What’s in a name — British Airways decides to forgive errors, for a price

Name issues can be one of the most frustrating aspects of the travel business.

Sometimes it’s a traveler who doesn’t think it matters that they go by their middle names or nickname, as opposed to their legal name. But, it can also be travelers forgetting that their passport doesn’t match their married, or divorced name. Or, it can be a typing error.

Whatever the reason, a wrong name can cause serious hassles at the airport, and travel agents have all learned to dread that call asking, “Do you think it will matter?”

British Airways has has just announced they can forgive CERTAIN errors, for a price. In an email to preferred agents, the airline explains their decision for a new policy (and of course a new fee) as follows:

“As a travel professional, customer service is key; and while everyone tries to ensure that each booking made is correct, there are times when mistakes are made. This is why we are pleased to announce that we have revised our name correction policy, making it more flexible and easier for our preferred travel agents to correct minor errors.”

The email goes on to say that preferred agents will be permitted to request name corrections for a fee of $20. (This $20 fee only applies for true British Airways flights, not flights operated by their code-share or Oneworld partners.)
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Plus, of course, there is fine print. The changes will only be for specific cases.

1. Changing nicknames to proper names — i.e. Penny to Penelope, or Peggy to Margaret, for example.

2. Spelling/Typing error – i.e. Johnson to Johnstone.

3. Change in prefix – i.e. Mr. to Dr. (Though personally I can’t imagine why someone would pay for this….)

4 . Name reversals where multiple last names exist – i.e Armstrong-Jones instead of Jones-Armstrong.

5. Change in last name due to marriage or divorce.

With this last item, British Airways states the travel agent must fax in documentation, including marriage-divorce certificate and a copy of the client’s passport.

These changes can only be processed through the airline’s sales support number and British Airways will bill the agency with a debit memo for payment.

The airline also says this process could take up to 48 hours so anyone who discovers a problem at the last minute may be out of luck.

Besides the stated conditions, there are more than a few other issues with this policy change. First, only clients of British Airways “preferred agencies,” can do the name changes. This excludes a lot of small agencies, although presumably most larger agencies and agencies associated with any good consortium qualify.

In addition, some problems are not covered. Most notably, passengers who go by middle names. I had one client several years ago announce himself as “Dan.” When I asked, so is that your name on your passport, his response was “No, on my passport it is Daniel.” No problem, I booked a ticket to France for him under Daniel.

A few weeks before his flight, he called up and said his spouse had been hassling him about the ticket, because actually his passport read first name “August,” middle name, “Daniel.” He told her it wouldn’t be a problem, because no one called him August anyway.

In this case I got a waiver only because a Delta agent thought the story was hilarious.

There’s also the issue of what’s a nickname and what’s a spelling error, though one can hope that British Airways errs on the side of reasonable.

At the moment, however, with a $20 fee, something an agency can probably absorb if there is a question of fault, the policy change is a good thing. But of course, ticket change fees started out around $25, and now they usually start at $150 domestic, and $250 international. It’s hard to believe this new fee will go anywhere but up.

No doubt other airlines will be watching the British Airways move with interest. The current name change situation varies by airline and is often an inexact science depending on which agent passengers contact and for travel agents, what their relationship is with the airlines. But if a flat charge for a small error becomes accepted, look for U.S. airlines to follow.

(And note, I’m not talking here about people trying to game the system by changing the ticket to let a friend or relative or co-worker use the ticket, I’m talking about obviously honest mistakes.)

In fact, by saying, we are charging a set amount, airlines can claim they are acting in the best interest of consumers. When in reality, it would be in consumers’ best interests to fix the name, or allow agents to fix the name, with no charge.