When you book a ticket, most airlines state that the name on the reservation has to exactly match the name on the government issued ID. Is there any truth to this, and what happens if your ticket doesn’t have your middle name attached to it?
Let’s talk about that, because I can appreciate that this can be intimidating, since I don’t think anyone wants their trip ruined before they even get on a plane.
In this post:
It’s generally fine to not include your middle name
Let me cut to the chase — if you book an airline ticket and don’t include your middle name, you’ll typically not have any issues. Airlines generally require you to include your first name and last name, and then there’s a field where you can put your middle name. Some airlines state that this field is “optional,” while others state that it needs to be included “if shown on ID.”
With that in mind, here are a few points to consider:
- It’s a best practice to include your full name, as it appears on your ID, on your ticket
- You can either put your middle name in a dedicated field for middle names, or you can just put your entire “given name” (as in your passport) in the first name field
- Even if you include your full name at the time you make your booking, don’t be surprised if the “surface” of the ticket only displays your first and last name, as that’s common, and it’s nothing to be alarmed about
- If you’re traveling internationally and need to provide your passport information during online check-in, you absolutely need to include your full name (including your middle name) as it shows in your passport; during online check-in you can typically add a middle name, even if your initial ticket didn’t show it
- The much more important point is that you provide your correct legal name, and not a shortened version of it; in other words, if your name is “Joseph” but you go by “Joe,” make sure the ticket has the former, and not the latter
Personally I’d have no qualms booking a ticket with just my first and last name on it, and I’ve never had an issue. That being said, can I guarantee that it will absolutely never be a problem for anyone? Occasionally I see “freak” stories of people claiming that they were denied boarding or had to buy a new ticket because they didn’t include their middle name.
However, I often find the circumstances surrounding this to be a bit questionable, and wonder if there’s more to the story.
Misspelled names are what’s most problematic
While I think skipping your middle name is typically fine, what about if you misspelled your name slightly? Well, that’s much more likely to be a big issue, and it’s something you’ll want to correct ASAP.
When you book a ticket, always pay close attention that you didn’t spell your name incorrectly. In other words, if your name is “Benjamin” and you accidentally typed it out as “Benajmin,” you could have problems.
What should you do if you find out that your ticket has a name misspelled? Well, you should try to get it fixed as quickly as possible:
- If you just booked your ticket, try contacting the airline, and they might be able to fix it, or if it’s an eligible ticket, you can refund it within 24 hours
- Some airlines can’t change a ticket to update the name, while other airlines have policies to let you change the name on a ticket in exchange for a small fee
- If you have a more complex ticket that involves travel on multiple airlines, is booked through a partner airline, etc., it can be a bit more complicated to change the name on an existing ticket, so you’ll want to be even more careful in those situations
- In some cases, airline representatives may state that they can’t fix the name, but they can notate the record with information about the correct name; that might work, but it’s not something I’d count on with 100% certainty
While there’s a chance that you can get away with a minor spelling error on a straightforward ticket, personally it’s a risk I’d rather avoid, as I wouldn’t count on being able to take that flight.
Bottom line
While airlines like to pretend that you’ll be denied boarding if the name on the ticket doesn’t exactly match the name on your government issued ID, the reality is a bit different. I certainly wouldn’t be worried if your ticket doesn’t show your middle name (or even if it’s just not on there at all).
Misspelling errors are a much bigger issue, though. That could be cause for being denied boarding, and it’s something I’d avoid at all costs.
What has been your experience with including middle names on tickets, and/or name misspellings?
I used to have only first and last name until I got denied checkin on domestic Bamboo Airways flight in Vietnam In 2019. Since that I’ve always included all my names.
For those who have multiple/longer names I do recommend spelling it as it’s written on MRZ on passport (39 characters -separators) to make computer say OK.
I have 3 first names and the name I go by is the second one, in 40 years of travel I have always used only the second name and my last name and no issues.
Wow, I've never thought of this issue. In thirty of traveling on hundreds of flights both domestic and international, I have only ever used my first and last name. Never had a problem
This gets a lot more complicated if you have a name in nonwestern languages. Russian and Ukrainian for examples to not have an h in their alphabet.
Classic example, what is the Ukrainian currency? Griwna, Hriwna.. good luck
My problem is that I have a suffix on my name, and it's on my birth certificate, which means it's on my passport, which means it needs to be on my ticket.
A lot of non-U.S. airlines don't have a form field for a suffix. I usually put it in the last name field, but more often than not, I end up having to call the airline just to make sure it's all OK.
United and several international airlines (including JAL) are guilty of this ridiculousness. My solution thanks to a web search is to cram everything in the spaces provided including the proper spaces between each name. Box 1 is first ‘space’ middle (both capitalized) then the second box I put in my last name ‘space’ suffix. What happens on their end is that my full legal name including the suffix on the boarding pass ends up reading...
United and several international airlines (including JAL) are guilty of this ridiculousness. My solution thanks to a web search is to cram everything in the spaces provided including the proper spaces between each name. Box 1 is first ‘space’ middle (both capitalized) then the second box I put in my last name ‘space’ suffix. What happens on their end is that my full legal name including the suffix on the boarding pass ends up reading Johnrobert Smithjr. But it’s all there.
If airlines require the name on the passport or legal ID and PNR to exactly match, you would think that their computer tech department would have solved this issue several decades ago. Airlines are the ones that failed. We have sent people to the moon but have not solved this simple conundrum.
My birth name is long with multiple middle names and I have never had a problem with having only first and family name on the ticket / boarding pass. I travel a lot around the world for work, but even as a kid I had no problems, no matter the airline.
My wife, a Mexican citizen, has two last names as do nearly all Latinos. We have found that when we enter both last names, many airline systems have no idea how to handle it so we normally only put the first last name.
Who middle name is De Jesus and this also screws up airline systems as they do not know how to handle two words in the middle name field.
Fortunately she...
My wife, a Mexican citizen, has two last names as do nearly all Latinos. We have found that when we enter both last names, many airline systems have no idea how to handle it so we normally only put the first last name.
Who middle name is De Jesus and this also screws up airline systems as they do not know how to handle two words in the middle name field.
Fortunately she has never been denied boarding even in Asia but it is always a crap shoot as when all names are entered, she has no idea what might actually show up in their reservation system.
I would not recommend booking any ticket with an Asia based carrier without using one’s name exactly as set out in one’s passport.
It's been a nightmare trying to transfer my Capital One points to Finnair for a trip. Finnair has my full name with the middle name, which is on my passport. Capital One can't transfer points because my credit card only has my first and last name. I called and called and they finally were able to change my profile internally to include my middle name, but their website still shows only my first and last...
It's been a nightmare trying to transfer my Capital One points to Finnair for a trip. Finnair has my full name with the middle name, which is on my passport. Capital One can't transfer points because my credit card only has my first and last name. I called and called and they finally were able to change my profile internally to include my middle name, but their website still shows only my first and last name and I can't transfer the points online. It was shocking that Capital One can't transfer points manually, as Chase does. And that it requires card holders to do it online. What about elderly people who might not use the Internet - or people who might not have access? Do they just lose their points?
I’ve had a problem several times when buying a United 016 ticket that included other carriers. My first KEVIN. My middle initial is A. Even when I fully type out my middle name when buying a ticket, United always issues my ticket as KEVINA. Every single time. Every time. No matter how many times I’ve tried to correct it, even working with the IT support staff, sending emails, phone calls to managers, I can’t get...
I’ve had a problem several times when buying a United 016 ticket that included other carriers. My first KEVIN. My middle initial is A. Even when I fully type out my middle name when buying a ticket, United always issues my ticket as KEVINA. Every single time. Every time. No matter how many times I’ve tried to correct it, even working with the IT support staff, sending emails, phone calls to managers, I can’t get that changed.
And it has been a problem for me maybe seven or eight times during the last 20 years where other carriers have a problem accepting my ticket when comparing my name to my passport.
I have a longer and a hyphen so my middle name or even my first name gets truncated by booking systems. I nearly broke Malaysia Airlines system when I took my son as a lap child. It took multiple phone calls to book and then 45 minutes to check in.
Having a space or hiphen in the first or last name can be a real pain. Some systems don't like it, and will either not accept it, or decide to correct it.
An example of such correction is to put part of the first name into the middle name. Yeah, it really happened.
Korean Air as well will require it. Had to have both segments fixed on a recent business class ticket. Glad I got there early.
I never had an issue not having my middle name. I usually only use my first and last name when travelling and never had any issues.
I once misspelled a name on a booking I made with Wizz air one way and return on Ryanair. I realized only after check in. With Wizz air it was easy to fix as they allow to fix a typo one time free of charge. With Ryanair I couldn't...
I never had an issue not having my middle name. I usually only use my first and last name when travelling and never had any issues.
I once misspelled a name on a booking I made with Wizz air one way and return on Ryanair. I realized only after check in. With Wizz air it was easy to fix as they allow to fix a typo one time free of charge. With Ryanair I couldn't fix it as they only allow up to 24 hours before the flight and once I was checked in it would've cost me a reissue boarding pass fee. I decided to leave it and hope they wouldn't realize the typo. Long story short I traveled without any issue.
I wouldn't recommend it as I was stressed till boarding
Never had a problem, but I make a point of including my middle name (or initial) for international to make sure that passport name match hits exactly. It's also recommended for US trusted traveler programs. Whether it actually matters, I don't know.
But the thing to consider is not that you'll have to correct at the airport, but that you don't want to match some mystery "other person". Those of us who have been traveling...
Never had a problem, but I make a point of including my middle name (or initial) for international to make sure that passport name match hits exactly. It's also recommended for US trusted traveler programs. Whether it actually matters, I don't know.
But the thing to consider is not that you'll have to correct at the airport, but that you don't want to match some mystery "other person". Those of us who have been traveling for a while remember all the shenanigans with the US "no fly" lists early in this century, where people would get accidentally flagged for name-matching somebody on the list. Full names make it a little less likely you accidentally overlap a suspicious name.
I booked a jal flight through finnair. My jal account has my middle name, but the finnair ticket does not. So now I cannot access my ticket through jal, and finnair would charge me a significant fee for adding my middle name. So I will always put my middle name on everything from now on.
Jal says it won't be a problem, as long as I have the ticket. We'll see!
I booked a jal flight through finnair. My jal account has my middle name, but the finnair ticket does not. So now I cannot access my ticket through jal, and finnair would charge me a significant fee for adding my middle name. So I will always put my middle name on everything from now on.
Jal says it won't be a problem, as long as I have the ticket. We'll see!
Most Asian countries will required middle name(s) as it is showed exactly on your passport!
Both myself and my partner were forced to queue up and pay a fee because we failed to include middle names on airline tickets - this was with Vietjet in SGN.
I have a middle name with a hyphen in it. Please don’t use hyphens or spaces in your kids’ names.
In Vietnam not having your middle name on your ticket will be a problem
An interesting and timely blog. For forever, my passport was last name, first name, middle name. Never gave it a thought until this past year and last Friday and yesterday.
My LH Miles and More account has last name, first name. Last year flying to Japan, the immigration agent stationed in LH First Class terminal caught the discrepancy. He looked at me and passport and said OK. Off to and back from London this week,...
An interesting and timely blog. For forever, my passport was last name, first name, middle name. Never gave it a thought until this past year and last Friday and yesterday.
My LH Miles and More account has last name, first name. Last year flying to Japan, the immigration agent stationed in LH First Class terminal caught the discrepancy. He looked at me and passport and said OK. Off to and back from London this week, no one said anything.
I suppose I can change my passport, next renewal, but won't. Never give the government a chance to screw it up. And slow down the process.
I mean, for pete's sake, my picture is on the passport. All else is correct. Hey, who knows, when it's time to renew again in seven years, I may not be around anymore.
I'm with "Art" on this one! I am also "Jr". I go by my middle name and Dad went by his first name. When I started in the airline industry 28 years ago, my "corporate" name has to be as it is on my passport...the full enchilada. The hiccup was the "Jr". Every time I booked a flight that needed a passport, a ticket agent had to correct my name in the PNR due to...
I'm with "Art" on this one! I am also "Jr". I go by my middle name and Dad went by his first name. When I started in the airline industry 28 years ago, my "corporate" name has to be as it is on my passport...the full enchilada. The hiccup was the "Jr". Every time I booked a flight that needed a passport, a ticket agent had to correct my name in the PNR due to the way the systems store my name. I finally went to HR and explained the problem. They had NO IDEA about the issue. Now, only our PNRs concatenate the suffix as "lastnameJR" instead of "lastname JR". I think this was actually solved by our IT department.
I'm also a Junior. Sr. is 30 years deceased, but it's on my passport, so I have to deal with it. It's an endless nightmare.
I have a friend who is a "III." Similar problem.
All airline booking systems accept the first given name and the last name only, even if the passport lists multiple given names or middle names. I've got 1000+ international flights.
Not 100% true. Try checking in for ANA or EVA without your middle name if the middle name is on the ticket. They concatenate the first and middle so your first name will not match and not be allowed to check in online.
I have a Norwegian passport. It contains only fields for given names and surname. In the MRZ, any middle name is not listed separately. I have flown numerous times with ANA and EVA using this entry.
Ran into this issue on ANA as well, compounded by the fact that I was travelling to a destination requiring a visa (visa had the middle name). ANA staff were adamant that my ticket doesn't match the visa so I can't fly. Took almost an hour to resolve - I was glad that I arrived at Narita super early.
American Airline drops the middle name from international ticket reservation , couldn't do self check on Qatar flight to US as passport name miss matches the reservation name
As someone who share a first name and last name with a parent, I'm very particular about inputting my middle name on my tickets. Of course, for US domestic, this doesn't matter unless I'm traveling with him on the same flight.
International, I always input my first and middle name (if there's no middle name field, then I input my first & middle in the first field). Whatever the case, I'm meticulous about making...
As someone who share a first name and last name with a parent, I'm very particular about inputting my middle name on my tickets. Of course, for US domestic, this doesn't matter unless I'm traveling with him on the same flight.
International, I always input my first and middle name (if there's no middle name field, then I input my first & middle in the first field). Whatever the case, I'm meticulous about making sure it matches my passport.
There've been times where the name is truncated on the boarding pass but haven't encountered any issues so far.
Seems to be a common issue in Vietnam. My boarding pass was rejected, I had go back to the checkin desk to add it, fortunately was quick and free (on Vietnam Airlines). The problem with many Vietnamese and other Asian carriers is that there’s no separate space to add a middle name at booking - you’re supposed to just merge your first and middle name in one field. This looks really weird
Only in economy though in my observation !
Last February I had 6 flights in Vietnam on Vietnam airlines and only once I had to go for ticket being reissued and was in economy (SGN-PQC). The other 5 flights were in J (including one international HAN-SAI), no questions asked, that’s for family of three .
Flew Vietjet Air recently, DAD-HAN, and they wouldn't let us board unless I paid $50 (family of 4) to amend the ticket. What a scam.
Was that $50 in 'cash' (oh yeah, definitely a scam, like, they stole from you), or credit card (you could contest it)?
Thanks for posting! I did not include middle name on ticket purchase, but it is on passport. No issues on ANA or Thai airways. I find many foreign carrier websites exceptionally difficult to navigate, so this issue always comes up!
Another case of discrimination against underrepresented minorities.
While most are obsessed with middle names or some case Jr. III because you're too dumb to have a new name.
There are people who struggle even more by only having a singular name.
hahaha
Have a last name with a non English character that looks like O but shows OE on the machine readable section. Have on many occasions needed manual review (with either spelling on the ticket) but never been rejected check in. Usually on international flights.
No
Ben, I agree that it's generally not necessary to include a middle name when traveling domestically in the US, and even in Europe. However, having traveled around Asia quite a bit, I can tell you that some Asian airlines are particular about how your name is inputted, and it's always best practice to ensure that your middle name is included (and shown on the boarding pass) when flying in the region. I even had a...
Ben, I agree that it's generally not necessary to include a middle name when traveling domestically in the US, and even in Europe. However, having traveled around Asia quite a bit, I can tell you that some Asian airlines are particular about how your name is inputted, and it's always best practice to ensure that your middle name is included (and shown on the boarding pass) when flying in the region. I even had a recent experience (and admittedly did not follow my own advice) - About two weeks ago I was departing Gimpo airport on Japan Airlines and my middle name was not shown on my mobile boarding pass, so at security I was asked to go back to the check-in counter so then an agent could correct the name.
What about a suffix? This seems to be handled very poorly by airlines and the government. What does one do if you name is Thurston Howell III?
Stop pretending to be cod-Royalty.
That’s so American. There’s also lots of fraud with father and son sharing the same name, especially with loyalty programmes.
As a "Jr.", this is a real issue for me. The "Jr." is on my passport, so it's important. Some airlines concatenate my last name and the "Jr" which causes it's own problems.
Ben, can you address name suffixes in a separate post?
You have to look at how your middle name shows in the machine readable strip on your passport. It can be flagged in different ways, and it will matter for what is required.
I've sometimes had issues crediting flights without an exact name match, so I now always include my middle name on all flight bookings and frequent flyer accounts.
Once I’ve been denied boarding by Alitalia because I didn’t include my middle name. Just 2 weeks before that I flew on the exact same route, with tge exact same airline without adding it, and it was fine. I’m glad they went bancrupt.
It was MXP-JFK.
Funny you chose a picture of an Air China plane. In China they are quite strict on domestic flights that your ticket has to match your name on your passport exactly or you face a lot of complications.
Avelo Airlines can kiss my a**. Instead of a middle name, how about a middle finger?
Zing! (For real, if they wanna survive, Avelo needs to completely re-brand. Toxic.)