Apr 19, 2016, 4:36 am
Last edit by: Prospero
Trivial name differences - first and last names without middle name, blending of middle or Latin style names, etc. should not cause trouble flying, as long as the identification used displays the primary characteristics of the name on the boarding pass / ticket on AA, and on most airlines.
However, Cathay Pacific and some airlines are genuine sticklers and may not make changes at their end. Members have reported challenging times getting fixes for otherwise trivial name issues.
Changing a name on an issued ticket - reissuing the same ticket to another person - will not happen.
Changing a date of birth due to an accidental account entry must be rectified by contact with AA.; you may (or not) be asked to fax supporting documentation. Some other account changes that don’t “stick” (sometimes passport information, etc.) will also have to be called in. Contact for gender changes or issues as well. See here for AAdvantage Account contact form (AAdvantage Customer Service is only open work days 7-7 Central time.) See post #1 for contact phone numbers and aa.com contact form page illustration.
See:
U.S. Department of State: Change or Correct a Passport link
Posts prior to 2016 have been archived, and can be read here.
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost. Wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
However, Cathay Pacific and some airlines are genuine sticklers and may not make changes at their end. Members have reported challenging times getting fixes for otherwise trivial name issues.
Changing a name on an issued ticket - reissuing the same ticket to another person - will not happen.
Changing a date of birth due to an accidental account entry must be rectified by contact with AA.; you may (or not) be asked to fax supporting documentation. Some other account changes that don’t “stick” (sometimes passport information, etc.) will also have to be called in. Contact for gender changes or issues as well. See here for AAdvantage Account contact form (AAdvantage Customer Service is only open work days 7-7 Central time.) See post #1 for contact phone numbers and aa.com contact form page illustration.
See:
U.S. Department of State: Change or Correct a Passport link
Posts prior to 2016 have been archived, and can be read here.
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost. Wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
Name, Gender Difference, Date of Birth, Change, Errors, etc. Account, Ticket, Award
Jul 19, 2016, 7:00 pm
#46
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The KUL city
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat, TK Elite+
Posts: 2,663
I've had this problem before but all I need to do is to get it validated at the CX check-in counter in HKG and the HK Police will let me through immigration at HKG. Departing ex-US, they don't care.
Jul 22, 2016, 12:51 pm
#47
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 19
If you are transiting, the only issue I can see will be at the transfer security check-point where they check your passport and boarding pass before x-rays. It should not be as tight as departing HKG but YMMV. Not too much of a hassle unless you have a really tight connection to make...
How bothersome was the ordeal? did it happen at the Gate or it was a check-in issue?
Jul 22, 2016, 2:12 pm
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Florida
Posts: 29,762
It does not matter. We have all 3 varieties in past travels - no middle initial, with middle initial, with full middle name. Never even being asked once. Our passports have full middle name but when our tickets have no middle names / initials, we are never asked. This not just for CX, but also for QR and BA as far as I can remember.
Jul 23, 2016, 5:02 am
#49
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 393
OP, I am assuming you made it through just fine?
I have similar issues with tickets booked with AA but on other carriers. Both me and the SO have our middle names clearly in our AA profiles but CX never seems to show it. Pulled up the res on the QR site and oddly one of the two of us clearly has a middle name on the ticket while the other doesn't (despite it being booked using our aadvantage numbers to populate name, DOB and passport info.
My understanding is that this is an issue due to cultural differences in how names are used. When booking through CX directly, you are given fields for Given Name and Family Name, where middle name would be part of given. AA (and other US carriers I assume) have a middle name field for, of course, your middle name. You can see how it doesn't quite get transcribed properly.
Then of course you have the reason for them caring andue to the way some Asian cultures use names where all three names are equally important. whereas in many Western countries, the middle name is more of an afterthought.
I have similar issues with tickets booked with AA but on other carriers. Both me and the SO have our middle names clearly in our AA profiles but CX never seems to show it. Pulled up the res on the QR site and oddly one of the two of us clearly has a middle name on the ticket while the other doesn't (despite it being booked using our aadvantage numbers to populate name, DOB and passport info.
My understanding is that this is an issue due to cultural differences in how names are used. When booking through CX directly, you are given fields for Given Name and Family Name, where middle name would be part of given. AA (and other US carriers I assume) have a middle name field for, of course, your middle name. You can see how it doesn't quite get transcribed properly.
Then of course you have the reason for them caring andue to the way some Asian cultures use names where all three names are equally important. whereas in many Western countries, the middle name is more of an afterthought.
Sep 16, 2016, 11:27 am
#50
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 245
Wrong Gender on Ticket and Profile
I booked a ticket a week or two ago to fly in October, and just went to confirm that my KTN was listed.
The reservation shows that I'm listed as female, but my gender has always been male. To make things stranger, my AAdvantage account profile shows female as well. This isn't editable, so there's no way I made a typo when buying the ticket.
Can anyone offer any advice on what to do? My temptation is to ignore it, but I'm concerned that AA might not honor the reservation, or TSA may not let me board.
This is a domestic flight, by the way.
Thanks!
The reservation shows that I'm listed as female, but my gender has always been male. To make things stranger, my AAdvantage account profile shows female as well. This isn't editable, so there's no way I made a typo when buying the ticket.
Can anyone offer any advice on what to do? My temptation is to ignore it, but I'm concerned that AA might not honor the reservation, or TSA may not let me board.
This is a domestic flight, by the way.
Thanks!
Sep 16, 2016, 11:32 am
#51
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: OKC
Programs: IHG Spire, National Exec, AA Plat
Posts: 2,274
I booked a ticket a week or two ago to fly in October, and just went to confirm that my KTN was listed.
The reservation shows that I'm listed as female, but my gender has always been male. To make things stranger, my AAdvantage account profile shows female as well. This isn't editable, so there's no way I made a typo when buying the ticket.
Can anyone offer any advice on what to do? My temptation is to ignore it, but I'm concerned that AA might not honor the reservation, or TSA may not let me board.
This is a domestic flight, by the way.
Thanks!
The reservation shows that I'm listed as female, but my gender has always been male. To make things stranger, my AAdvantage account profile shows female as well. This isn't editable, so there's no way I made a typo when buying the ticket.
Can anyone offer any advice on what to do? My temptation is to ignore it, but I'm concerned that AA might not honor the reservation, or TSA may not let me board.
This is a domestic flight, by the way.
Thanks!
Sep 16, 2016, 11:33 am
#52
Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: NYC,MIA,XFL
Programs: AA EXP, B6 Mosaic, DL PM
Posts: 863
Sep 16, 2016, 11:36 am
#53
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
To be fair, it isn't necessarily permanent. Ignoring for a moment any PR-level discussion, there are processes so that people can legally change the gender on their government ID. Thus, the airlines need to have a process to allow gender information in one's profile to be updated.
Sep 16, 2016, 12:03 pm
#55
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 245
Thanks for your reply. I guess I was worried the TSO would compare my ID and bounce me, but they probably just compare it to the boarding pass.
Last edited by JY1024; Sep 17, 2016 at 7:38 am Reason: Merged consecutive posts
Sep 16, 2016, 9:38 pm
#57
Join Date: Sep 2016
Posts: 245
Thanks everyone for your help. I'll let you know next month if I run into trouble.
I'm still a little curious if my accounts been wrong for a few decades, or if something changed somehow. And why they have a gender field if they don't use it for anything.
I'm still a little curious if my accounts been wrong for a few decades, or if something changed somehow. And why they have a gender field if they don't use it for anything.
Sep 16, 2016, 10:41 pm
#58
Join Date: May 2005
Location: PHX
Programs: AA Gold, WN A+ & CP, HH Diamond, Hyatt Platinum, National Executive Elite
Posts: 3,246
I've always assumed that asking for gender in these profiles is more for customer statistics and market research than it is for anything else. But that's just my opinion, I don't know if that is really what it's used for.
Sep 17, 2016, 5:19 am
#59
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 5,270
I've read somewhere (probably on here) that it feeds into the weight and balance calculations.
Sep 17, 2016, 6:16 am
#60
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
But even before that, airlines have been collecting this info.