Had to speak to AC this week about this very thing. I booked tickets for my son and his wife and kids. She has since had her passport changed into her married name. I spoke to them and had them change her ticket to her married name...no charge...but they still insist on seeing her marriage cert, don't understand why when she already produced it to get the new passport? We never use middle names on tickets. My husbands first name is Stephen and that is what his passport says...we always book in Steve...never had a problem yet...(touch wood)

How about last name not matching?
 

A different twist on the same issue: I have a hyphenated last name totaling upwards of 20 characters. Most reservation systems run out of space at 20 characters, so for travel purposes (airline, hotel and car reservations, and associated loyalty programs) I only use the first part of my last name. My passports list the full, hyphenated last name.

With the notable one-time exception of a totally retarded and vicious UA check-in troll in PHL, in my hundreds of trips nobody ever gave me static about the second part missing on my reservation.

I think there is this rule saying that the name on the Passport must mach the name on the ticket exaclty!

The TSA link given earlier says this:

Small differences between the passenger's ID the passenger's reservation information, and the boarding pass (such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, hyphens or apostrophes) should not cause a problem for the passenger.

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/

So I will keep my first and last name the same (easy in my case), but not worry if I have a middle initial or middle name in one place and not the other.

Yes, we all heard about the rule. I am saying the rule is not applied that strictly; most likely the match must be on characters that are present on both the passport and the ticket. Missing trailing characters are perhaps ignored by the algorithm... or had been so far, until I had the dumb idea of mentioning this in a public forum. ;)

Check this one for fun I've been dealing with since submitting myself to the Corporate Travel Booking Portal

Full name = Adam Stewart Harrison. I never use the middle.

System tries to book tickets as ADAM S. HARRISON

Which morphs into

HARRISON/ADAMS.

Which, in the infinite wisdom of some computer thinks is a woman and strips off the title. So When I get to the airport I have to deal with my bpass saying

HARRISON/ADA

I have been able to talk my way out of it so far but someone is about to get unloaded upon at Corporate Travel :)

Ok, I know this is an old thread.

But has anyone flown to the US recently(from Canada..with Cdn Passport.. on AC) without having the travel docs and passport name matching - in this specific case - the middle name missing

My brother bought a ticket for his daughter with only the first and last name but not the two middle names.. So instead of example... Julie Jill Jules Jones
, the ticket only says Julie Jones... would this be a problem?

If it is a problem at the airport, would they be able to pay the $90 or whatever and get the full name in?

NOT a problem. My AC tickets never have my middle name and I travel almost monthly to or through the US.
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13F

I had an issue a long time ago as I go by my middle name not my first. The check-in counter had to call someone and confirm everything and I was then told to always ensure my AP number was on the booking as it was tagged somehow saying things were fine.

Went YYZ-SFO in February, with the same situation - middle name on passport is not on ticket. No problems to report.

I will add that I did include the middle name on the TSA advance passenger information thing you fill out on the AC website though.

I never put my middle names on tickets, and have never had a problem to the states or elsewhere.

That is a relief to know. My brother doesnt fly a lot.. I think first time since before 9/11 and it is my nieces' first flight ever. It would be a shame to see her get rejected at the airport. I did check their booking on AC and the travel agent did put the full name on the API (for TSA)

If your brother is flying with the child without the mother, make sure he has the necessary documentation giving permission.

Thanks. They're all going - on a cruise!!

Alright for some isn't it! :D