Thai Airways won't accommodate a legal name change
Jul 7, 2017, 5:54 am
#16
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She is Swedish and I am American. The process to legally change her name and get a new passport may be quick in Sweden. So quick she may have a new passport and a new legal name within a week of our marriage before we flight back to Thailand. So she may have a new legal name by the time of our return flight to Thailand. Since the flight is international, she needs to show her passport. Most airlines in the world would change the name with the proper documentation. I have done my research and most airlines do that. Also, Aviation Law which is the law of international aviation that the entire world follows says nothing about it being illegal to change the name of a ticket. Airlines don't allow you to transfer the ticket to another passenger because they may make less money. I don't see why the same person cannot update their ticket, especially since this was not an option when booking the ticket.
Jul 8, 2017, 2:03 am
#17
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Just postpone getting the passport with the new name. Most people renew their passports where they live anyway, not in the middle of a trip.
It takes time to change names in all documents. Unless Sweden is different, a passport that shows the maiden name can still be used until its expiration, and that's when most people change their names. Actually, that's how my wife changed her name in most documents, continued using them until they expired and change the name when it was time to renew.
Airlines just list out one name per passenger in the PNR. A lot of airlines do not allow any name changes after they have been issued. People may be allowed to board if there are minor errors or differences in the names compared to their IDs, but this is for airline personnel to interpret.
Even if Thailand is a popular honeymoon destination, people don't change their names or passports in the middle of a trip. The vast majority do that at home. So people get married and happily use their maiden names during their honeymoons and only bother about changing names when they go back home. Or they might just get new passports before they travel for their honeymoon if they come from countries that can issue passports very quickly. TG is hardly alone in not having heard of people changing their names in the middle of their trips.
OP might have better luck in the US as OP is American and can show American documents to American airline staff. There's a higher possibility that airline staff will allow passengers to board if the situation is familiar and believable to them. But even then, most married women should have an old ID there that still uses the same name as that of the ticket, so no need to bring along your marriage certificates, birth certificates, etc. But if you call TG in Bangkok, and ask them to change names on the return flight, without any documentation (with just the promise of providing foreign-issued documents in the future that are most likely only written in Swedish), I seriously doubt you will get someone to say that's a normal or familiar request to them and agree that they will do it for you!
It takes time to change names in all documents. Unless Sweden is different, a passport that shows the maiden name can still be used until its expiration, and that's when most people change their names. Actually, that's how my wife changed her name in most documents, continued using them until they expired and change the name when it was time to renew.
Airlines just list out one name per passenger in the PNR. A lot of airlines do not allow any name changes after they have been issued. People may be allowed to board if there are minor errors or differences in the names compared to their IDs, but this is for airline personnel to interpret.
Even if Thailand is a popular honeymoon destination, people don't change their names or passports in the middle of a trip. The vast majority do that at home. So people get married and happily use their maiden names during their honeymoons and only bother about changing names when they go back home. Or they might just get new passports before they travel for their honeymoon if they come from countries that can issue passports very quickly. TG is hardly alone in not having heard of people changing their names in the middle of their trips.
OP might have better luck in the US as OP is American and can show American documents to American airline staff. There's a higher possibility that airline staff will allow passengers to board if the situation is familiar and believable to them. But even then, most married women should have an old ID there that still uses the same name as that of the ticket, so no need to bring along your marriage certificates, birth certificates, etc. But if you call TG in Bangkok, and ask them to change names on the return flight, without any documentation (with just the promise of providing foreign-issued documents in the future that are most likely only written in Swedish), I seriously doubt you will get someone to say that's a normal or familiar request to them and agree that they will do it for you!