Denied travel on BA due to shortened name

Old Apr 13, 2018, 10:55 am
  #1  
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Denied travel on BA due to shortened name

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/b...ritish-1448304

Bit harsh? Or rules are rules?

"Nick offered to pay for another ticket for his original BA flight, but claims he was told it was fully booked unless he wanted a first class ticket. Charlotte, who is scared of flying, then had to endure her first long-haul flight without her husband but found his original seat and several others in economy were empty."
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 11:05 am
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I bet the wife doesn't make that mistake again...
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:14 pm
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In line with Flyertalk's policies on "bare links", here is a summary of the story in question:

A Bristol man could not board a flight to Bali because the name on his boarding pass was ‘Nick’ rather than ‘Nicholas’.... Nick Meads, 53, and his wife Charlotte, 49, were due to fly to the Indonesian destination as part of their 25th wedding anniversary celebrations. But, instead of jetting off on their dream holiday together, they had to fly separately and Nick had to fork out more than Ł1,000 for a seat with a different airline – which included a nine-hour layover in the Phillipines.
This extra cost came about since they used (wait for it) TravelUp and the couple got concerned about the name in the days before departure. They ended up buying a new ticket since BA apparently wouldn't change the name. As regulars here would know, at check-in - which is largely automated these days - it's highly unlikely to have caused a problem. A few bits and pieces in the story don't fully add up, since they certainly weren't flying BA to DPS.
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:19 pm
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I echo CWS here,

Other than the fact I would have understood the box that says "Name as shown on your passport" this is the downside to also using an agency and not BA. Personally I would have kept my mouth shut and no one would have noticed..

I wondered originally when I read it whether it was perhaps a VISA problem that required the strict name matching but CWS makes more sense
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:21 pm
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From the booking screen on the Travel UP website

Just before you enter the details

Please enter all details as shown on the passport
And this further down the screen

Please read this important information

  • Please ensure that all passenger names exactly match those on their passports (full first name and surname).
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:23 pm
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Since when did BA start flying to Bali ?
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:26 pm
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Originally Posted by deboyzoned
Since when did BA start flying to Bali ?

I am guessing a code share BA carry the first leg then QR / MH the rest
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:34 pm
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Originally Posted by deboyzoned
Since when did BA start flying to Bali ?
Just what I was going to post!!
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:35 pm
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I don't think fault (partial or full) lies with the OTA.

Just about every TA and airline on Earth makes it abundantly clear in no uncertain terms that the ticket name must match the passport name.

And who's to say that if the booking was directly made with BA instead of through an OTA, that they would have changed the name or advised just to turn up and wing it? BA is highly consistent at being inconsistent.

Last edited by Virazuno; Apr 13, 2018 at 12:54 pm
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:37 pm
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Originally Posted by cgtechuk
I am guessing a code share BA carry the first leg then QR / MH the rest
Probably.. so there probably weren't any seats available on the second leg.
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 12:42 pm
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Originally Posted by deboyzoned
Since when did BA start flying to Bali ?
BA do fly to Denver, though.
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 2:24 pm
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I want to know how I can get my boarding passes four days before the flight like Nick.
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 3:23 pm
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Fake news ?
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 4:31 pm
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Originally Posted by deboyzoned
Fake news ?
More like poorly reported news. If neither the passenger nor the journalist were too precise about what was going on then the output becomes a simplified heap of inaccuracy. I'm sure something went on, but the fact that actually (e.g.) he was trying to access MMB for (e.g.) his LHR-SIN sector to DPS may well have ended up in print the way it did.
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Old Apr 13, 2018, 6:09 pm
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This is always a fear of mine, particularly on ANA (I'm sure other airlines do it as well) where they tend to combine first and middle names with no space in between (i.e. JOHNEDWARD SMITH)
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