirmation number, and confirm the name change has taken place.

ASSUMING it has, when you print boarding passes they should have the correct name. If it hasn't, keep checking with your TA about getting it changed. I'd keep hounding (depending on how far away the trip is).

My trip is next month, and my online reservation still has the misspell. The TA says they won't CHANGE it, they are just "noting" someplace that it was an error and therefore it won't be a problem when I try to board with the boarding pass not EXACTLY matching my ID. What do you think?

 

[DebbieB]

My trip is next month, and my online reservation still has the misspell. The TA says they won't CHANGE it, they are just "noting" someplace that it was an error and therefore it won't be a problem when I try to board with the boarding pass not EXACTLY matching my ID. What do you think?

You don't need ID to board, you need it to get through the security checkpoint. The security checkpoint will not have access to your airline reservation.

Did you get an e-mail confirming this? I would print a copy of that in case they question it at the checkpoint.

 

[ancestry]

I would not be okay with this. While the mentioned notation might be okay with the airline, it basically is useless as far as TSA goes and they are the ones that you have to deal with to get through the security lines.

You really need to get the spelling fixed, in my opinion. It is the TAs problem to fix this.

 

[linzbear]

I would not be okay with this. While the mentioned notation might be okay with the airline, it basically is useless as far as TSA goes and they are the ones that you have to deal with to get through the security lines.

You really need to get the spelling fixed, in my opinion. It is the TAs problem to fix this.

Yeah, that. You're automatically sent to secondary screening if it doesn't match.

 

[pintamino]

Worth noting: it is the passenger's responsibility to verify that the name is spelled right at the time of booking. Most airlines will allow you to cancel the ticket then immediately re-book it if you call within a couple hours (officially, 24 hours).

If your travel agent messed up, as your representative I think it would be on them to fix it -- which may mean canceling and re-booking tickets at a higher fare rate.

You CAN be stopped at security for this, you *could* be denied boarding, though more than likely you will just be sent on to secondary screening. And honestly, IMO the TSA will not give a crap about your plans or trip.

 

[niklynn1]

What is "secondary screening", and will it be a problem on EACH leg of my flight?

 

[DebbieB]

What is "secondary screening", and will it be a problem on EACH leg of my flight?

Wanding, patdown, manual luggage search. Unless they are doing random gate checks, you would not have to worry at a connecting point.

I would insist that the TA fix it, it was their mistake.

 

[Daddio]

Your travel agent should take responsiblity for your safe and comfortable travel. The documents you have do not match your ID and MAY cause a small problem with TSA. After all, the TSA agent is responsible for recognizing any differences in documents and many do their job well.

I'd give the travel agent another call. I've had airlines correct misspelled names days after the initial booking.

David

 

[niklynn1]

The travel agency made the correction to my name this morning! I'm very relieved. They were very nice and helpful about it. One less thing for me to worry about now.

 

[CPT Tripss]

You don't need ID to board, you need it to get through the security checkpoint. The security checkpoint will not have access to your airline reservation.

Did you get an e-mail confirming this? I would print a copy of that in case they question it at the checkpoint.

What is "secondary screening", and will it be a problem on EACH leg of my flight?

Wanding, patdown, manual luggage search. Unless they are doing random gate checks, you would not have to worry at a connecting point.

I would insist that the TA fix it, it was their mistake.

Glad OP now has it resolved. Just want to note that TSA will examine both a ticket and ID for a match. What happens from there . . . well it varies from no big deal, you say it's a typo - to secondary screening. As far a secondary goes, the new more manual body search has replaced the wands. Some airports require exiiting and reentering security to get from some gates to other gates (BOS for one).

 

[DemoBri1]

Given the fact that we just had a terrorism episode less than a month ago, I would say this is going to be a HUGE issue. As one of the other posters stated you will not need the ID for bording, but you will need it to get through TSA. The fact that the airlines are now requiring you to have birthdate, name as it appears on your valid id, and gender I'm thinking you are going to want your TA to take care of this. I'm not so sure an e-mail confirming that this is indeed a typo will be sufficient enough. I would not want to take the risk.

 

[CPT Tripss]

Given the fact that we just had a terrorism episode less than a month ago, I would say this is going to be a HUGE issue. As one of the other posters stated you will not need the ID for bording, but you will need it to get through TSA. The fact that the airlines are now requiring you to have birthdate, name as it appears on your valid id, and gender I'm thinking you are going to want your TA to take care of this. I'm not so sure an e-mail confirming that this is indeed a typo will be sufficient enough. I would not want to take the risk.

The recent terrorist attempts did not involve passengers let alone IDs. The ID requirement predats these events and is a TSA requirement, not an airline requirement. Despite these facts, I am afraidd you are correct in thinking that ID will become a huge issue. It's all part of the theater of security being played out by TSA.

 

[wdwstar]

OP was the misspelled name only on your airfare not your cruise? especially if you are cruising out of the country.

 

[niklynn1]

OP was the misspelled name only on your airfare not your cruise? especially if you are cruising out of the country.

Yes, it was misspelled only on my airfare.