Originally Posted by wahooflyer

Change the name on your future tickets and on your frequent flyer accounts to your first name plus full middle name; your first initial only; or a nickname (i.e. if your name is Robert, use "Bobby" even if that's not what you go by).

Sorry, but that's the only way you'll truly be able to fly hassle-free. The letter from the TSA is nothing other than an affirmation that you are not the person by the same name that they're looking for. The name is still on the list, and with that name you will keep running into delays at the ticket counter for as long as that person is caught, or no longer deemed a security threat for whatever asinine reason TSA thinks he is.

Airlines' computer systems are not sophisticated enough to tell who's who, even if one "Robert Brown" (just to use an example of the many common Anglo-American names on the list) is a million-mile Platinum Medallion and the other Robert Brown is the fugitive TSA wants. The answer? Every single Robert Brown flying in the U.S. will be subject to a lengthy document check when checking in, and can't use the kiosk on his outbound trip. Robert Browns who book as "Bob Brown," "R Brown" or "Robert Thomas Brown," however, don't get flagged and can check in normally.

The latter fact alone shows the stupidity of the whole no-fly list, as of course the "real" Robert Brown on the watch list can use his middle name or "Bob" and fly freely.