Hi,
Does anyone know what TSA's policy is when a ticket is booked under a nickname rather than the real name? I read of instances in the past that as long as the nickname is a common form of the real name (e.g., "Thomas"->"Tom", "Robert"->"Bob") it was not a problem, especially if they have other forms of ID showing the same name. I also read of instances where people were able to fly without ID. However, with the new TSA security measures this month, is this still the case?

I booked a ticket for my girlfriend under her nickname (I didn't know all her identification has her given name), and the nickname is not even close to the real name. She has a few forms of ID such as a high-school ID that shows her nickname, but none on the list of TSA's approved list:

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtrav...documents.shtm

I called Continental airlines to see if they would re-issue the ticket under the correct name, but they flatly and rudely refused (i.e., they hung up on me)! I called back several times and they basically told me that they can put a note in about this in their system (though this would only be a note to the ticket agent...not TSA) and I can deal with it there, or I can cancel the ticket and buy a new one (very expensive route).

Is it better to just eat the cost and re-book the ticket now (ticket prices might go up even more if done on the same day...especially day-before Thanksgiving), or is it even worth trying?

Thanks!

AFAIK thanks to secure flight, the name must match EXACTLY the ID...I'd keep calling CO or maybe write there Executive office seeking help

Dont eat the cost of the ticket. Get to the ticket counter early and claim that you did not know about it. See if they will change the PNR to match her identification. They can charge to do it but it would be less than a new fare.

The SecureFlight data is not stored in the name field (but rather in what's called "SSR DOCS"). Matching between SecureFlight data and ID is done only by the airline, not at TDC, and only on request of the TSA (in the case of a close watchlist match). You are only issued a boarding pass after any SecureFlight processing has been done and the name as shown on the boarding pass is not that as presented in the SecureFlight data. There is no requirement that the SecureFlight data match that in the name field and in most of the reservations I make it does not match and nobody's had any problems with it.

In other words, the TSO working TDC does not have access to SecureFlight data and can't do any matching to it. The only matching they can do is between the ID and the name field of the PNR, which has nothing to do with SecureFlight. So SecureFlight does not affect that process.

How old is your GF? You mention HS ID so is she less than 18? Children are not required to present ID.

Just say she is under 18 and if the TDC gives you an issues then just pull out the HS ID.

If she is over 18 then present her gov't issued ID.

I thought due to the whole RealID fiasco it became against policy to issue drivers licenses with any thing but the full legal name. Most states didn't implement RealID, but still adpoted many of the policies. Why would you think that a newly minted DL would have anything less than the full legal name?

I wasn't suggesting the TSC had access to secure flight, I was only saying that since that 11/1 when that went into full effect, the name on the BP and Govt ID had to match exactly....I thought I read that somewhere?

Depends on what you mean by "exactly". TSA issues statements like "minor differences in names shouldn't create problems". Of course, they won't define what "minor" means.

No, nothing changed in that area on November 1. That's one of the milestones for SecureFlight, though (the last day that airlines had to fully implement it), so that might have accounted for the confusion.

There have been no recent changes in that area in quite a while.

My understanding of the intent of the rule is that it should be obvious that it's the same person. So things like typos, reversed first/last names, normal nicknames, middle name vs. initial vs. missing, etc. aren't issues. On the other hand, if your legal name is "Sarah", but everybody calls you "Sady", it's probably best to use "Sarah" as your first name. Most airlines have guidelines for what are "misspellings" and I'd suggest consulting them if that's the issue.

ok...what your saying is I can put one thing Such as Bob Smith at the top (which will be used for boarding pass) as long as I put Robert John Smith at the bottom (which will be used for secure flight) ?

I recently approached security behind a young man who had a problem with a nickname. His ID said "Joseph," and his boarding pass (ticket) said "Joe." He told the screener his mother made the reservation.

The screener let him through to the security lanes, with a big "SSSS" on the boarding pass.

this was a handwritten "SSSS" ? Didn't know they could do that?

My girlfriend is not under 18 (that would be illegal! ) so that's not going to work. The high school ID is just an old ID that we found while looking for picture IDs that use her nickname. Also, I think it's too late to write the executive office considering the flight is this Wed.

So I logged onto Continental's site to edit the reservation, and found that it allows me to modify the "traveler information", including the name, DoB, and gender. It looks like this is done to comply with SecureFlight as I see the following statement above these fields:

The "name provided above" shows the nickname the ticket was (incorrectly) booked under, and is not an editable field.

So it looks like Continental allows me to update the info that is sent to TSA for SecureFlight verification, but not the one for the reservation. So I guess this is what RichardKenner was saying above about these two checks being totally separate.

However, this does not seem very secure as it is essentially allowing us to use one ID for SecureFlight, while actually going through security with another name (the one on the reservation). Is this going to trigger some flag that would prevent them from printing us the boarding pass?

Why is Continental is so hardline about changing the name on the reservation? Obviously they don't want people transferring tickets to others, but this is more of a 'correction'...surely they would correct minor misspellings on the ticket. I brought this up to them but they just said "It's policy".

So I think what we will do is to get to the airport extra early that day and try to check in and get a boarding pass from the ticket agent. At this point, they'll already have the note saying the reservation was accidentally booked under a nickname, and hopefully the ticket agents can update the PNR with the correct information (that matches the SecureFlight info).

> this was a handwritten "SSSS" ? Didn't know they could do that.

I don't know much about "SSSS," but yes, I did watch her write it on the BP. This was at Dallas Love about a year (maybe more) ago. She told the young man that there would be some extra security for him.

Which is why you should carry two copies of your boarding pass. One from your on-line check-in and one re-printed from one of the kiosks at the airport (or two from the kiosk if you could not olci) so if the TSO scribbles SSSS, as you are placing your "stuff" in the little grey trays, simply swap out the SSSS bp with the one "strategically placed" in your bag or jacket pocket for just such an occasion and once thru security, simply tear up your SSSS bp into little pieces and drop into 2 or 3 different trash receptacles while on your way to the gate. Worked for me and no-one was the wiser nor was the terminal dumped

Yes TSA can SSSS anyone's BP