Infant with Wrong Surname on Award Ticket
Oct 8, 2023, 12:59 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: SK Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 180
Infant with Wrong Surname on Award Ticket
I’ve cashed out some Eurobonus points for a Star Alliance award ticket from Europe to Japan for my wife, myself and our toddler (as a lap infant). When I booked over the phone, I specified that he has my surname, but the agent said they only needed the first name anyway. Sure enough, the ticket shows him with my wife’s surname.
When I called SAS about it, thinking this would be an easy thing to fix, they said my options were (1) to cancel and reissue all our tickets, hoping that the award seats get released again, or (2) add a second infant “attached” to me and explain to the ground staff why we’re only travelling with one. There is apparently no way to remove an infant from a booking or change their name.
I don’t want to do 1 as it was hard enough to find these seats once. I definitely don’t want to do 2 as that seems far more likely to cause all kinds of trouble than the surname alone.
I’m 95% sure we’ll be fine and nobody will care, but could do with some reassurance or advice for the remaining 5%.
When I called SAS about it, thinking this would be an easy thing to fix, they said my options were (1) to cancel and reissue all our tickets, hoping that the award seats get released again, or (2) add a second infant “attached” to me and explain to the ground staff why we’re only travelling with one. There is apparently no way to remove an infant from a booking or change their name.
I don’t want to do 1 as it was hard enough to find these seats once. I definitely don’t want to do 2 as that seems far more likely to cause all kinds of trouble than the surname alone.
I’m 95% sure we’ll be fine and nobody will care, but could do with some reassurance or advice for the remaining 5%.
Oct 8, 2023, 2:41 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: SK Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 180
Could you explain why? To me, it feels like any antagonistic check-in/gate agent would be able to find just as much of a problem with the non-existent second infant as they would with the obvious surname mix-up. And wouldn’t we struggle to book seats next to each other in long-haul C as we’d need two seats with a total of four oxygen masks?
Oct 8, 2023, 4:07 am
#4
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BKK
Programs: Mucci Chevalier de la Brosse a Cheveux Dore, SK *GfL, BA Gold, WY G, HH DIA, IC Plat Amb., Hertz PC
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Call back and insist they made the mistake. When I (in a moment of autopilot) accidentally put my wife’s first name as surname and last name vice versa on a CX booking, all it took was a helpful agent, a scan of her passport and voila - all done. They can do it easily, question is just whether you find someone competent enough to do so..
Oct 8, 2023, 7:38 am
#5
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,828
Could you explain why? To me, it feels like any antagonistic check-in/gate agent would be able to find just as much of a problem with the non-existent second infant as they would with the obvious surname mix-up. And wouldn’t we struggle to book seats next to each other in long-haul C as we’d need two seats with a total of four oxygen masks?
For the second question, my guess is not but are you on one or two bookings? Are you having any issues selecting seats with the one infant added? Its a valid point and planes have a layout for this in coach but I'm not sure how infant oxygen masks work in J.
Option 3 is to show up at the airport early and find a kind female agent at the C desk. Your treatment will be vastly different when you find a person that understands you're in C and the female agents are more forgiving when it involves children.
Oct 8, 2023, 1:21 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: SK Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 180
Call back and insist they made the mistake. When I (in a moment of autopilot) accidentally put my wife’s first name as surname and last name vice versa on a CX booking, all it took was a helpful agent, a scan of her passport and voila - all done. They can do it easily, question is just whether you find someone competent enough to do so..
Our outbound is on the 06:10 LH BGO–FRA, so we won’t exactly be spoilt for choice when it comes to check-in agents. That said, we can probably use the online check-in and self-service bag drop and not have anyone look at our passports until FRA, though that may be riskier than being upfront.
Oct 8, 2023, 2:09 pm
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: SK Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 180
Oh yeah, there are four airlines in this booking, none of which are SK, so I can see why it’s not easy. (It’s not even that I’m trying to avoid SK, but I don’t think they’ve released a single award seat to TYO since they’ve reopened the route.) I’m keeping an eye out for a more convenient itinerary anyway, in which case I’d probably cancel and rebook.
Oct 9, 2023, 1:34 am
#9
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
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Ok, wasn't aware of the LH part as that vastly complicates things. Assumed you were on SK983. Either way, it brings me back to recommending option 2.
Oct 9, 2023, 2:18 am
#10
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
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Posts: 48,187
Lufthansa won't make a fuss, the ID is not verified for infants. The agent must have added the infant to the mother during the booking process so it shows with the last name of that passenger. No worries at all.
In Amadeus the first name of the infant shows in the reservation. The last name of the pax it is associated to if pulled, but not mission critical
LH or SK could theoretically change the SSR INFT element, but I wouldn't bother.
In Amadeus the first name of the infant shows in the reservation. The last name of the pax it is associated to if pulled, but not mission critical
Code:
CREATE NAME ELEMENT EN 21APR22 0714Z PASSENGER WITH INFANT --------------------- THERE IS A SPECIAL PASSENGER TYPE CODE (INF) FOR INFANTS TRAVELING WITH AN ADULT PASSENGER. THIS TYPE CODE IS EXCEPTIONAL AS IT IS ENTERED WITH THE ACCOMPANYING ADULT PASSENGER.THE DATE OF BIRTH (DOB) OF INF/CHD MUST ALWAYS BE INCLUDED. ENTER FOR EXAMPLE: NM1LEAVEY/PATRICK(INF/MICHAEL/01JUN21) NM TRANSACTION CODE 1 NUMBER OF PASSENGERS WITH THIS SURNAME, WHO ARE OCCUPYING SEATS LEAVEY/PATRICK PASSENGER SURNAME, SLASH, GIVEN NAME ( OPEN BRACKET, DELIMITER FOR THE PTC INF CODE FOR INFANT PTC / SLASH, DELIMITER, MANDATORY IF THE NAME OR DOB IS INCLUDED MICHAEL INFANT'S GIVEN NAME (OPTIONAL) /01JUN21 SLASH, INFANT'S AGE AT TIME OF TRAVEL, DATE ) OF BIRTH OBLIGATORY, CLOSE BRACKET SYSTEM RESPONSE: 1.LEAVEY/PATRICK(INFT/MICHAEL/01JUN21) 2 OK 654 Y 18SEP 2 PRGSTN HK1 N1 0730 0830 319 EOS SEE RTSVC 3 SSR INFT OK NN1 LEAVEY/MICHAEL 01JUN21/S2 IF THE INFANT'S SURNAME DIFFERS FROM THE NAME OF THE ADULT, ENTER THE SURNAME IMMEDIATELY AFTER INF, FOR EXAMPLE: NM1BROWN/ANNE(INFBIGG/HANNAH/10JUN21) NOTE: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO ENTER THE INFANT'S SURNAME WITHOUT A GIVEN NAME.
LH or SK could theoretically change the SSR INFT element, but I wouldn't bother.
Oct 9, 2023, 2:36 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: SK Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 180
Lufthansa won't make a fuss, the ID is not verified for infants. The agent must have added the infant to the mother during the booking process so it shows with the last name of that passenger. No worries at all.
In Amadeus the first name of the infant shows in the reservation. The last name of the pax it is associated to if pulled, but not mission critical
In Amadeus the first name of the infant shows in the reservation. The last name of the pax it is associated to if pulled, but not mission critical
More out of curiosity than anything, do you know if the boarding pass and passenger manifest will have the surname of the adult to whom the infant is attached or no surname at all?
Oct 9, 2023, 9:14 pm
#12
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
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It’s been a while, but the boarding pass usually has adult last name / infant on it with no details of the infant name. Same for the manifest.
Oct 13, 2023, 1:58 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2016
Programs: SK Gold, BA Gold
Posts: 180
SAS have replied to my email and confirmed that there’s a risk that we won’t be able to travel. They’re unable to change the name on a Star Alliance ticket as that may lead to it getting auto-cancelled. They instead offered to add a second infant under my name. Apparently, they can cancel the initial infant ticket so we’d still only have three tickets but four names on the booking.
I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s probably the solution that’s the least likely to lead to problems once we have our boarding passes in hand, but I have a suspicion that the airlines’ IT systems won’t handle it at all gracefully. As our trip isn’t until March, I’ll sleep on it for a bit longer and keep an eye out for a more convenient routing that would let us cancel and rebook the entire thing.
I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s probably the solution that’s the least likely to lead to problems once we have our boarding passes in hand, but I have a suspicion that the airlines’ IT systems won’t handle it at all gracefully. As our trip isn’t until March, I’ll sleep on it for a bit longer and keep an eye out for a more convenient routing that would let us cancel and rebook the entire thing.
Oct 13, 2023, 2:31 pm
#14
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,187
Again, I would not get too concerned. The boarding pass will just have the mothers name and 'infant' written on it. Since LH & SAS use the same systems there will be no issues.