I am having SO much trouble fixing a middle name on a ticket.
I booked a flight for myself and a friend. For myself I put full middle name, for my friend I put no middle name.
I realized after that my passport just has middle initials (2). So I called and they said they can change it...for a fee. 35 pounds per letter. I decided to think about it.

Next time I called and they said no, its just 35pounds total...and you just call expedia to change it.

So I did...and then they said oh thats no problem, you gave more information than less...you just need to put a middle name for your friend. So I said I would get the information.

Just called back today - you cant change your name on your ticket.

Ok...so, first I can, then I cant. The price changes, what is acceptable changes. I'm getting really frustrated...

I asked her on the phone if I cant fix the name to fit your standards...then what? I'm just supposed to wait and show up at the airport and SEE if they let me on?

I'm getting really concerned about this. I dont really know how i can fix it. Any suggestions?

If I were in your place, I would ignore it and deal with it when you get to the airport.

Will not be a problem. Airlines are all over the map on how they handle middle names and TSA is basically ignoring it unless it is a complete mismatch. Check tsa.gov somewhere and it's addressed.

Thanks, I have an email from TSA saying middle names are not an issue that I plan to print out and bring with me.

My concerns are that I'm flying internationally (apparently TSA is for domestic flights) and the airline I'm flying with (bmi) has on their website that it must match or you wont be allowed on the flight.

OH and I'm Canadian

I just cant get over the complete run around I'm being given!

You should not have any issues.. I commonly mix my tickets, either putting my middle name, or just a middle initial. Never any issues from Customs/TSA.

Every day, many, many many people travel with conditions as you mention, and they do so by checking in at the airport and having the rep pull up the record using the record locator. They ordinarily face no hassle and their trip goes just fine.

The airlines are well capable of entering in and transmitting the required passport information regardless of any purported name issue. The TSA and CBP doesn't ordinarily make a big stink of name issues either in such circumstances.

You won't have any problem with bmi, I've travelled many times and when I book myself I never put my middle name on the booking even though it's in my passport, and if someone else does the booking sometimes they put the middle name in and sometimes just an initial - it won't matter.

BTW bmi don't fly transatlantic, so I assume you're flying another star alliance airline to LHR and then bmi from there? Whatever the case, there won't be an issue.

You guys are all so helpful at reassuring my stresses!

Its so aggravating that I keep getting told "you MAY not be able to board". First name, last name, birth date, gender all matches! I'd be so upset if I spent thousands planning a trip to be told that I cant go!

I'm flying United for most of the flights and bmi for two I believe. But I've been told bmi is the higher power for my trip. United told me it was no big deal at all. But bmi tells me I should get it fixed, and to call expedia. And expedia gives me the third degree and tells me either it cant be done, i have to call the airline, or that it isnt needed. Never the same answer!

I fly bmi fairly regularly (as well as BMIbaby) and have never had an issue with middle name vs initial.

just put whatever middle name you like on your reservation, birthdate too. no one at the airport is going to check either. as long as you don't stumble in to the right combination of a middle name AND a birthdate of someone actually on the no fly list you'll be fine. middle names and birthdates do not appear on boarding passes.
i'm sure the bad guys know this too, secure flight is just another useless waste of time and intrusion into the private lives of innocent people.

As per the above; you should not have any problems. In fact, my uncle regularly used his middle name only on airline tickets in the 80s and 90s, because his name would otherwise be P. O'Neill.

I just had an issue with WN about my name being spelled wrong on a reservation made yesterday.

I called them with trepidation.

They corrected my name with no fuss, no muss, and, most importantly, with no charge, and with plenty of courtesy.

The kicker was this: I told them that I didn't personally care that it was misspelled, but I didn't want any hassle from the TSA. The rep says "I don't blame you at all"

I think TSA's approach to this is quite instructive and ultimately put my mind at ease for my upcoming trip to LHR.

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/

At the security checkpoint, TSA strives to ensure your identification and boarding pass are authentic and validate you are who you say you are. Small differences in the name on the boarding pass and ID, like middle initials, should not impact your travel. It is not uncommon for the information printed on boarding passes to differ slightly from the information on IDs, depending on the boarding pass printing practices of individual airlines.


I booked my flight through Vayama, which doesn't even allow you to put more than a middle initial on your ticket. I called Vayama and they were adamant that the middle initial would not be an issue so long as first and last names matched exactly.

Just to update everyone so you don't stay awake at night wondering what happened to me...

NO ISSUES WHAT SO EVER! for those of you that said that, you're welcome to give the "i told you so" comments now.

Lessons learned - expedia and the airlines are trying to cover their butts in CASE you are a) on the no fly list or b) have the same name as someone on the no fly list. But unless you do and it comes up with a red flag at the checkin kiosk or TSA - no one is even going to give you a second glance. Just ignore the airlines. Oh, and dont book through expedia - they make life very difficult if you need to make changes. Go directly to the airline if you can.

Interesting: I could have sworn that used to say "for now" (or some such).

But, as a practical matter, my policy when booking tickets is to put just lastname/firstname in the PNR name field and put all names in the SecureFlight data, which every airline allows to be changed at any time with no fee. There's no issue whatsoever with this on domestic flights, though there have been some reports of issues internationally.