Ask the Armchair Traveler: wrong name on my airline ticket — now what?

Here is how you completely avoid the entire name problem on domestic itineraries.

Print the boarding pass out either online or at a kiosk.

Go to the TSA Security line and say you left your drivers license at home and wish to volunteer for secondary screening. They’ll either let you through or take you to the secondary screening line. No big deal – just make DARN sure you have no little knives, scissors, drinks, gels, small bombs or guns, or anything that might be illegal to bring through security.

They’ll search you, wand you, search your belongings and send you on your way. End of problem. Don’t pay the airline $100 to change your name from bob to Robert.

If you are traveling internationally – and the name problem is like Bob to Robert, Joe to Joseph, L. Robert to Lincoln Robert, with a correct last name, frequent flier number in the record, and same address and passport info in the record, simply go to the international departures check-in line – NO ONE is going to charge you $100 at the ticket counter to change the manifest. At this point the AIRLINE has the obligation to correctly list the passengers on the invoice and the ticket agent will simply correct it.

Old phrase says, ‘don’t borrow trouble.’ Do NOT call the airlines trying to fix something that they can charge you for and for which there is no real problem about.