Originally Posted by
RTWFF
In my experience the airlines aren't fussed about the order of the names, just that the names on the ticket correspond to the names in the passport, irrespective of order. I was booked on MH and the agent had made the reservation Last Name/First Name rather than First Name/Last Name (or whatever way round it "should" be). I contacted MH who basically said what I've just commented. I have a partner who has both English and non-English names and two different passports. However the Australian passport incorporates the names on the other passport while adding further names. There's never been any problems with checking in. Nevertheless I wouldn't try it on a flight to the US
True. No issues with checking in and immigration usually.
But if you do not spell your name consistently in your booking, you will have problems with your airline's frequent flyer programme. The name on the ticket has to match what's recorded in the FFP for the miles to post properly. I have been burnt by this -- my name is straightforward, but my partner has one of those Singaporean-style ones where there's an English name appended to the Chinese name. I manage the bookings in this household but I kept mixing the order up. He has lost miles as a result, because I had assumed that if mine had posted correctly, his will as well. With that mistaken notion I had neglected to monitor his account, and by the time I found out the usual six month retro-credit limit was over.
As a best practice I urge people to spell their first and last names, in bookings and when registering their FFPs, in the accordance to what I had said earlier.