jdmp

I've got a weird one here...I messed up a paid ticket by booking a First Class seat on AA1667 for my wife, but I got the name wrong. The ticket has my surname, but my wife never took my surname. I called Amex (who I booked the ticket through) and they said I can't change it (major change, not minor change), and that it was non refundable so it is a complete loss.

The good news is that I was able to make an Aadvantage redemption in the main cabin on the same flight. So for not much extra money, my wife will still be on the same plane, but not in First.

So at the moment, my wife has a usable ticket in economy, and an unusable ticket in First.

Would someone know if the following would work... My wife shows up at check in and shows the two tickets and explains the situation and asks if they will swap seats so that she could travel in the First seat...

A related question to the above...For a purchased First seat, is there a No-Show fee? I can't see anything about it in the Amex terms and conditions and I can't find any link to AA T&C for this ticket.

I'm not terrifically hopeful about our chances, but I thought it was worth asking some people who have experience with tricky situations. Your help is appreciated!

thunderlounge

I don’t know if that would work, but I hope your couch is comfortable!

Bttc

Well, there's an easy and free solution to your problem, but it's a bit of a grey area. Just keep the original ticket, and buy a fully refundable ticket (to anywhere) to get through security. After you get through security, cancel the refundable ticket and use the wrong-name one to board the flight.

It's a little grey, but if the airline is going to not allow you to fix the name, it feels fair to cancel the refundable ticket.

Edit: On second thought, I guess you already have the second ticket--just use that to get through security, then cancel it.

nomiiiii

If this isn't an international flight where passport needs to be shown at boarding:

- Remove any AAdvantage numbers from both economy and first class bookings.
- Check in for both flights online. (if you cannot check in for both online, this doesn't work).
- Use economy flight ticket to get through security (or any other refundable ticket, but since you've bought the economy ticket already i guess that will have to do, ideally you used a refundable ticket on a completely different airline).
- At the gate beep through with first class ticket and go sit in first class seat (so economy ticket woman becomes a no-show who changed her mind after going through tsa security for whatever reason).
- Keep marriage certificate with you just in case someone questions.

jdmp

Thanks for the strategies! I was able to resolve this an easier way, although it cost me USD$75. I called AA myself and asked about the name change on the original First ticket and the nice lady WAS able to change it free of charge! Nice outcome, but now I have the economy redemption ticket that I don't need. 12.5K miles, $75 booking fee and $5 in taxes. I called AAdvantage back (this was within an hour of making the redemption) and asked if I can cancel without penalty. They gave me back the miles and the taxes, but not the booking fee... The price of an education...

Thanks again for the help.

Often1

Glad it worked out.

Amazing that the advice is to engage in all kinds of fraud to avoid a $75 fee over something which wasn't a big deal in the first place. We're talking about LAX-DEN, not some ultra long-haul.

USFlyerUS

Do none of her official IDs list both last names? MaidenName-MarriedName?

ryan182

try reading the OP again, the suggestions were not to avoid a $75 fee...

UKtravelbear

perhaps if you had asked on here or just phoned AA you might have saved yourself the $75 and some grief.

People getting their spouses maiden / married name wrong is a regular problem and most airlines are willing and able to resolve it without people trying all sorts of fancy schemes then end up costing money

TomMM

Send the bill to your wife for not changing her name

ibrandsguest

I see I'm too late, but this is exactly it!
The name on the ticket that she boards with shouldn't matter. When drink orders are taken, she may be addressed as "Mrs. X" when her name is "Mrs. Y", but that's the only thing.

nomiiiii

How would it have been fraud? Against terms and conditions, perhaps, but the wife should be in no legal jeopardy by flying under a potential married name (specially if she carries her marriage certificate). Newlywed brides fly like this all the time since papers haven't gone through.

kmersh

Something similar happened, I somehow had a brain fart and when booking a ticket for my Brother In-law, I accidentally used his first name, but my last name.

I called AA after realizing my mistake and the nice agent suggested that instead of paying any fees, book a fully refundable ticket to anywhere, after clearing security refund it and then use the First Class ticket as booked.

I was somewhat amazed that an airline employee suggested that, but I did as instructed, explained the entire thing to my Brother In-law and he flew without issue in First Class on the ticket with his correct first name and my last name.

mvoight

Wife takes normal ID and the marriage license showing her husband's last name. Many newlyweds do this. Does this not work anymore?
I assume you decided to pay the $75 close in award booking fee rather than buying a refundable ticket to get around the issue.

tbd1579

I had an issue a few years ago similar, but with a different outcome. My father purchased 8 tickets over the phone for our family to travel to the Caribbean for Christmas week. We all have the same last name. My father maintained control of the tickets until we got to the airport. The night before, he checked us all in online, but there appeared to be an error with my passport. We arrived at the airport and checked in including checking luggage without issue. My passport was checked twice, once at bag check, and once at security. There was no issue. Prior to boarding there was an announcement to present your boarding pass with your passport. I did that, and was flagged. In my last name, there was an I instead of an O. They would not allow me to get on the plane with that ticket. They were willing to resell that same ticket, same seat for me with the correct spelling on my name for $2400. I also had to be the one to purchase this ticket. It was now 60 min to departure, so I did have to act fast, and it was Christmas week, Caribbean. My chances of securing another flight were little. We tried to argue that 8 tickets had been purchased over the phone, why would one name have been spelled incorrectly, an I for an O when the two characters are right next to each other. The phone agent must have mad a mistake. The gate agent was not hearing it. In the end, I handed them a credit card, they charged me $2400. I was issued a ticket in the correct name, for the same seat that I had under the incorrect name. I was able to call CS prior to take off and they said they would look into it. While on the flight, I was refunded $2400 and both tickets were cancelled. While on holiday, through a few e-mails, I was able to get a ticket in the correct name reinstated.
I am very glad that the OP was able to sort it out with only a $75 penalty. But you never know how picky they will be with the name. I passed two levels of screening and it was only caught on the third. I had not even noticed the issue. In the end, the mistake only cost me some added stress. I do now double and triple check prior to booking.