This is MilesBuzz?

pinniped,

yours are the best ones!
I love it!
Yeah, that makes perfect sense and I am ok now. We will get our teeth kicked in and like it. Hey I would do the same, so no worries!

As for miles, I suppose he can get miles under whatever name, and it matters less because, as we all know:

Miles have no monetary value.

My original question had to do with name changes and the issues we have all brought up, BUT also, the part about the miles:

If he DOES fly and that name is botched up either by him or them in the FFP system, then will they credit?

My wife has the NWA idine just setup. I actually called them and added her to a credit card I own. When I use it to get lunch, she gets the miles and the credits for the Fly Free Faster gig.

Have one more to go.

Anyway, we got the welcome letter and the FF number is coorect with Idine on this card, but her name is totally misspelled and I know I said it right, spelling each letter with things like, "F as in Frank..."

So will SHE get her miles???

I guess when it comes to miles, things like this may matter less--but it would be interesting to see if Harold or Hong Sik (his real longer Asian name) will get any...

I guess it only matters on the day he one day tries to USE THEM!

But if he joins their FFp with his HAROLD name somewhere in the form or part of his full name, then that might help him when he later goes to get on the plane, right? I bet it does. Whatever is on THEIR COMPUTER usualy counts--even if THEY didnt put it there. Thats how people think.
Any further thoughts on miles here?

Paying extra $600 for this is too much. I am an Asian myself. I do know exactly what you are talking about.
Does he have a credit card with his "less-than-formal" name on it? When he purchased his ticket online, his name provided should at least match with the name on credit card. If he does have a credit card with his "less-than-formal" name on it, he should be able to ask the credit card company using his SSN to issue a letter stating that he is the person with the SSN. It does not hurt to try and may help to solve the problem.

Good luck!!

There are a few details missing:

- Is this a domestic trip, or an international one? You make mention of his passport, but this could be just what form of ID he plans to use for a US domestic flight (such as if he doesn't live in the US and therefore doesn't have a state-issued drivers license or ID card).

- Did you buy the ticket from the airline's own web site, or from a third party such as Orbitz or Travelocity?

I think this is the best advice so far. Does he have a government-issued ID that has the name as ticketed? If so, just use that at check-in to meet the airline's requirement that the ticket is non-transferrable.

You're unlikely to get a straight answer from the airline's reservation center. They're going to stick to the party line that the name on the ticket must match the ID, but the subtleties of how this is actually implemented at the airport are a separate matter.

He he...I was kind of waiting for this response to come alonge...

this is miles buzz (and yeah, I waited too for that one) because it is going to be the airline's FFp that saves us here I think.

He registered for the miles program (Tahiti airlines, that recently posted deal on LAX-Aukland for $220, and we got tickets for $370 including everything after waiting 2 days to commit to it and research it!)

He registered under Hong Sik Harold Kim!

Both names are now in their system on line.

ANYWAY, I have since learned that while he booked this thru ZUJI.com, the web site the deal came to us all on (run by travelocity), they told him to call the airline... He said he called ZUji when he realized what could have just happened, but they said to call Tahiti airlines, who in turn--you guessed it: told him to call ZUJI!

Ha!

He said he did this (and yes, I saw this too when I was about to book befre he and I decided to go together):

Go on the site, find the flight, select it, join up and buy it. It asked right off if YOU are one of the travelers. It asks you to sign in and make up a screen name and all that Jazz. He would have put HAROLD in there somewhere./

It never really asked him more about HIM, except his card he was using to PAY. He used the card that has his long Asian name, HONG SIK KIM!

It did ask who the other traveler was though, when he was in the booking engine of Zuji. He entered my name, Jeff F...

While he may have wrongly assumed it would know his name based on the credit card use, which is USUALLY the best identifyer of people, it wrongly assumed his chosen log in and ZUJI profile name was the one he'd be flying as!

If it asked "are you one of the travelers..." then when, other than in the credit card entry area, would it get your name the way you really want it to be?

Thus, being inexperienced with the quirks of Zuji is going to cost him 600 bucks?

I think not.

He is also going to be bringing another card with his HAROLD name on it and show how all of them tie to the same person and same SSN.

We will win this. I bet it is better to be prepared but writing to them AND bringing stuff to the desk in LAX will help. If not, it's a bad PR gig for Tahiti Airlines!
trust me!

When the airlines say no name changes it basically means no passenger changes. I believe if he had a notorized statement that he is one and the same person he will be covered. My aunt has used a nickname most of her life. Some things use her nickname and somethings use her given name. She never legally changed it. When it came to transferring her TWA miles which used her given name, into her AA miles which used her nickname, she needed to get a notarized letter saying she was one and the same person. I beieve that would take care of the situation.

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Ms.DtG

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[This message has been edited by chix (edited 06-19-2003).]

how about a change in name due to marriage? Will they charge a fee for tickets booked before marriage, but for travel after marriage when names have been changed and documents such as passports updated?

As long as your passport is amended (int'l) or drivers license (domestic).

My 2 cents...

AA fixed/change the name of my wife's ticket in more than one instance during the last year. No problems at all. No fee, no hassles, a two-second fix, and off we went.

J

Any airline based in Asia & many that fly there from abroad are familiar with the custom of Orientals having an English first name--just as all Anglophones know that Bobby Smith = Robert Smith. All he needs to be absoultely safe is some ID as "Hong Sik Harold Kim."
If he has time, he can even file for an annotation in his passport.

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Play the travel game 3 vacations into the future!

You don't need to change the name on the tickets for this. The most they might ask is to see the marriage license.


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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Ben Franklin

He has nothing to lose by just calling up the airlines, and playing dumb that he entered his common name instead of his formal name. If they ask for proof, he should be able to provide it. But I'd guess they won't charge him if it simply a name change and not a passenger change.

I made this mistake by entering in my wife's nickname as her first name on a recent international trip, and once I realized what I had done I began to worry about it prior to leaving.

Obviously, if you go by a strict reading of the rules then the airline could really make a stink.

However, I was told by more than one agent that the most important name on the ticket and your identification is the last name (sur name). Evidently this is a very common issue. By the way, we had no problems at all and no one ever questioned it at check ins.

However, it would certainly be prudent (especially if you are worried about it) to show up with some identification or such that shows you are known by both names -- and get to the airport early so you have time to deal with any problems or misunderstandings.



[This message has been edited by elbidercni (edited 06-20-2003).]