thanks for the info...i'll make sure to keep multiple BP's as others suggested

You could, but my recommendation (and what I do), is to put "Robert Smith" on top and "Robert John Smith" at the bottom. There's no point in going out of your way to use a nickname.

Exactly.

It depends on the airline. Some, like Delta, have specific policies for how much of a change is considered a "misspelling". For the most part, the reason they don't allow the change is that it's not needed: as a practical matter, most people don't have problems with it, so the airline doesn't want to spend the time making the change (and it's not the just the reservation that has to be changed: the electronic ticket has to be reissued, so it's a lot of work).

I'd strongly recommend not doing the latter! Check in normally (online if possible, otherwise at the kiosk). There's no point in dealing with more people than you have to. Do arrive at the airport early, just in case, but then proceed as normal. Most likely, TDC will process it as normal (perhaps with a "warning"). Second most likely is a selectee designation. It's very unlikely you'll be asked to get a new boarding pass. If that happens, only then go talk to a person at an airline check-in counter and get a new boarding pass. The agent will likely be thinking "idiotic TSA" and make the change.

No, vice versa. To avoid complications, you should put a name that matches the one on your ID up top (so the boarding pass prints out with a name that matches your ID and the screening clerk can see that these two documents have the same words printed on them). However, you can put your name in the second part as Funky Winkerbean with a DOB of 1/1/1846 and as long as there are no terrorists on the watch list using that name and DOB, you will breeze through the matching. Not that I am recommending you do that :).

Ding Ding Ding, you are absolutely correct.

At the present time it does not seem to do that. The two fields are apparently independent of one another. As you said, this does seem to make the whole system somewhat useless.

I agree 100%. I'd also advise printing multiple copies of the BP when she checks in and keep one secure somewhere. That way if all else fails and she cannot get through with her IDs and she can't convince the airline to redo it, she can go back to screening (preferably at a different location, if she's flying out of an airport that has multiple security lines leading to her gate) and just tell them she has no ID and then she can get through with an additional search.

Thank you all so much for the responses!

So wow...I am feeling much more safe about flying now that I know that the system will now catch anybody on the watchlist as long as they decide to type their real name into the SecureFlight fields.

I called TSA today to ask about their policy on boarding passes with nicknames, and they said that they will likely (though not guaranteed) let her board the plane as long as she goes through additional screening, signs some affidavit saying that's really her, she is able to answer some questions to verify her identity, and she pinky swears that she will book all future flights under her name.

Well, I guess we'll see on Wednesday!

Thanks again!