Unfortunately, the mistake came from my end when the agent was spelling the name back at me, and I accept it as is.
As an update, got to an agent who was super nice - who reached out to Air France. Apparently, AF desk is unwilling to make the name change without rebooking the flight, as this is their "normal" policy. The VA agent recommended three potential paths,
- Reaching out to AF and asking if they are willing to take control of their leg of the flight. This is an extremely unlikely scenario, but I will nevertheless try. Usually airlines will only do this if it's an extreme situation like an airline ceasing operations (VA agent example)
- Cancelling the ticket with VA - and hope that it immediately comes available for rebooking. Again, she also mentioned this would be a a very unlikely scenario since currently there's no availability.
- Likely Scenario - rebook a new flight within the existing availability - Sadly, i think this is my only likely option.