So Confused---Middle Initial or No Middle Initial?

[annnewjerz]

Hi everyone. I'm aware of the recent guideline put into place by the TSA that states the name on your ID must match your boarding pass exactly.

At the time we booked our tickets for December, there was no middle initial field so we just booked with our first and last names. We flew in October on Southwest with just first and last names no problem---but now I'm worried that we might get pulled aside in December. We'll be flying US Air and AirTran.

Does anyone think I need to call to change the names on my reservation, or should I be fine? We usually do online check-in and print our boarding passes at home, so I just want to ensure that they're acceptable before we leave.

Thoughts? Thanks!
Ann

 

[DebbieB]

Don't worry about it.

http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2009/0812.shtm

WASHINGTON - The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that beginning August 15 U.S. airlines participating in the Secure Flight passenger vetting program may begin asking passengers to enter their date of birth and gender when making airline reservations. TSA has already begun to phase the airlines into the Secure Flight program and will complete domestic implementation by early 2010. If a passenger is not prompted to provide this additional information by a particular airline, they should not be concerned as it will not impact their travel. Since Secure Flight is a behind the scenes watch list matching process that happens before passengers arrive at the airport, current security checkpoint procedures remain the same.

 

[annnewjerz]

Don't worry about it.

http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2009/0812.shtm

Thanks! Some people I have scheduled travel for at work recently have been "spoken to" about it at the airport, so I was a little concerned. The last thing I wanted to do was arrive on Dec. 12 to Philadelphia International only to have them say I either had to A. pay to change the name on the ticket or B. not go to Disney!

Just one last pre-trip freak out, I guess.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Here's another recent thread on this subject:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2326366

Unfortunately, there's been a lot of misinformation in the media and on the Internet about "names matching exactly."

 

[GranddadTom]

My wife and I recently took a trip to Ireland and we had the same problem - no middle initial on our airline ticket. Because of this we couldn't do the online check-in using our passport. I had called the airline to see if I could get the middle initial added to our name but was told "no" because that would be a change in the person using the ticket. Dah. Bottom line - they was no problem at the airport and we were just waved through - no hassle.