Teen Legally Changes Name Because It’s Cheaper Than Paying Airline’s “Joke” Fee

Instead of paying $337 to change the name on his Ryanair ticket, a British traveler paid $158 to have his name legally changed.

The case of one traveler’s mistaken identity was settled when the flyer decided it was cheaper to change his name to match his ticket, rather than pay to change the name on the ticket. The Guardian reports Adam Armstrong, 19, legally changed his name to Adam West in order to match the name on a Ryanair flight booked on his behalf.

The problem for the young flyer began when he was planning a trip to Ibiza with his girlfriend and their family. Instead of booking the ticket under the flyer’s name, his girlfriend’s stepfather booked the Ryanair ticket under “Adam West” — how Armstrong lists his name on Facebook. When the mistake was caught, Ryanair offered to change the name on the booking for around $337.

“Ryanair were not helpful at all,” Anderson, now West, told The Guardian. “We showed them we were not trying to change the person, just the name, but they wouldn’t back down.”

The airline’s unwavering stance prompted West to get creative. Instead of paying the $337 administrative fee, he had his name legally changed from “Adam Anderson” to “Adam West” and obtained a new passport for $158.

“Ryanair pride themselves on being a customer-centric business, it just seems like a joke when they wouldn’t change the name,” said West. “All they needed to do was hit the backspace key on a keyboard and they want to charge me [$337]”

A Ryanair representative told The Guardian that the administration fee is standard practice, stating: “A name change fee is charged in order to discourage and prevent unauthorized online travel agents from ‘screenscraping’ Ryanair’s cheapest fares and reselling them on to unwitting consumers at hugely inflated costs.”

[Photos: Adam West via Facebook; Ryanair]