Brits take caution when booking

[irnbru]

Hi All, Am posting this so that I can perhaps prevent someone else making the same very costly mistake as me.

 

I sent my cousin a link plus username and password so that she could enter her 81 yr old mothers details(my aunt) for online check in,onboard credit etc.

 

My cousin noticed I had spelt her mothers name IsObel instead of IsAbel so she wrote to TA to ask to have this amended. Here is the reply sent to my cousin.

 

Thank you for your email flagging up the incorrect spelling of your mother's

name.

 

The cruise has been booked since November last year and all paperwork

confirming the booking was sent with the spelling Isobel.

Since this time there have been a few changes and amendments and as a result

there has been at least 3 or 4 copies of the confirmation invoices sent all

showing the spelling Isobel.

 

 

When it comes to making a booking we always make sure that names as per

passports as this is imperative when it comes to travel, we also ask all

customers to check the confirmations when they come through to ensure

details are correct. Had this been noticed a few months ago then we would

have been able to do amend it for free or for a relatively small amendment

charge.

 

 

I have spoken to Celebrity and they are unable to change the spelling as

this is now very close to the departure. They have advised the flights has

been ticketed, as a result there are now 2 options that we have;

 

 

1. As the name is incorrect the flight booking would be cancelled and

then re-booked with the correct spelling. This would be at an additional

charge and would be £1138.10, this fare is NOT GUARANTEED however as the

flights are done on a live system so this could change, if you choose the

option then the sooner the better so that fare does not increase again. If

this option is chosen then all the flights are the same, except the flight

from Glasgow to Heathrow, her flight would leave at 0630 and arrive at 0750

(she would wait approx. 3 hours for the others to arrive)

 

2. Celebrity can leave a check-in remark advising of the incorrect

spelling and the name would not be changed. The problem with this is there

is NO GUARANTEE that she would be able to travel, so she could be refused

boarding as the name does not match the passport or asked to pay the price

of a new ticket.

 

 

I have spoken to Tanya at Celebrity and she has spoken to American Airlines,

they have put a remark into the booking to say that 1 letter is spelt

incorrectly and therefore the American Airlines flights will be okay,

however we have been pleading with British airways and they are not prepared

to do the change.

When it comes to the return flights, all will be fine as it would be

American Airlines checking your mother in San Juan.

 

Therefore the only way to guarantee no hitches is that you pay the re-book

fare just now, it is unlikely that when your mother turns up at the airport

that they will refuse her boarding because of the 1 letter mistake, however

if they really wanted to then BA are within their rights to do this.

 

 

My apologies that we are unable to do any more and please call me if you

need further explanation or guidance.

UPDATE

Isobel my cousin has spoken to Celebrity who tried their best to resolve the situation. Isobel tells me that Celebrity have been absolutely wonderful in trying to get this corrected. However the problem is with BA and they are refusing to budge and will not amend the name. BA have said that they have special deals with all tour companys and part of their special deal is that there are no name changes or cancellations. Had it been personally booked they would have amended the name for a £30 fee.

Isobel and Celebrity have both argued with BA that it is not a name change but a one letter spelling mistake but still BA won't budge.

 

Isobel has now today sent BA an email detailing all the facts and asking the details to be amended. She is also currently looking into the possibility of having a deed poll done and amended on her mothers passport, so that her passport will show Isobel to match the ticket....Still expensive but much less than the ridiculous fee BA want to charge, and drastic steps for an 81yr old to have to make

 

The days are ticking away so we need this resolved quickly now.

[fbgd]

She is also currently looking into the possibility of having a deed poll done and amended on her mothers passport, so that her passport will show Isobel to match the ticket....Still expensive but much less than the ridiculous fee BA want to charge, and drastic steps for an 81yr old to have to make

 

...or just make sure you spell the name right first time around, just you like you make sure you get the dates correct!

[kenish]

So, is your cousin's name IsObel or IsAbel? Because in the first part of your post you say it should be 'A', but in the latter part you spell it with 'O'. If you can't get it right, then the airline certainly can't be criticized.

 

Sorry but I have to side with Celebrity and the airlines. Secure Flight requirements have been well-advertised for more than a year, and as the TA stated the confirmations are exactly that- to ensure every detail is correct before things are cast in stone. The "golden key" is a boarding pass....issuance means everything has been cleared with TSA. I would study the TSA Secure Flight website so you know exactly how the rules may affect cousin's ability to board....and get boarding passes ASAP!!

 

What is your travel date, as an important milestone date is coming soon (final phase of program where all details other than minor punctuation differences must be exact). Let us know how this plays out.

[irnbru]

Ken, Please re read the post. It is not my cousins name that is flying but her mums.

[waterbug123]

Ken, Please re read the post. It is not my cousins name that is flying but her mums.

 

So you mean your cousin is IsObel and your aunt is IsAbel?

[irnbru]

Yes that is correct waterbug. That is how I made the mistake!

 

While I would agree with the airline to charge extra for a complete name change, I think it is ridiculous to be asked to pay the enormous fee for a one letter change.

[andy11]

I would just continue as if nothing had happened. If you hand all the passports in together noone will notice, easy to miss. They are your relations and you didn't even notice after several reminders to check all information

[6rugrats]

Why is this thread titled, "Brits take caution..."

 

If someone of another nationality had this problem, would BA correct it at no charge?

 

I honestly doubt anyone will ever notice the difference. I would not be worrying about it.

[wg6530]

Best wishes to Isabel.

Her nephew should be more careful:eek:

[kenish]

Sorry, now I understand.

 

My comment about issuance of a boarding pass still stands....if she has one she's been cleared by TSA and is good to go! (The flowchart on the TSA website shows the process).

[irnbru]

Kenish,because it is an international flight, boarding passes are only issued once you have checked in at flight desk.

 

What is the important milestone you mention? It may be helpful.

 

 

If it had been my name mispelt I would have chanced it, but imagine how awful it would be if my aunt got turned away at check in. She would be very upset.

 

I sure have learned a lesson here!

[swigso]

I know its a worry but I cannot see a BA check in agent turning away an 81 year old granny because her name is spelt Isabel instead of Isobel.

I can understand your concerns, e-mail Willy Walsh at BA surely someone high up can authorise this.

The airline doesn't relish bad publicity.

Hope you can get this sorted, Ester Ranzen would have loved this

[Globaliser]

There are no guarantees about this, but I also think that the chances of there being a problem are slim - if you make sure that you correct that which it is necessary to correct.

 

There are two issues. One is the airline ticket, and the other is the Advance Passenger Information for US immigration purposes.

 

The last I heard, standard IATA rules for misspellings on tickets were as follows: up to three letters can be misspelt, provided that the name on the ticket remains phonetically similar to the passenger's actual name. On this basis, an airline ticket in the name of "ISOBEL" should be acceptable for a passenger whose true name is "ISABEL" (if there are no other spelling mistakes).

 

API is more critical, though. If you get the information wrong, including misspellings, you could be in for trouble when you reach the immigration desk in the US. So you must make sure that this is correct. The fields for this on the BA website do not appear to extract information from the booking itself, so you should be able to type in the correct spelling for the API.

 

Having said that, I do not know whether BA is now routinely cross-checking API information against the name on the ticket.

 

When comparing BA's attitude with AA's attitude, you have to remember that BA is the airline taking you to the US, and it is the airline that would get into trouble with the US authorities if the passenger details are incorrect. AA doesn't have the same risk because it is carrying the passenger out of the US.

[irnbru]

Swigso,

 

It was Willie Walsh she wrote to. He has not responded. There has been several calls made today by my cousin, so hopefully tomorrow all will be resolved.

 

I shall update you all then!

[fbgd]

It was Willie Walsh she wrote to. He has not responded.

 

Surprising that. I thought he was just sitting around waiting for customers letter to come on in :D

[irnbru]

Very funny fbgd, and so unhelpful! Would you be grinning if it happened to you I wonder?

[fbgd]

Very funny fbgd, and so unhelpful! Would you be grinning if it happened to you I wonder?

 

I'm prepared to admit when I'm wrong, whether that be personally or in business, even if that results in costly errors.

 

I have made silly mistakes when booking airlines tickets and had to throw them away. I consider it the cost of stupidity, nobody to blame but myself.

[patseacruiser]

I made a similar mistake like that once and Delta noted their records and it went fine. I was so upset at first that I wrote to Chris Elliot and he gave me a 'high up' email at Delta and I got an email that it should be fine and I carried that email with me with the person's name and contact phone number in case of anything but nothing happened. In fact my last name doesn't even fit and is shortened quite a bit because of this but the airline said it's fine.

[tulch]

I cannot comment on how BA or another airline would handle this. However, I work for TSA and can tell you how WE would treat this "problem." I assume -- although do not know for sure -- that our equivalent agencies in Western European countries would address your concern in a similar fashion.

 

When a TSA Officer checks a passenger ticket against a government issued ID, it is up to that agent to decide if it any differences are "close enough." For example, "James" on one document, "Jim" on another; or "Sara" versus "Sarah." Such minor discrepancies are common and most of us use common sense to resolve them. In your mother's case, most TSA officers would not have an issue.

 

If there are concerns, we have several ways of resolving them. Depending on the discrepancy, we might ask for another picture ID; or a prescription medication with the passenger's name; or utilize national and public data bases at our disposal to determine an authentic ID.

 

This is not a biggie for us. However, sometimes the process takes time. My advice would be to go to the airport early. If there is a problem, there would be sufficient time for the airlines and security agencies to investigate and resolve any questions.

 

I think most people associated with her flight will try to help your mother. You may have been quoted policy and potential outcomes as a CYA measure. I believe you mother will be just fine with her documents as is.

[kenish]

What is the important milestone you mention? It may be helpful.

 

API is used by the US CBP (Customs and Border Protection) to pre-check international passengers for immigration purposes. Secure Flight is used by TSA to check passengers for security purposes. The two systems are being merged into Secure Flight and TSA will take over the function from CBP. The milestone is November 1, when this final phase begins for international passengers.

[UKBayern]

The last I heard, standard IATA rules for misspellings on tickets were as follows: up to three letters can be misspelt, provided that the name on the ticket remains phonetically similar to the passenger's actual name. On this basis, an airline ticket in the name of "ISOBEL" should be acceptable for a passenger whose true name is "ISABEL" (if there are no other spelling mistakes).

 

API is more critical, though. If you get the information wrong, including misspellings, you could be in for trouble when you reach the immigration desk in the US. So you must make sure that this is correct. The fields for this on the BA website do not appear to extract information from the booking itself, so you should be able to type in the correct spelling for the API.

 

Yes, this is correct. This is always the way it was dealt with at the airlines I worked for. It occurs very frequently, especially when travelagents issue tickets or when names have to be "translated" from another alphabet. I once had an Israeli family, and all documents and tickets of each person had other spellings: Levi, Levie, Levy, Leevy, Leevi, etc. In the OP's BA scenario, they would have had to file for bankcrupcy just to get home....

[Globaliser]

Reading the travel agent's email again, it also sounds as if BA is the ticketing carrier and is being asked to reissue the actual ticket with a name change, whereas AA is simply noting the booking record (PNR). So that's another thing that it's much easier for AA to do, as (if this surmise is correct) it doesn't have to reissue anything.

[UKBayern]

Reading the travel agent's email again, it also sounds as if BA is the ticketing carrier and is being asked to reissue the actual ticket with a name change, whereas AA is simply noting the booking record (PNR). So that's another thing that it's much easier for AA to do, as (if this surmise is correct) it doesn't have to reissue anything.

 

Welcome to the age of E-ticketing. In the old days, the ticketdesks would just get out a pen and an airline stamp and change one letter on the ticket and stamp it. Now they have to reissue the whole damn thing, since most e-ticketing systems don't allow name-changes.

[irnbru]

Hi All

 

Many thanks for all your support, help and suggestions.

 

The booking now has an amended remark just like AA did to begin with.

 

BA had previously refused to do this but finally have agreed, which now stops unnecessary worry.

 

We can now look forward to our holiday!

 

Sandra

[swigso]

Hi All

 

Many thanks for all your support, help and suggestions.

 

The booking now has an amended remark just like AA did to begin with.

 

BA had previously refused to do this but finally have agreed, which now stops unnecessary worry.

 

We can now look forward to our holiday!

 

Sandra

Great News

Hope you have a fantastic holiday