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Is order of passengers names important on Vietnam Airlines?

Is order of passengers names important on Vietnam Airlines?

Old Feb 20, 2019, 9:44 am
  #1  
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Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 1
Is order of passengers names important on Vietnam Airlines?

Im planning to book a direct flight from Melbourne, Australia to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and return, with Vietnam Airlines. I have both a Vietnamese and an Australian passport, and I plan to use my Vietnamese passport for immigration in Vietnam and my Australian passport for immigration in Australia.

However, the order of my given names is different on each passport. Whilst the actual given names are the same, on my Vietnamese passport, the middle name is before the first name, as per the Vietnamese naming tradition, but on my Australian passport, the first name is before the middle name, as per the Western naming tradition. The surnames on both passports are identical.

E.g. the name on my Vietnamese passport is Smith John Edward whilst the name on my Australian passport is Smith Edward John, with Smith being my surname, Edward being my first name and John being my middle name.

My question is, which should be my name on the Vietnam Airlines booking, and which of my passports should I present at the check in counter? Im particularly worried as Ive heard that Vietnam Airlines is particularly fussy about the order of names having to match your passport, especially if you are Vietnamese. Ive flown with other airlines and none of them have been concerned with the order of names having to match your passport, but I have heard stories about Vietnam Airlines on forums, especially at Melbourne Airport.

Has anyone been in the same situation as me, if so what did you do?
Agent Win is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2019, 12:07 pm
  #2  
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: NRT / HND
Programs: AA EXP, NH Plat, Former UA 1K
Posts: 5,562
Call VN and ask them since they are going to be the one determining your eligibility to fly. From someone who flies over 100k miles per year internationally, my general advice is to leave middle names off altogether as it causes unnecessary confusion in certain countries with different naming standards, but your case is quite unique if Vietnamese authorities are expecting to see John on your ticket as your first name and every other country is expecting to see Edward on your ticket as your first name.
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dvs7310 is online now  
Old Feb 20, 2019, 2:04 pm
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,884
Don't worry about this. Airline systems handle names really badly, and especially so with Asian names. Provided that there is obvious linkage between the passenger and their travel document name order and minor misspelling of names do not usually matter. Complete non issue.
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plunet is offline  

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