Alitalia Name Amendment - £2,178.50 for a single letter...
Jun 18, 2017, 2:56 am
#1
Original Poster
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Alitalia Name Amendment - £2,178.50 for a single letter...
I suppose the whole point of this post is, is there legitimately nothing I can do here and Alitalia can charge me £2,178.50 for a single "J" or can someone assist / managed to change in the past?
Otherwise, I will have to cancel my booking (been offered a full refund) and re-book with another carrier which seems counterproductive to both myself and Alitalia.
Gist:
Basically booked a recent BKK-AMS return and, for the first time ever, seemed to have spelt my partners first name "Julia" instead of "Julija" on the booking as that what came through on the booking.
Tried to correct it immediately with American Express Travel who I booked the fare with (had a credit offer on my Plat card) but they were closed. Rang Alitalia who told me American Express would deal with it and it shouldn't be an issue.
Spoke to American Express who after several days got back to me and said:
---
I have now received the full requirements from the airline relating to this matter, they have advised that they cannot offer us a waiver to be able to price the new booking historically. As such we will need to issue the new ticket at current rates being offered.
Looking at the current availability the price of the new ticket is unfortunately very expensive.
Price for new ticket: £2178.50
As we must adhere to the airline guidelines and processes this is the only way that we would be able to make this name adjustment for you.
I understand that this is a very costly change to make on this booking, however I would advise not to attempt to travel without making the necessary adjustments. Although it is only out by 1 letter we couldn't guarantee that boarding would be permitted by the airline on all sectors of the flights.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed and I will be happy to assist.
---
The change far outweighs the fare and, I don't know, just seems such an unnecessary turn of events...
Otherwise, I will have to cancel my booking (been offered a full refund) and re-book with another carrier which seems counterproductive to both myself and Alitalia.
Gist:
Basically booked a recent BKK-AMS return and, for the first time ever, seemed to have spelt my partners first name "Julia" instead of "Julija" on the booking as that what came through on the booking.
Tried to correct it immediately with American Express Travel who I booked the fare with (had a credit offer on my Plat card) but they were closed. Rang Alitalia who told me American Express would deal with it and it shouldn't be an issue.
Spoke to American Express who after several days got back to me and said:
---
I have now received the full requirements from the airline relating to this matter, they have advised that they cannot offer us a waiver to be able to price the new booking historically. As such we will need to issue the new ticket at current rates being offered.
Looking at the current availability the price of the new ticket is unfortunately very expensive.
Price for new ticket: £2178.50
As we must adhere to the airline guidelines and processes this is the only way that we would be able to make this name adjustment for you.
I understand that this is a very costly change to make on this booking, however I would advise not to attempt to travel without making the necessary adjustments. Although it is only out by 1 letter we couldn't guarantee that boarding would be permitted by the airline on all sectors of the flights.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed and I will be happy to assist.
---
The change far outweighs the fare and, I don't know, just seems such an unnecessary turn of events...
Jun 18, 2017, 1:26 pm
#3
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Wasn't AmEx going to refund the price of the original ticket (even if it was nonrefundable)? However, this won't help a lot if the fare has expired or if the fare class inventory is now unavailable.
Travel agents can normally cancel tickets by the end of the next business day without penalty. Otherwise they pay for their mistakes as a cost of doing business.
Was the mistake your fault or the fault of AmEx Travel? Was it booked through their website or with an agent, in person or by phone? If it's their fault, they should fix it without any cost to you.
Travel agents can normally cancel tickets by the end of the next business day without penalty. Otherwise they pay for their mistakes as a cost of doing business.
Was the mistake your fault or the fault of AmEx Travel? Was it booked through their website or with an agent, in person or by phone? If it's their fault, they should fix it without any cost to you.
Jun 18, 2017, 1:43 pm
#4
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Personally, I would just ignore the misspelling. I very much doubt that it will be an issue at check-in. A misspelling of a single character does not normally give rise to issues. It might have been marginally more complicated had you gone to the US but a BKK-AMS itinerary should be pretty straightforward.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
Jun 18, 2017, 6:15 pm
#5
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I have now received the full requirements from the airline relating to this matter, they have advised that they cannot offer us a waiver to be able to price the new booking historically. As such we will need to issue the new ticket at current rates being offered.
Looking at the current availability the price of the new ticket is unfortunately very expensive.
Price for new ticket: £2178.50.
Looking at the current availability the price of the new ticket is unfortunately very expensive.
Price for new ticket: £2178.50.
Jun 18, 2017, 6:26 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2012
Programs: Delta Gold, Alaska Gold 75K, LATAM Black
Posts: 3,393
Personally, I would just ignore the misspelling. I very much doubt that it will be an issue at check-in. A misspelling of a single character does not normally give rise to issues. It might have been marginally more complicated had you gone to the US but a BKK-AMS itinerary should be pretty straightforward.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
Jun 18, 2017, 11:26 pm
#7
Original Poster
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Posts: 23
Thank you for your comments - very helpful. Some clarifications:
1. AmEx have indeed offered to refund the tickets.
2. It was purchased Online via AmEx Travel UK.
3. On the blame game, I suppose it is my error for the misspelling as I cannot prove otherwise. I have auto-fill set up with all correct name details but something must have happened.
4. I am not suggesting AZ are to blame, or that it was their error.
5. Yes, I assume the FF miles would be lost regardless, which at 300% would be a shame.
I am of the mind to travel but my other half doesn't want to take the risk.
1. AmEx have indeed offered to refund the tickets.
2. It was purchased Online via AmEx Travel UK.
3. On the blame game, I suppose it is my error for the misspelling as I cannot prove otherwise. I have auto-fill set up with all correct name details but something must have happened.
4. I am not suggesting AZ are to blame, or that it was their error.
5. Yes, I assume the FF miles would be lost regardless, which at 300% would be a shame.
I am of the mind to travel but my other half doesn't want to take the risk.
Jun 19, 2017, 5:18 am
#9
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Jun 20, 2017, 3:09 am
#10
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This would be the price for a new ticket, not the price difference right? Assuming your original fare was somewhat close to that number, the difference would not be that large?
Wouldn't a requirement for such EU rule require that the pax has provided accurate information? I'd think that at refusal this would be a perfect way for the airline to argue that the pax is at fault for providing an incorrect name.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
Jun 20, 2017, 5:47 am
#11
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In any event, one could even argue that AZ's contract of carriage does not provide support for refusing to carry the passenger when what is at stake is clearly an obvious spelling mistake. The contract of carriage only allows AZ to ensure that the the passenger flying is the same passenger as that named on the ticket. If there is no doubt that the identity of the passenger named on the ticket and the passenger flying is the same (which would be the case where it is patent that it is a spelling mistake), then i do not see on what basis AZ could legitimately refuse to carry the passenger.
PS: incidentally, it is not EU rules but rather national consumer protection legislation that one needs to turn to (although the contents of that legislation is itself shaped by EU legislation on unfair terms in consumer contracts).
Jun 21, 2017, 11:27 am
#12
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Sunny SoCal
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Posts: 32
Personally, I would just ignore the misspelling. I very much doubt that it will be an issue at check-in. A misspelling of a single character does not normally give rise to issues. It might have been marginally more complicated had you gone to the US but a BKK-AMS itinerary should be pretty straightforward.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
In the extremely unlikely event of an issue being made, assuming that the ticket was bought in the UK or a similar European jurisdiction, I would have thought that a refusal by the company to carry a passenger for what is quite obviously a minor spelling mistake would clearly be an unfair (and therefore unenforceable) term but I do not think that we need to go there.
Good Luck!
