Originally Posted by
dvs7310
It's never an issue unless you make it an issue by yourself. Several people have done this with Japanese airlines in various FT threads and were then not allowed to check in, but that was their own doing for asking the airline in advance vs. just walking up and checking in as normal.
I've flown both CI and BR many times with no middle name. I've also flown out of both SGN and HAN with no middle name. I don't think I've ever had a middle name on my ticket in Mainland China either, so all of your examples seem to be non-issues for 99.99% of people.
The bolded statement caught my interest. Well, luckily I maintained zero communication with the airline about that, so I think I'm good to go. I have personally flown with JAL to the US without my middle name, and the only thing the SIN ground handling did was handwrote my middle name on the boarding pass, stamp it, and let me go. No SSSS, no mismatch, miles credited as usual.
Perhaps I should just learn not to be too strict with the rules...
EDIT: I saw the threat you mentioned and yes, whoever posted it must have been overly paranoid that he/she ended up disclosing unnecessary items. Luckily I've kept my mouth shut so far, so I should be fine.
But anyway, I appreciate y'all's insights. Thank you so much!
Originally Posted by
moondog
- That's not nearly as good an argument as the "your system formatted it this way" argument. Keep this message is simple as possible (i.e. no elaboration).
- The escalation you speak of typically entails the agent making no more than 2 or 3 keystrokes.
- Since you are holding up the line, the agent has an incentive to get you out of his/her hair ASAP.
Switching gears,
the main reason I became adamant and consistent about sticking with the SURNAME GIVENNAME format across the board is that not even the most primitive databases can screw this up. Whether or not they split the order, remove letters, or insert special characters, isn't my concern. In the event my names had any apostrophes or mixed case letters, they wouldn't anymore, per my protocol. KISS!
That's my reasoning too. Putting my middle name together with the first just messes up the system and potentially cause my trip's miles not to be credited, and my TSA PreCheck not to be shown.
That being said your explanations make sense. I agree it isn't a big deal. Thank you!