A few weeks back I checked in for a flight with a friend and were issued boarding passes; mine was correct, but my friend Ms. Bamboo Field (in Japanese) had an unexpected sex-change operation plus a well-placed typo and turned into Mr. Hey, It's an Octopus. This being a domestic flight in Indonesia, I don't think anybody even checked the boarding pass on the way to the plane though, much less started cross-referencing it against ID...

jpatokal --- similar experience with me in Indonesia domestic flights. No, obviously nobody cared to check whether you're male or female according to your bp.

A friend of mine just flew back from SFO to SIN. First and last name switched --- but no problem at all. Not even asked to explain why it happened.

My passport and driver's license has my full legal first name; I always use a shortened version of my first name, which is on my FF account. I've never been stopped or questioned. Only once in decades has anyone commented on the difference.

Sitting in the passport office two weeks ago trying to rush my passport for our LIS trip, I was next to a CO pilot (burly, mustached, very masculine kind of dude) who was there to fix his passport, which incorrectly identified him as a Female. That, of course, had to be changed.

But, as far as the OPs question, I don't even use my middle name when I book airline tickets...and it's on my passport. I've travelled all over the world and never been questioned about it. You'll be fine. Happy travels!

Lisa

Well you didn't get it... they wanted a bribe... nothing else. I am there working often and even with an official visa they try it... I always don't understand them and speak back in English

Oh I realized it and played oblivious, the best way to deal with corruption. MY point was more that the more irregularities in your documents the more times you'll have to deal with problems like that.

My father regularly travels around the US and outside for business (he teaches seminars). He probably travels at least once a month within the country, and at least 3 times a year outside the country.

His passport has his full name, first middle last. He hates his first name, and uses only his initials to friends and family, DP [lastname]. Most of his frequent flier cards use DP, as does his ticketing. He has never encountered a problem. Whenever someone asks, he pulls out the three additional forms of ID he carries on him, and explains that he dislikes his first name and refused to use it. No worries, no hassles.

The fact that it is DP on his driver's license helps, most likely :P

Hello Friends,

In my country this has never been a problem. In fact even though I am Enver Rugova, when I fly from here in Tirane, I fly as R. Buza. I have documents supporting this, and it is primarily because of a situation I ran into when I was fishing with dynamites in Skadar.

But I fly on the recent to the America, and I have much hassle from the ENIS agency. THey tell me that my R. Buza name, even though it is supported by proper (and authentic I might add) Albanian documents is not fine for travel to this country, and they try to send me out.

But I fly on Italian airline, Alitalia, and they don't send me back to Tirane on their lek! So they say "we have a problem here Enver."

You know what happen? I have to use my Albanian lek to get new special ticket re-issue, but since I not have premium money on me at the time, I contact Bermuda bank to send wire charges to ENIS agency.

So you see, this can be problem. But in my country, all this very common. Every man have several names, you know, like wives, one for each day or mood.

RB

Ok- So you have several names and offical documentation backing up each and every name? How can this be? You just go with whatever name suits you for the day? How can they "track" you? This sounds VERY odd to me...

I have 2 names on my passport, and it'll stay this way until I bother to change the passport. Old name (the one beside the picture) is the one I use for almost everything.

I tried the new name once when booking air ticket, but the problem was that it didn't match the FF name (Yeah didn't bother to change that too), so I was asked to call reservations instead of continue with online booking.

I'll stick with the name on the photo page of your passport.......

Not all of the world is as obsessed with "tracking" -- or tracking by name(s) -- as some of our "leaders" are. This "several names"/multiple names phenomena is rather common in various cultures in the world ... from Western Africa to parts of Europe (including certain Roma groupings) to Central, SW, South and Eastern Asia and islands in the SWP. People using two names or variations thereof (or even more) happens far more commonly than people -- living in cultures where European/Europeanized/European-derived cultural norms are most prevalent or highly influential -- realize. In some places, people's names change* (or new names are adopted) when they have children; in others, people's names change depending on their age or the age/position of the person with whom they are dealing; in others, people's names change based on whom they are dealing with; in others, their formal name is not to be spoken but may be written but government documents may be done in one or the other; in others, the formal names change based on age and status; and other such variations.

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* by "change", I mean a different name from another name is used

Hint: Anyone here have experience with how Cathay Pacific handles this for many Chinese customers, and especially Hong Kong Chinese?