I used to be refused boarding and charged £400 for one quite common mistake
A British man has issued a warning to fellow travellers after he was charged £400/$518 for a very simple booking mistake.
Will Hobson, 32, told MailOnline Travel, the ‘nightmare’ experience unfolded at New York JFK when he was attempting to fly to Munich for work.
It wasn’t until the traveller arrived at the airport for his Lufthansa flight that he realised something was wrong.
Will says: ‘The app wouldn’t let me check in and I was confused and thought there must have been some sort of misunderstanding.’
After speaking to the airport staff, Will was sent to ask the airline employees who told him to contact the booking provider.
He says: ‘I was told by a customer service representative it was because I’d used the most commonly used shortened version of my name, Will, instead of my legal name, William.’
As Will had booked his flight online, he says the website must have used auto-filled details from his email address.
He tells MailOnline Travel: ‘I was in disbelief and felt really frustrated. They proceeded to tell me that to make the change and be able to board the flight, it would cost a minimum of £400/$518.’
Will Hobson, 32, has issued a warning to fellow travellers after a simple booking mistake saw him lose £400
The ‘nightmare experience’ unfolded at New York JFK Airport (pictured above)
The experience was ‘extremely stressful’ for Will, who says he was ‘ping-ponged between the airline and the booking provider’ as each of the companies kept telling him to contact the other, leaving him in a ‘frustrating loop’.
He adds: ‘I even had to write an email in German, with the help of Google Translate, to try to resolve the name change with the booking provider.’
Although Will did manage to make his flight, he explains that the ‘stress, unexpected cost and last minute travel changes’ were ‘far from ideal’.
From now on, Will says he’ll be ‘triple-checking all my details before and after booking.’
He adds: ‘The £400 could have been way better spent on my travels, upgrading to first class, or a better hotel. It’s so annoying that all it got me was a name change of three letters. I’ll never trust autofill again.’
What are the rules for names on boarding passes?
If a name on a boarding pass doesn’t match the name on a passenger’s passport, they could be denied travel.
The travel experts at Travel Republic explain: ‘Most airlines require passengers to enter their names exactly as they appear on their passports when booking.
If a name on a boarding pass doesn’t match the name on a passenger’s passport, they could be denied travel
From now on, Will says he’ll be ‘triple-checking all my details before and after booking’
‘Using legal names helps prevent ticket fraud and ensures only the intended passenger can use the ticket. However, device autofill settings can mistakenly input shortened or preferred names instead.’
As happened to Will, passengers could be charged by their airline or booking provider to amend their name.
Ryanair charges £115/$148 to change a name on a boarding pass while easyJet charges £60/$77.
Travel Republic’s experts adds: ‘Contact the airline early if you spot an error, some airlines will allow “minor corrections” such as spelling error fixes, for free online within a certain period.’
