Legal Name change on flight made impossible when booked through third party agent

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82139748#Comment_82139748

Presumably not a British passport?

Wife is a dual national, her British passport is in her married name english style, here non-uk passport is in her maiden name, it could be changed but it would have to follow local customs so would still be different from her UK one. Her British passport simply has an observation of her other name but her passport is still in her UK name.

Surprised there is somewhere that would force you to change your name.

By adding a middleman you create complexity and what is and isnt possible is dependent on all the people in the supply chain's terms. Hopefully the benefits you got of using Booking.com rather than booking directly was sufficient to make up for issues.

Westin

As I started to read your post I had a feeling this would be Booking.com/GotoGate - I see that later confirmed.

Regardless of what the airline has told you, you have purchased your travel via a 3rd party. Their booking conditions will apply.

Whilst I think it wrong that you are told you have to buy a new ticket, I suspect this is the easy opt out for them.

GoToGate is an order taker. You buy the ticket and you really have to consider that is the end of the matter. No after sale service. Service is priced in (or not) to the discounted ticket. They won't wish to spend time sorting out your problems. Far easier for them to sell you another ticket or blank you. If they do engage and agree to contact the airline to make a change, then expect to pay them for this service. They won't work for free.

Your offer from the airline to resolve this at the airport (with all the correct documentation provided) might be the best of a bad set of options.

For future keep in mind that the name on your passport must match your flight ticket.

BROWNIE1996

I have used Booking.com successfully for years and I have also booked with airlines directly depending on what the deal was. However this time you are correct, not the best choice and definitely a wake up call

Neil49

So are you saying that neither of her passports has the same name as on the flight ticket?

BROWNIE1996

My married name was added to my maiden name on my British passport to align with my French passport.

Air France confirmed this is not an issue as I have the correct documents to prove the name change and I have a fully flexible ticket.

But GotoGate/Booking.com do not want to make the name change claiming the airline does not authorise this despite a note from Air France on the system on my reservation that says they allow the name change.

GotogGate/Booking.com say that instead I have to buy a full new ticket @ today's much higher rate and they might be able to get some refund on my original ticket but no guarantee

This shows that they are seeking to profit from the situation hoping I will not make a fuss.

Escalating this now anyway

silvercar

Normally tickets pass to airline control about 24 hours before your flight. At that point the airline could make any name changes themselves. Until then, they are correct in saying that they can’t make the changes. But they have told you it won’t be an issue if you have the documents with you when you travel, so I wouldn’t worry unduly. There are many countries where hyphenated surnames become separated on passports and the reverse. Other than the low cost airlines, out to extract money at any opportunity, most other airlines are more pragmatic.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82140138#Comment_82140138

I suspect you could have pushed back, which is what we did, which is why the wife's UK passport has her name as her name and an observation on the adjacent page of another passport with a different name.

They did try to say the two have to be the same but as in France her passport cannot be made to match her UK identity and after finally getting a case handler we could talk to, they said they won't force you to change your UK identity to match your foreign passport.

Ultimately it doesnt really matter who's not allowing the name change, its common for companies to blame someone else to protect their reputation but ultimately if the terms are no name changes then no name changes it is irrespective of who set the rule or why.

Bigphil1474

I stopped booking flights via them a few years ago. They are fine when everything goes okay, but if there is even the slightest complication , they are pretty useless.

We booked a long haul flight return with them about 10 months before travelling in 2024 - one stop each way. A few weeks before flying they emailed to say that the second leg coming back had been moved forward (so took off before we got there), so they were cancelling our entire ticket and invited us to rebook. Would have cost £hundreds more. Their customer services couldn't help. In the end I did a lot of flight searching and after numerous calls persuaded them to change us to the corresponding second leg with the same airline, 24 hours later. We paid for the hotel overnight. No idea why they couldn't have suggested that. We book direct with the airlines now. Not noticed any significant increase in cost either. We have recently booked a return flight to Europe with BA, it was only a few quid cheaper with booking.com.

We do still use booking.com for hotel stays in the UK.

NoodleDoodleMan

Please excuse me for appearing dense between the ears - but why are two passports required ?

I have UK and Republic of Ireland passports, but only need to travel on one or the other, the latter being more convenient when entering Schengen/EU thanks to Brexit.

Am I missing something obvious ?

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82145757#Comment_82145757

Thanks to Theresa May when you renew a British Passport as a dual national you are required to send your non-british passport with your application. One of the checks that they do at HMPO is that both documents are going to be in the identical name. If your non-UK passport is in a different name they require you to have the foreign passport changed into the name you have asked for your british passport to be issued in.

Not all countries in the world are as liberal as the UK in terms of changing your name. In France you are legally known by your birth surname for life, you can request a second parent's name be added fairly easily but to change the original one requires permission from the Ministry of Justice and is intended for exceptional cases where the family name is pejorative or linked to infame not just because you got married.

So the OP had two passports in different names, they booked their travel under their "uk name" but upon renewing their british passport they ran into the above problem and were convinced in changing their application to have it issued in the name of their french passport which no longer matches their airline tickets.

We had a similar issue, the wife could change her name but where as she is Mrs Real Name here, her name there would become Mrs Real Maiden de Name and so still wouldnt match plus a name change can only be done in country, takes about 9 months and she cant leave the country during the process as a citizen can only enter/;eave on their home passport and she has to surrender it at the begining of the process. We managed to get them to agree ot issue it in her UK name and just add an observation of here other named passport (even though it had expired 5 years ago) but that was mainly thanks to it being a tory hating chap in Belfast who doesnt agree with the change