Name arrangement problems
 

I am experiencing an issue that the name arrangement in US different with Asia ! So my name is 1234 which shows on my passport but the travel agent booked as 1432 as Last-First-Middle name (the American way- she said!). I called the agent but they yelled at me that should be ok THEN I called Asia Miles coz I cannot put the card number in for earning miles (they said they couldnt help coz the name on my Loyalty card match my passport and advised me to claim it after I have completed my flight) THEN I called cathay Los Angeles and they asked me to call the agent for name change due to the possibility of immigration problem may occur and blamed me for booking through an agent instead of online !? (I answered that their website only accept credit but not debit or check), refused to help and hung up on me intently right after that! I flew w them a few time w/o any problems so this is a shock to me and I am really frustrated right now and could not believe Cathay response to their customers like that as a 5 star airlines :(

Anyone have been in this missed name arrangement like be, any advices?

Yes, I had a similar problem with my Chinese name 123 when I booked my flight on expedia.com - First/Given name 3, Middle name 2, Family name 1 format - when I checked in at Singapore Airport. The check-in Agent (SATS) insisted that I pay $100 to have my name changed from 321 to what is shown in my passport 123. He would not listen to my explanation. It was a cash grab, of course. :rolleyes:

Go back to the place where you book the ticket and insist on a name change.

A fee may trigger. You have no choice but to pay it.

Thinking CX's customer service on the phone is 5 star? Think again.

This seems quite different from many previous posts in this forum. According to those - so long as the names are on passport, it is fine for flying. Posting miles may be more difficult.

eg http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...ame-issue.html

And UA's customer service is so five star

I am not so sure if there's no choice but to pay for it given this is the agent's mistake and assuming OP caught that once OP received the ticket and had contacted the agent regarding that. CX would charge the agent the name change fee for sure though.

And unfortunately since OP booked with a travel agent, it is the agent's responsibility to fix this not CX. But even so, the kind of customer service OP received over the phone definitely not something I would called "service from heart"

And is it service from the JAP?

"Last/First Middle" is the right format either in Asia or America. Since you have done this several times before and had no problem, I imagine that it could be you simply enter the name in the wrong order for your FF card.

I had a flight booked with CX directly for three people and I stuffed up somehow and had the first and last names around the wrong way.

I only noticed about a month after I booked it but I emailed CX and they fixed it up for me straight away.

So if the travel agent can't help maybe contacting CX will? Some airlines do want a copy of your passport just to check that you're not changing the name to a completely different person.

A substantial chunk of my relatives and associates travel internationally (including on CX to/from Canada, the UK or the US) where their ticketed name is opposite order of what would be generally derived for most common name order arrangements in the US/Canada/UK when relying upon US/Canada/UK passports: family name as last name and given name as first name.

The APIS-type passport data fields can be filled properly without an material issue by the airlines for customers under such "name arrangement problems" situations regardless of a supposed discrepancy between ticket name and passport name, and thus generally no ticket/ticket name change is really required even if some airline busybodies may claim so.

From my personal experiences, I find the best way to get help from CX (or any other airlines for that matter) is by writing on their Facebook page, if the problem is quite general. CX usually responds within the day, and are usually more accommodating and polite, since everyone sees it on their page. You might want to send them a private message if it's more specific and involves your personal details.