TravellingMan

I was trying to use my United miles to buy an award ticket for my parents on SQ, especially the non-stop from LAX to SIN. The UA agent found the flights but said that I need to provide passport, date of birth and nationality information to even hold the reservation for 72 hrs.

Is this true? If true, why the heck does SQ need this information to issue a stupid ticket? Is this one of the terror alert checks?

I asked her to book the award ticket on other *Alliance carriers instead.

stimpy

SQ does this on all tickets, even when you buy on the web. It's just another form of ID and it isn't really that much of a burden I don't think. Nor do I think it has anything to do with terrorism. It just makes them more efficient at the airport which is a good thing.

TravellingMan

I am not quite sure how it makes them efficient at the airport when they are going to check your documents again. It just seems to be an extra set of information that they want to gather. Address, telephone number, Credit card number, meal preferences. Added to this are date of birth, passport information and citizenship. None of the other airlines that I use want this information before I take the flight.

Maybe I am just over reacting given the state of privacy these days.

stimpy

You have to show them your passport at the airport anyways, so I don't think it is an encroachment on privacy. A great many SQ passengers have to show visas for their flights before getting the boarding pass. SQ is very strict about checking for visas since they have to pay for the return trip if the country refuses entry to someone without a valid visa. This just helps things go a bit smoother at the airport.

velo

Btw, i am confused about filling in the forms when purchasing air tickets online. My name is "John Koh Wei Sheng", with John (my name) as my First Name, and Koh (my surname) as the Last Name. Where do i input my other two names? I am quite paranoid as i understand that many airlines insist that the name on the ticket matches the name in my passport exactly, or i will have problems at check in. So do i fill in :

First Name : John
Last Name : Koh Wei Sheng

or

First Name : Wei Sheng John
Last Name : Koh

Note : Wei Sheng is my name too, only Koh is my surname. The name in my passport is John Koh Wei Sheng.

Thanks guys, this has been bugging me for a long time. Does the order matter? Or as long as all the words in the name are there, it'll be ok. I hope i won't encounter problems at the airport

midore1867

Last name = Surname.
First name= given name

Savage25

Yes, you are

fimo

I'm guessing this helps in SQ's legendary inventory management too. If they have your ID information in the reservation, then there is little likelihood of someone holding a bunch of reservations for kicks and making flights look fuller than they really are.

jpatokal

Many airlines ask for passport numbers when booking, but the number you give is pretty much irrevelant -- in my experience, not one has ever verified that the number actually matches. And I know this because I have two passports, with different numbers, and I usually key in the one I'm not traveling with...

pueywei

Don't worry about the ordering issue, your passport would usually indicate your lastname (surname) somehow.

I think it's basically how things are done in Singapore. Many places need the identity card number for even the simplest of transactions.

For op's case, I think providing a number you can somehow recall and then calling in to correct it should have worked.

Quik!

My guess will be

First Name : John Wei Sheng
Last Name : Koh

GUWonder

Not always.

As long as the names are there, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

mikeef

I just booked a ticket to fly SIN-DPS on the web, and I skipped the part where it asked for my wife's number. They're not going to cancel the ticket, are they?

Mike

stimpy

I don't think so. But they may ask to see proof of your flight leaving DPS if it on a different ticket. CX did this with me recently on a HKG-DPS flight where I was leaving with SQ. Do you have her seat assignment? If not, then call and get one and then they will likely ask you for the passport info or you can give it to them.

DeltaFlyingProf

I am a bit surprised by some of what is said in this thread. I have bought 2 SQ tickets on the web and cannot remember if I had to give passport info when booking. But I am certain I did not give passport info when buying tickets on SQ from a TA. I do remember however that if the name is not entered in the reservation system before pricing is done, things go awry. So I always make sure my TA enters the names before trying to price.
I also remember getting an award with BD miles on SQ and not giving them any passport info.