The name given on a plane ticket must be exactly the same as that on the passenger’s ID card or passport, otherwise they will not be allowed to board the aircraft. But what if you notice an error and wish to put it right?. Can this be done for free or will you be charged?
Hilde De Schutter from Zele in East Flanders bought two plane tickets for she and her daughter to go to New Zealand. She booked them through a travel agent. When she received the plane tickets, she discovered that her middle name was written incorrectly on the ticket.
Hilde’s middle name is Ivonne. However, on the plane ticket Ivonne was written with a Y rather than an with an I. Hilde contacted the travel agent and was told that they would have to cancel her ticket and rebook. However, in the meantime, the price of the ticket had increased by 495 euro and Hilde would have to pay this if she still wanted to go with her daughter to New Zealand. The VRT’s consumer team examines where the correct spelling of a name on a ticket is so important?
No clear rules about cost and conditions
Do you have to buy a new ticket each time there is a typing error and is there always a surcharge if you do? The consumer organisation Testaankoop’s Laura Clays told the VRT that this is not always the case. “Airlines often offer correction free-of-charge, there are sometimes conditions attached. For example, sometimes you can only ask an adjustment to be made within a few hours of booking or there is a maximum number of characters you can have changed for free.”’
It is also possible to get your full name changed on the ticket if it has changed due to a divorce, marriage, a sex change or for some other legal reason. “However, not all airlines are equally clear what conditions and costs are involved”, Ms Clays adds.
Testaankoop believes that correcting names should be free of charge and that airlines should inform passengers clearly with regard to this. “In our opinion, an airline should not charge hefty fees for something the consumer had not been properly informed about in advance. We took legal action with regard a few years ago and it has paid off to an extent”
The European Consumer Centre (ECC), says that sometimes it is cheaper to book a new ticket than pay than to have the name on an existing ticket changed.
Name must be correct for security reasons
Leen Desmedt of ECC explains that “Airlines can deny passengers access to a plane if there are issues with travel documents, on health grounds or issues regarding security or safety.’
If boarding is denied due to issues with travel documents this would be because a passenger doesn’t have the correct ticket or no ticket at all. An incorrect name on a ticket does not fall under ‘travel documents’ but rather under ‘security or safety’. “The name on the ticket must precisely match the name on your passport or identity card. If this is not the case, you could be a different person and as such airline can deny you access for security reasons”.
But who is liable in this case?
In Hilde's case, the travel agency admitted on the phone that they made the mistake. They are therefore liable. “If the consumer explicitly instructs an agency to book a trip and has forwarded the correct dates prior to booking, the agency is liable if an error is made”, Ms Desmedt explaines.
This means the travel agency should pay the additional cost incurred. Hilde paid 495 euro extra for the new ticket, but it should have been the travel agency that foot the bill.
The Federal Economy Department says that “A traveler makes a contractual commitment with the travel agency. If the travel agency makes a mistake, it is contractually liable and must rectify the mistake and pay to put it right. It would be the same if, for example, the travel agency had booked the wrong flight”.
However, the traveler is responsible for checking their ticket. In Hilde’s case she discovered the error two weeks after she had received her tickets.
ECC also advises travelers to also ask for written confirmation, for example by email, of anything that has been agreed over the phone.