BURflyer

I booked a trip a while ago to go to SYD next year, but the guy I'm traveling with just had his name legally changed. Is there a fee to have the name changed on the reservation? I just got off the phone with the 1K desk, and the agent said that it's going to cost $100. I can see that a fee would be involved if I decided to travel with a different person, but it's obviously the same person. I also thought being a 1K would help, but the agent gave an emphatic "NO." Does anyone know if I'm out of luck, or if I should just try calling again?

jhayes_1780

two things:

1. Yes, try again.... I would quit at the 5th no

2. If it really is "no".... the big thing is if he changed his passport, if not, then keep everything as-is.

gomike

Yeah, hopefully he didn't change his passport yet.

My wife isnt changing the name on her passport until it expires.

HDflyer

It may be obvious to you, but how does UA know it is the same person without any type of documentation? I am sure they think you are trying to change the reservation to another person.

As suggested, keep calling!

GimmeLegRoom

I had an award booking (made 330 days out) for a friend who over the next few months changed back to her maiden name and subsequently renewed her passport with her maiden name. It was absolutely impossible for either of us to change the ticket over the phone. In the end my friend went to the airport with at least the confirmation number, marriage certificate, divorce decree, name change paperwork, and passport/driver's license for photo ID.

I have also seen friends get totally messed up on every check-in when the name on their MP account did not match the name on the ticket. For my friend with the award, we took her MP # off (it was more for convenience that she could view her itinerary, since there were no miles or status coming) to avoid that hassle.

The good news was no charge, but since it was an award ticket from my (1K) account, maybe that had something to do with it.

Good luck!

BURflyer

Actually, his passport was expiring anyway, so he changed the name on his new passport. He has documentation from the court that shows the name change. Is it sufficient to just bring that to the airport with the passport?

BURflyer

Ya, this is an award ticket, too. Just to clarify, your friend ended up keeping her married name on the reservation, right? Did she go to the airport (w/ all of the documents, etc.) on the day of the flight, or was that some time before the flight?

PVDProf

For our honeymoon (to SYD on UA), Mrs. PVDProf used her old name for the ticket, and kept her old name on the passport. If the passport isn't changed, you're OK.

In fact, she's had the name change addendum to the passport for a while, and usually people don't look for the addendum until there's a mismatch between the ticket (now her married name) and her passport (picture page still has maiden name). Thus, even if he's had his passport changed but not on the picture page, he's probably still fine. Carry a copy of the legal name change order just in case.

bigjoc

I have a related question to this thread. I recently changed my name on my driver's license, but not yet on my passport since I have been traveling internationally. My MP name is still my maiden name. However, now it means that when I travel domestically, I have to use my passport as my ID because the tickets are automatically issued in my maiden name and now my driver's license doesn't match. Is there a way to have United issue a ticket with my new name without causing glitches in the MP system? I still want to get miles for my flights but I'm worried that if I issue a ticket with my new name, they would think I was buying a ticket for someone and not count them as my flight miles. Or am I stuck traveling with my passport everywhere I go for now?

cs19

On a recent trip with a friend, had some trouble with security about her ticket under "Abbey" but the DL said "Abigail." But, on the way back no one said a thing. Clearly some name nuances will get you more attention than others.

fastair

Not sure if this answers your question, but...
UA ticket policy is 100% clear. THERE ARE NO NAME CHANGES allowed.

Now to counter this, UA does, in the event of error do name changes for UA issued tickets for $100, provided it still is the same person (for reasons such as marriage/divorce, legal name changes, agency error...)

It sounds like they are applying their policy and exception correctly.

The cheaper solution is to bring LEGAL doccumentation that the person is the same, and use the ticket as issued.

A passport has the last page that has "ammendments" in it. When a person gets married, they can get this page ammended to state the legal new name. Many countries put infants and young children on this page prior to the age they need their own passport.

My passport has this page ammende to say "This passport replaces a lost/stolen passport."

By legal doccumentation, I am talking notarized, raised seal court/county/state/federal doccuments, not a chuchr copy of a birth cert. Also if this is for Intl, check with Timatic or other legal immigration authority to see if this is valid for them (and call UA res, becuase I don't know if this works with UA on Intl tickets due to various govt's...they may require passport to be amended.)

Please verify allof the information outside of the name change on your ticket prior to departure as I am NOT the UA police, and I do not have the authority to guarantee this. I am 100% sure on the ticket name change policy though.

GimmeLegRoom

Hi BURflyer,

She changed it to her maiden name, as this was on her new passport (she had gotten divorced). Since a group of us was flying to Brazil but from different originating points, we did not want to leave it to the day of flight and have her her get stuck at her home airport without any guidance. Nor did I want her stuck in Brazil trying to get home, where the locals might not be familiar with US legal documents. She went to the airport two months ahead of time and got the ticket changed (despite reassurances from UA that "she should be fine" ) -- she and I both like to have things in black and white, and that is a confirmed rez in the right name!

BURflyer

Thanks for the info. Ya, this is for an Intl flight (SYD). What's Timatic? He has the legal documentation from the court, so my guess is that everything should be ok from an immigration standpoint. I'm not sure what agency to check with ahead of time though.

BURflyer

And there was no charge for that? Cool. Did you have to do anything special, or was it just the fact that you handled it in person?

fastair

Timatic is the database most airlines use that has the most current immigration doccumentation rules for each country, containg all premutations of citiczenship,, country of legal residency, transiting, and termination. Any Intl CSR/Res agent should be familliar enough to find the required info for you.

Paper updates (old immigration books) can't keep up with the changes fast enough, as one published today may not be accurate in 2 weeks, so the electronic format while not in writing, is usually the most current.