Do you need to have your middle name on flight tickets for checking in?

RandomTom

RandomTom

RandomTom

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Just wondering, because on mine and my girlfriends tickets we're both just listed as our first name followed by surname, there was no option on the Thomson website to add an initial I'm just Mr T. Random. rather than Mr T. J. Random.

I'll ring up tomorrow seen as the lines are closed today but I was just wondering if any other OcUK'er had had this problem before? Or even know if it makes a difference?

It does say on the tickets 'names need to be exact' but when booking there wasn't an option.
 
You should be ok with first and surnames only.

Travelling abroad might be different but domestically I've not had a problem booking everything under Mr P Stewart when my driving licence and passport are for Mr R P Stewart. You get used to prompting the check-in person when you see the confused look.
 
That's what I'm thinking, but my mother is saying 'oh you'll not be able to fly, they need to match your passport etc.' which I'm thinking 'I say, what the deuce are you on about mother?'

I'll just ring up tomorrow when the phone line is open but I thought I might have been right. If it makes any odds it's with Thomson at Gatwick > Chania.
 
Absolute nonsense. I have two middle names and I've never given it to them on any of the 20 flights I've been on in the last year.
 
RandomTom said:
That's what I'm thinking, but my mother is saying 'oh you'll not be able to fly, they need to match your passport etc.' which I'm thinking 'I say, what the deuce are you on about mother?'
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She's correct. Your name does indeed need to match. Do you consider your name without middle names to match your name with? I do, and so do customs.
 
I've never used my middle name + my last name is rarely spelled correctly but it's never been a problem + that's on flights to Canada and they're pretty strict on those in general! In fact last time I booked a personal flight with my girlfriend I managed to forget to change the title box from Mr to Miss so she was Mr Jane, they never even questioned it :)

So long as the name on the ticket is similar to that on your passport and you don't have multiple people trying to claim a seat then I very much doubt you'll have a problem.
 
Berserker said:
She's correct. Your name does indeed need to match. Do you consider your name without middle names to match your name with? I do, and so do customs.
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She is correct but I'm struggling to understand which argument you agree with. There'll be a Mr T. Random and a Miss R. NotRandom flying, missing out a J. and an L. in middle names, do you think this should be fine, or will be questioned upon?

I suppose I can only find out when I ring tomorrow, I just hope it doesn't lead to anything like extra booking fees.
 
RandomTom said:
I suppose I can only find out when I ring tomorrow, I just hope it doesn't lead to anything like extra booking fees.
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They'll probably tell you you need to change it because there's probably a rule that says the name needs to match so they can't take responsibility and tell that it'll be fine etc + and there's normally a charge to make changes to tickets.

You seriously won't have any problems at all. If they were that picky about a middle name it would be big news because so many people would be getting turned away at airports/having to pay massive fees all the time so there would be a lot of angry people posting on the internet/news about it. + when booking your ticket there would be several reminders to use your full name.
 
Generally you should put what's on your passport but in reality you should just keep it simple with first + last name. My poor gf, being Latin, has two last-names and American Airlines can't cope with this - we had fun one time because her passport lists both last-names but their booking system only has one last name.....

It also makes filling out the various immigration forms a pain ;)
 
Last time I flew my ex actually travelled on a ticket with the wrong initial on it with no problems. We didn't even notice ourselves till we got to the departure gate.
 
I have 2 middle names, never used them ever on any of the flights I have been on (both domestic and international flights).

Just came back from Sweden where my mate did include his middle name which seemed to result in a problem with the self check-in machine, his first name and middle name had merged in to one long name.
 
RandomTom said:
She is correct but I'm struggling to understand which argument you agree with. There'll be a Mr T. Random and a Miss R. NotRandom flying, missing out a J. and an L. in middle names, do you think this should be fine, or will be questioned upon?
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The airline will tell you you need every last dot and cross (and will charge you for the privilege of changing it). Common sense usually prevails, however. Most places probably won't even do more than a cursory check anyway, if that.

I've travelled to Australia, Singapore, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Madeira, the US, and Canada, and never deliberately used my middle name for any of them. The airline sometimes used it for me, and sometimes didn't. Their choice.
 
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Yep... do not ring the airline. They will almost certainly say you need it on the ticket and charge you £50 when in reality you will have no problem. Can't remember ever using my middle name on a ticket when flying... I've even had a few lucky escapes with my name being spelt a bit differently :o
 
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