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That’s absurd: United charges $100 to change ‘Bob’ to ‘Robert’

August 24, 2007

Ticket change fees must be a major source of revenue for the airlines. How else do you explain Bob Bennett’s recent e-mail exchange with United Airlines, in which the carrier insisted it charge a $100 fee for changing the name on his ticket from Bob to his legal name, Robert?

My friends over at IAG recently calculated that if airline tickets were transferrable — which is to say, if you could change the name on your ticket without paying anything — it would cost the U.S. airline industry $1 billion a month in lost revenues. Maybe that’s why the United customer service agent in this exchange is so insistent on billing Bob.

Here’s the entire exchange. Read and decide for yourself if United was right — or out of line:

8/17/07

Sent by Robert Bennett to United Airlines Customer Service
via UNITED.COM web site

The situation is (or should be) simple. My legal name is Robert Bennett. This conforms to my ID and my Mileage Plus account. But I am a musician and I work under “Bob Bennett”. Someone who does not normally handle my flights recently booked a ticket under “Bob”
and, of course, I could not add my MP number to the record. I was told a couple key things by both the Reservations Agents and the Customer Service Representatives I spoke with:

– The computer, understandably, cannot draw the proper inferences between the given name “Robert” and its common nickname “Bob”.

– They had the ability to make the change but would not do so without a $100.00 “mandatory fee”.

The point is this. If Mary Jones wants to have her ticket reissued to Bud Smith, $100.00 makes some amount of sense. But if Betty wants to change her ticket to Elizabeth to conform to ID … AND … her Mileage Plus account of 20-plus years, why the $100.00?

If it were a security issue, the answer would be no in all cases. But aside from language about “mandatory fees”, the reality is … “We simply won’t do this for you without charging $100.00.”

I’m not asking if it’s policy. I’m not asking if it results in revenue. I’m asking if it’s right and if it’s good customer service?

- – - – - – - – - -

8/18/07

Sent by United Airlines Customer Relations to Robert Bennett
via e-mail

Dear Mr. Bennett,

Thank you for contacting us about concern regarding the change fees. We appreciate the opportunity to respond.

Mr. Bennett, please know that you need to pay change fee of $100 once the reservation is ticketed. The change fee cannot be waived off. Our records show that you have contacted to our phone agent on 17 August and the agent has issued a travel certificate for your future travel. While I never want to disappoint a valued customer, I do support our agent’s decision to collect appropriate fees in this instance. As with any business, we monitor customer feedback. Your good comments are
important to us and will help us evaluate our decisions that impact your travel experience.

We appreciate this opportunity to respond and look forward to serving you.

Regards,

Denzel Singh
United Airlines Customer Relations

- – - – - – - – - -

8/18/07

Sent by Robert Bennett to United Airlines Customer Relations
via e-mail

Dear Mr. Singh:

Again, I did not ask if the fee is UA policy (it is) … I did not ask if it generated revenue for UA (it does … it’s not an FAA or regulatory requirement) … what I asked was “Is it right (perhaps I should have added the word “fair”, but that seems to be so subjective as to be unhelpful)?” … and I asked “Is it good customer service?”.

The UA answer is apparently “Yes” on both counts. While I appreciate any move in the direction of addressing this issue (the creativity of a voucher issue), what I object to is that ANYBODY has to pay $100.00 to simply correct or refine identity data related to a ticket record.

I’m not sure what the situation may be worldwide, but it is common in U.S. culture/practice for given formal first names to be often used interchangably with common nicknames: Bob/Robert, Betty/Elizabeth, Theodore/Ted, John/Jack. This is not difficult for a human being to understand, but a computer cannot draw this distinction unless it is programmed to do so. And human customer service agents _could_ be given the ability to address THIS SPECIFIC NICKNAME SITUATION without having to invoke a $100.00 processing fee. The ticket is not being reissued to ANOTHER PERSON … the ticket data is being refined and corrected to properly apply to the SAME CUSTOMER. If the mechanism does not exist to draw that distinction, then it needs to be addressed.

It is without dispute that it is United’s policy to invoke the fee is without question. Any agent that charges for this is absolutely in line with company rules. And from where you sit, you can do nothing but support the actions of your agent. I fully understand that. What my complaint addresses is that the policy as it stands does not reflect ANY nuance or leeway whatsover with respect to a COMMON NICKNAME kind of situation. My opinion is simply that it should.

I’m not asking if the policy was properly invoked. I’m complaining that the policy is inequitable because it does not take into account the good faith efforts of a customer who attempts to correct/refine identity data in the airline record … versus a customer who actually DOES want to transfer a ticket to another named individual or change a destination or travel date. That fixing “Bob” costs the same as re-routing or rescheduling is simply absurd. Any policy that defies common sense, is dictated by what a computer system will or will not allow and short-circuits an agent’s ability to recognize a significant change from a “corrective identity change” belies the
proper notion of what customer service should be.

I realize these comments are beyond your scope to address … my hope is that they might merit forwarding to other persons who can assess them from a “change of policy perspective”.

Thank you for your response.

Sincerely, Robert Bennett

- – - – - – - – - -

8/22/07

Sent by United Airlines Customer Relations to Robert Bennett
via e-mail

Dear Mr. Bennett,

Thank you for contacting us again. I’m sorry you’re dissatisfied with our response.

Mr. Bennett, I am sorry you feel you were not fully informed of the procedures to change your ticket. The basic procedure is this to make any date changes you must pay a change fee. And you must pay the fare that applies to your revised itinerary. Usually last-minute ticket changes preclude your meeting the advance purchase requirements so you would need to upgrade the original fare to a full economy fare.

We appreciate this opportunity to respond and look forward to serving you.

Regards,

Denzel Singh
United Airlines Customer Relations

- – - – - – - – - -

8/23/07
Comments by Robert Bennett
Not sent to Airline

If you’ve taken time to wade through all this, you’re pretty much looking at Exhibit A to support the fact that so many United States
businesses couldn’t care less about any customer service issue that is not addressable by anything other than cookie-cutter means. It’s clear to me that this representative either didn’t read the e-mails … or … worse yet, DID read them and was intellectually unable to
grasp the distinctions I was trying to make. The final reply refers to “date changes” for a ticket. I NEVER asked for date changes. I ONLY asked for “Bob” to be changed to “Robert” so that my Mileage Plus number could be entered into the record … the ONLY way United Airlines allows online access to an airline record on its web site.

Do you think my comments will be forwarded anywhere up the food chain? I don’t either.

PS: If this did not “paste” correctly into the online form and you’d me to send a copy, please e-mail me outside the web site and I’ll reply. Thanks so much for your time.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

47 comments

  • dan

    send a copy of this debacle to: glenn.tilton@ual.com

  • Terry Trippler

    HOW MANY TIMES must travelers be told to make sure the name on the ticket matches the name on the ID?

    Passengers have rights – but they also have responsibilities! This responsibility was simple – GET THE NAME RIGHT!

    Good grief!

  • Stephanus Surjaputra

    I just find it amazing that airlines can’t be flexible in the name of customer service. Yes,Robert Bennett was in error in not telling whoever booked the flight for him to use his full name, but I think, in this case, UAL can prove that they are a customer-service oriented organization by bending the rules just this once, especially for something as simple as a name change.

    If the software is not capable of doing this, then the airlines need to find one that is capable of making a name change.

  • Mike

    Terry,

    Mr. Bennett stated that someone else bought his ticket, someone who was not the usual person to make his travel arrangements. Thus, the ticket was booked under Bob and not Robert.

    I’m on Mr. Bennett’s side…this change fee could easily be waived off by someone in authority in the interest of keeping a good customer happy.

  • Robert Bennett

    A Google search and a brief click-through to several web sites and articles makes it obvious that Mr. Trippler knows his stuff backwards and forwards. Again, it is without dispute that the situation was preventable _and_ that United correctly followed its own rules in requiring $100.00 to change “Bob” to “Robert”. Was there a screw-up on my part? Of course. I should have confirmed my precise legal name to the ticket purchaser. But at the risk of sounding like a guy who shirks his responsibilities, I still don’t view this specific situation as a bad-faith infraction necessitating a $100.00 price tag. Of course we can always join in on a rousing lockstep chorus of “But It’s the Rules” and be quite correct in doing so. But as a family law attorney (now a judge) once astutely told me, “Sometimes you can be so right, you’re wrong.”

  • Terry Trippler

    Believe me folks, I do understand – but I here this over and over and over. “I booked the ticket in my maiden name” – “I always thought his name was Bud so I booked it that way”. If I get tons of these imagine how many an airline the size of United must get. Where and when should they draw the line?

    I do believe the airlines need to do a better job of reminding people BEFORE the final “enter” or “purchase” is made to make sure the names are correct.

    This “no name change” policy is strictly an airline policy – they can do what they want – any airline that tells you differently is wrong – there is no FAA or government rule to prohibit this. This was the airilne’s policy when I start in 1968 and it hasn’t changed. 9/11 has nothing to do with it – absolutely nothing!

    Sun Country Airlines allows name changes for $50 and they aren’t just talking of changing the name from Robert to Bob, but you can change the name from Bob Smith to Mary Jones – they don’t care – just pay the $50.

    Last winter we were booking tickets for my daughter and her best friend to go to Hawaii with us. I was on nwa.com and before I make the booking I called my daughter and told her to call her friend and spell her name EXACTLY as it was shown on her driver’s license. I practice what I preach.

  • Rich Gonzalez-Hogan

    Dear Ms. (or is it Mr.?) Trippler: (See how easily names can be confused.) Hopefully you come to a complete stop at every stop sign and do not drive at 1 mile over the speed limit. If you do and get stopped by the police I Imagine that you would not expect a break from him or the judge hearing your case and would happily pay the fine. Theresa, or is it Terrence?, I recently made a reservation for a friend and made sure to ask him his legal first name. Was it Dan or Daniel? When I entered the information and typed his middle initial I FORGOT THE SPACE BETWEEN HIS FIRST NAME AND MIDDLE INITIAL!!!!!!!!!! I frantically called USAirways and the agent indicated there would be no problem. So, I guess misalignment of spaces do no count as a “change”. But the tone was “Ha, almost gotcha!”

    Like driving one mile an hour over the posted speed limit is forgiveable so should changing Bob to Robert.

  • Danny Hoang

    I assume whoever bought the ticket for Mr. Bennet bought a cheap ticket. Along with low fare tickets, there are restrictions and fees apply to changes (any changes, be it Bob or Robert, it is still a change). Had a full fare ticket (which is fully refundable and fully flexible on changes) was bought for Mr Bennet, this would have not been a problem. You get what you pay for. If Mr Bennet feels that United Airlines did him wrong, then he should just go fly on other airlines. There is no shortage of airlines out there. A better advice is to have the person who booked the tickets for Mr Bennet pay the $100.00 fee since that was the person who caused this frustration for him.

  • Belur

    The online system at US Airways ignores blanks and always ends up attaching middle initial to the first name. I have two reservations currently with the same problem. When I emailed US Airways, I got the standard meaningless canned reply that never even addressed the point of my Email (just like the one above from United Airlines). I wonder if this is something I need to still worry about since I have not yet flown these flights.

  • Ziggy Master

    The agent making the reservation should have asked you for the correct spelling. No matter first time booking for you or not. I think the booking agent needs to pay the fee due to their mistake. Is that not what we hire them for? I don’t blame UAL for charging at all, They have to waist money on people calling and writing several times like you have for something someone else screwed up.

    Find a new res agent!

    Ziggy

  • Paul Higgins

    I’ve known of Mr. Bennett’s music for over twenty years and grew up just across the (concrete-lined) river from his hometown. That said, if my local paper listed a concert by “Robert Bennett”, I’d ignore it. But a concert by “Bob Bennett” would attract my attention. I can see how a local promoter, for example, could easily book a ticket for “Bob Bennett”, the name he’s been known as professionally for years. It’s just silly that United can’t realize “Bob” and “Robert” are the same person.

    I wonder if Jon Bon Jovi always buys his airline tickets as “John Bongiovi, Jr.” Or if Dick Van Dyke is denied boarding because his ticket doesn’t say “Richard Van Dyke.”

  • Dave

    I don’t think a human at United ever gave any thought at all to the emails. I think a computer saw keywords and generated an automatic response. This seems to be a common practice in email “customer service”, though not universal. You can tell which companies have real people reading email and which don’t. That would be why the response is so irrelevant to the actual issues Bob (Robert) raises. I credit him with a great deal of patience and politeness. At the departure check-in, show your frequent flyer information; the human gate agent may be able to get the mileage credited. I wouldn’t say the mixup is between Bob and Robert, I would simply say that when the flight was reserved, the person who called forgot to supply the account number, which is correct.

  • Vicki Noble

    I think its absolutely absurd that a company that you are spending money with can have the audacity to charge one $100.00 to make a change like the one Bob is talking about. Why do these companies have us over a barrel, what can we do about it………..the policy should be outlawed!! Its just not right….computers are supposed to make things easier as I suspect it is to make a name change. I will say it again…….what can we do to make these horrible money grabbing companies listen. They get your fare then they want more, more ,more………….

  • Rick Brown

    The bottom line….. the entire world should stop flying for just 1 day in protest of the absurd rules that the airline put on us. We agree to them…thats the sad part. BUT, there is not a single business in the world that I can think of where the business could enforce the rules that the airlines put on us. It is truly amazing. Flight cancelled…refund. No show, no money. Fly today and come back tomorrow,$1000….fly today, come back next week, $250.00. You plan a trip with a friend and buy a ticket for them, no problem… you change friends, buy a new ticket. Can you inagine if a movie theater was like this?? Fly from NY to ElPaso round trip, $300.00 and change planes in Houston…fly NY to Houston round trip, $1200.00. It is robbery, extorsion, and absurd.

  • Jim

    Elliot, your friends at the IAG are either morons or think you/we are.

    At $100 per name change, 1 billion dollars would mean that there are 10 million people per month who can’t get their name right on the first try. Ridiculous!

    Southwest has been advertising that they will change your flight without a fee – I assume this might include a name change, as well. I recommend flying with them whenever possible and depriving the other brainless airlines a lot more of their so-called ‘revenue’.

  • scooter peyser

    Common sense needs to dictate. Most English-speaking Americans know that Bob and Robert are interchangeable as well as Mike/Michael; Cindy/Cynthia, etc….Many people in this country lack or refuse to use their common sense. And if your company dings you for accepting a ticket such as Bob/Robert, I would then call your boss by their full name each and every time you speak to them to show them how STUPID such a policy is. Now, there are instances where someone name Michael who’s nickname is Beanpole; that’s another story. Maybe we can have the government change our IDs/Driver Licenses/Passports to include a “Nickname” field and require airlines to accept that information. Obviously, foreign carriers would be a problem still, but the majority of our travel is done domestically so this would solve the problem. There could be a field on our passports called Nickname. On our IDs/DLs you could put your nickname in parentheses: Robert (Bob) G. Jones.

    COMMON SENSE MUST DICTATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • kendra

    I would agree with Mr Trippler, it is always our responsibility that we have to put in the correct information when purchasing tickets online. I know it was purchase by somebody else, but h has to verify the details of the passenger. You are known as ‘Bob’, but it doesn’t mean it is your ‘legal name’. Airlines, even online travel website always asks for the legal name. Unfortunately, the person who made the reservation was not resposible enough to ask the most important information. Good thing United can change the name for $100, some airlines doesn’t allow to change the name, so you will totally lost the value of the ticket. Common sense must dictate, correct, ‘legal’ is not synonymous as ‘known’ or ‘popular’

  • Joe F. Beaufort, SC

    Ok – this one is silly. He can travel as Bob. Why> because 1) you do NOT need id to traverse the security line, and 2) you can check in and board a plane without ever showing your id to an airline agent. So, how do they REALLY know who is on the plane?

    Ok, ‘Bob,’ from one lawyer to another – TSA ONLY looks at last names and TSA can NOT stop you from boarding the plane because the ticket is in Bob and your ID is Robert. They are really just looking at the date, the airline, origin and last name. One thing about lawyers instead of judges is that lawyers needs to know the rules, wheres judges are always right! [you know this to be true! ;-)] Your only REAL risk is if ‘Bob’ Bennett is on the do-not-fly list. Then you have other problems.

    This means you simply print out the boarding card at a kiosk, or a online before you get to the airport, and you are done. All you need is the record locator. You take the boarding card to security, get through TSA with whatever indignity they inflict upon you today, and then simply get on the airplane. Have you EVER had an airline on a domestic trip EVER look at your ID?

    Just call up the Frequent flier desk and tell them you want to put your ff id in the record – they’ll just do it. Stop causing problems that do not exist.

    Look, ‘Bob,’ I AGREE with you – the airlines are no longer a service industry – they are a utility. And not even a regulated one any more either.

    Finally, the last time I checked, the airline contract of carriage, [go read this one - it is interesting on many counts] you are only required to pressent ID when asked. You are also only to be refused transport when you REFUSE to present an id in the name of the passenger ticketed. You can do so – lets not forget that nicknames are common in America. You are a judge – how would you rule on the facts presented? Bob? Robert? Think United would have a consequential damages issue in this circumstance? The language of the contract of carriage will construed against United. You are not ‘refusing’ to present identification in the name of Robert – you are UNABLE to present the identification since Bob is a nickname of Robert. Once again, Judge, how is this language interpreted by courts?

    Further, PASSENGER is NOT defined. How can they require a ‘passenger’ to make a reservation in the correct name when the term passenger is not defined. This would have been the place to put it. Yet, they fail to provide a definition of passenger.

    Judge ‘Bob,’ airlines are stupid – they have Indians and Bangladeshies providing you answers from a chinese menu of paragraphs. No one is expected to think. No is told to think, These are rules – find a paragraph that fits the rules.

    Next, if you appear and the reservation is for international travel – and they are stupid and refuse to transport you because of Bob vs. Robert – they owe you a refund. NO airline wants to give money back. A gate agent – who has the authority to change EVERYTHING about your reservation, will update the name list to match the full correct name on the passport. You KNOW this will happen since it is the responsibility of the airline to do so.

    folks – READ THE CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE. Unable to provide ID is different from REFUSE to provide. . .

  • robert carter

    This past November I traveled United Airlines on a trip to my mother’s funeral. Not knowing which suit to wear, I took four. I went to the baggage claim to pick up my garment bag and found that there was a cut and what appeared to be tire tracks across it as well. I opened it to see if anything was cut or broke and found the hanger apparatus broke, along with a bottle of cologne in one of the pockets that had breached the pocket and punctured the garment area, damaging my suits and other clothing.
    I proceeded to the attendant’s area where I was told that the hanger apparatus is not covered because it is an “attachment”. I was told they would pay the cleaning costs and to forward the receipt to them, so I did.
    A few weeks later, I had not been contacted, so I went back to baggage claim and was told it had been questioned for validity because it was over $100.00, $104.00 to be exact, and could not process it, but had to forward it to the corporate office.
    For the next 9 1/2 months, I kept going back to the attendant, who assured me it had been forwarded. To date, I have not received a reimbursement or information from United. I have continually tried to work it out with a worthless Customer Relations Department. Through the process I found out that the Customer Relations Department is in New Deli, India. After repeated calls, and requests to speak to the person’s supervisor, I have been denied, hung up on, and told they were too busy to discuss it with me. I have been told it was my fault for leaving the airport without settling the issue, and at one point have even been accused of staging the whole thing myself.
    I have been flying United Airlines as my airline of choice for the past 24 years. They have ignored my grievance. If not they would have to admit they have a problem with their Customer Relations Department, being that it’s existence in a foreign country, much less a foreign culture will never be able to bridge the gap.
    I have given up on settling the issue. Ultimately, they have lost a devoted passenger and believer in United Airlines. Hopefully this note will find its way back to their organization and changes will be made. Not much else I can do. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

  • Jennifer

    Come on, this is nothing but a money-maker for the airlines. It costs them nothing to make this change. This is not transferring a ticket to another person, that I understand charging for, but this? A mistake? Please. The airlines will charge whatever they possibly can for every little thing as long as we pay it.

  • Jennifer

    Bob deserves to pay 100.00, who on this planet does not know that your name must match your ID?? And if Bob booked the ticket with an agent in person or by phone, an experienced agent would have ask him “is that your legal name”?

  • John Kerr

    IT’S ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE (has everyone gone insane?)
    It’s not about the POLICY or the $100 bucks….It’s about how this business handles their customers. Airlines that had the policy of sure Mr. “so and so”, I would be glad to help you, would find out in the long run every seat every day would have a BOB in it. (DUH?) They might even up their fare $10 buck ,and the average flyer would be glad to pay, to get “that” personal kind of service when needed. I know I would. I might pony up an extra $20 .
    I travel quite a bit and will never use this carrier for anything, ever again just because, I think their handling of this is repulsive. (thanks Bob, Robert or should I say Buddy!)

    What a shame.
    I read in the beginning that the airlines would loose $1B a month in revenue, is that true? I would hope that our society survives the punishmnet we impose on each other for the almighty dollar.
    Anyone opposing my comments is an idiot, and part of the problem.

  • Brett

    WestJet will update the name for no penalty, no questions asked, and they are very friendly about it, too.

    Furthermore, they will also permit you to cancel and transfer your remaining credit file to another passenger.

    It is no wonder they are rapidly gaining market share against their only national competitor.

  • Heeju

    I also mistakenly used my husband’s nick name instead of the legal name. When I called the United Airline, the first customer service representative told me that there is nothing they can do in terms of name change. They said that the ticket is useless. They can’t even give me the credit, unless the name shown in his driver’s license is identical with the nick name I used. I was devastated. I called the second time and talked to another customer service representative who said, this time, that if I go to the airport ticketing counter and pay $100, they will change the name. I called the third time and now I was told that the fee to change the name is $150. I was frustrated and tired and end up paying $150. However, I was constantly given different information from the customer service representatives and deeply disappointed in the incoherent information base regarding this matter. It’s up to which customer service representative you speak with that will determine your option.

  • David Couchenour

    I work for a travel agency and I can say that part the problem is that everything is reported through ARC. After a ticket has been issued most Travel Agencies can only make changes within 24 hours, because they have the ability to void the original ticket. This is the same for the airlines, although the airlines do have some more leeway.

    You should not only have the correct legal name on the ticket the first time, but you should also review your ticket 24 hours or less after purchase in case there are major mistakes such as the name. This doesn’t guarantee it will be fixed to your satisfaction (price of a new purchase may be higher by this time) but it will give travel agencies and airlines more room to make the change on your behalf.

    You must also realize that the name issue is not the airline’s fault. Yet the airline has someone (likely more than one person) hired just to fix such problems. Granted it doesn’t cost the airline $100.00 to make the name change in most cases, but they do need to pay their employees to correct these mistakes and I’m certain ARC has fees to update the ticket status. And it just gets more complex when it’s a ticket involving more than one carrier.

  • David Couchenour

    “On September 22nd, 2007 Brett said
    WestJet will update the name for no penalty, no questions asked, and they are very friendly about it, too.

    Furthermore, they will also permit you to cancel and transfer your remaining credit file to another passenger.

    It is no wonder they are rapidly gaining market share against their only national competitor.”

    WestJet also does not report through ARC or BSP. This removes many of the “protections” and advantages these reporting agencies require airlines to adhere to.

  • Leona

    My driver’s license has my (horrible) middle name on it. I do not use it. I was inflicted at birth with the first names of both paternal and maternal grandmothers (in that order.) When I first got my learners permit/drivers license in 1977, the clerk made the unilateral choice to include my middle name above my objections. I was 15 and 7 months; no one listens to people of that age and 30 years later, I’m stuck with the damned thing, because once it was on, I was told that it stays unless I come in with a court order changing my name.

    As soon as I was 18, I chose to use my middle initial on legal documents because now that I’m a voter, there is NO GOVERNMENT that can force me to use my full middle name. According to most states’ laws (which this current administration has a sad tendancy to ignore,) my name is WHAT I CHOOSE TO CALL MYSELF, not WHAT IS ON MY DRIVER’S LICENSE or my birth certificate. When I purchase tickets, I do not mention my middle name or initial. I have never been challenged, even by the French (and believe me, if there’s a bureaucratic rule they can enforce, those people are the ones who will kick that horse till it’s steak tartare.)

  • Dustin Picciuolo

    This fee is completely fair. I work for US Airways and when we electronically ticket your airfare, IT IS PAID FOR. It costs money to make a reservation, stuff that goes on behind the scenes. When you buy a discounted fare ticket, you better make sure everything is accurate BEFORE you pay for it. If you get a changeable Y fare ticket, then that’s one thing.. but dicounted fare tickets are what you purchased.

    Next time if you don’t like the $100 name change fee, either confirm your name with the person doing the booking or purchase a full Y fare and change your name as many times as you like.

  • Jeffsters

    Thanks Dustin for your thoughtful and insightful posting! I guess I won’t be fling US Airways any time soon! You show a total lack of respect or empathy to those of us in the flying public that pay your salary. I do love how you ignore the core question; “is it right to charge $100 for a name change”. Other than the time of the phone agent what else is “going on behind the scenes” Dustin? Everything is computerized and in a first name change there is NOTHING going on behind the scenes. As for this silliness of “discounted” fare tickets. I travel a great deal. I have Platinum on American and Executive Premiere on United and when I use either web site I get what I get as a return flight list. I don’t know, nor do I have the time, to decode fare codes and figure out what i am getting. I just need to go from point A to point B.

    Look, it’s simple…I make my own flight reservations. I do it all and now you’re telling me it costs $100 to change a first name? Humm…by that then I guess it means I waste $400 making the reservation myself! Wait a minute! Hold on! That’s right! How is it that, at least American, only charges a $10 fee when making a reservation from scratch over the phone?

    So let’s look at this, I can sit on the phone for as long as I want making someone find me a discount fare live for only $10 but to do a quick name change costs $100? Yeah…something use is going on “behind the scenes”.

  • Bob

    This is a big stink over nothing.

    The ticket did not have to be changed, except for the man who lost out on the convenience of doing something on line. He should blame the person who did his ticket.

    He can still go through security, because like he said, everyone knows that Robert and Bob are the same. He will also get his miles when he mails in his used boarding passes.

    What has he lost? Nothing. It is fair to generate this much hot air over this? That is what is really not fair.

    You lost nothing — get over it.

  • Lianne

    I totally sympathize with Bob on this.

    When I was in college (shortly post 9/11) I wanted to get a flight back home to surprize my mother on her birthday. As a poor college student who refused to have a credit card, I enlisted the help of a friend of my mother purchase my flight. I didn’t know anything about flying, so when she told me what time to be there for the flight and that I had an eticket I thought I was all set!

    Unfortunately, when I got to the airport, I discovered that my mom’s friend made the ticket for LEanne not LIanne. The airline (it was United) wanted to hit me with the name change fee and the walk up price, which would have totalled an additional $500! I reiterate that I was a poor college student.

    My story has a happier ending, after about 30 minutes and a lot of tears they finally took pity on me. But from what I understand I am a unique experiance, I guess I was just that pathetic!

  • http://www.istorya.net/forums April

    I agree with you, Terry Trippler. It is the booking person’s responsibility to make sure that the name on the ticket matches the traveler’s passport or driver’s license to avoid travel delays. Cite one travel booking website that does not inform you of this.

    Geez!

  • David Smith

    I’ve been a T.A. since the 70s.

    One question, that of fairness, has not been considered from an angle that will be important to most people that travel on non-J-class fares.

    How long does it take them to earn that AFTER-TAX $100 to pay for this name correction [note, not name change, but correction]? For many people, it will be over a day of their lives, doing odious/stressful or just plain unpleasant work OR it will be a sizable percentage of their old age pension. Often it hurts the unsophisticated and easily intimidated infrequent traveler.

    The punishment, while equal, is not equitable.

  • Barbara

    Read the first response letter from United, and then read the name of the person who wrote it Denzel Singh is some guy sitting in Delhi, and has only his computer to confirm that a phone call took place on August 17th between Bob Bennett and a United agent. First off, the grammar and use of language of the response letter should tip you off that English is not his first language (although he did a good job; I wouldn’t be able to write/speak Hindi with equal facility). He likes Denzel Washington; hence the first name. The last name Singh is a common Sikh moniker and is possibly just as false as his first name.

    So what you have here is an agent in India who is paid by United to blow off their customers as bureaucratically as possible, primarily by quoting boilerplate found buried on United’s website. Bob Bennet has no access to a real person who can actually help him; likewise, Denzel Singh has no access to a real person at United Airlines in the United States. United Airlines is just hoping that Mr. Bennett will give up and go away, which he probably will do, and never fly United again.

  • laura

    Bob,

    Just catching up on Chris’ site, I don’t know how long ago this was.

    I find it ironic that, as many problems as I have had with Northwest in other regards, just four months ago they changed ny name on a ticket, for free!

    My mother-in-law booked tickets for my husband, my 2 year old and myself to fly from BWI to MSP. She thought she was doing us both a favor given our busy schedules and my husband needed to fly out there for a medical consult. The tickets she said were a gift. But apparently my husband has never fessed up to her in our four years of marriage that I never took his name legally. (I sign things socially with his, which is legal, but all my ID has my ‘maiden’ name).

    I phoned Northwest the minute I discovered error, but which happened to be the day before travel. (We had very little notice of the appointment availablity). Maybe it was because we had full fare tickets and not cheaper ones, but they changed the reservations (IE switched last names) within minutes and didn’t charge me. Sorry you had a problem.

    laura

  • Richard

    I think that Joe F was mostly on track in stating that the whole issue is silly. To me, the primary question is: What happens when Robert shows up at the airport with a ticket for “Bob?” I have to think that the humans at the airport would not object. Joe is possibly correct that TSA does not care and the airline would not ask for ID. However, if the traveler is checking luggage or getting the boarding pass from the ticket agent, then the traveler must show ID.

    Lianne was the only person to state that she was denied boarding due to a typographical error. I have to think that’s pretty rare. And she actually got on the flight.

    How about this aspect? – Suppose you forgot or lost your driver’s license? The airlines are able to decide whether to board you or not, at their discretion. So, you can possibly board the plane, even without a drivers license.

    If anybody has actually been denied boarding due to a name error, post your experience.

  • Billy

    Hey Richard,

    Another point to consider: 18 and under don’t even need to present ID (TSA rules). How they can verify that someone is under 18 without ID, I have no idea. But it sure is a crazy world.

    And ya, the simple solution for Lianna would have been kiosk/online check-in (I think they had those in 2001). The way she made it seem was that it happened at the airline counter and not at security (why else the ruckus of rebooking?). I can’t see in a million years _even_ TSA rejecting a Lianna/Leanna discrep. (Let’s not even get into the discussion of how simple it is to mod a printed boarding pass.)

    Take home: this whole brohaha was Seinfeld-style nothing.

  • Mike

    It’s unfair and silly to charge ANYTHING for this sort of name change. What a lot of the commenters are missing is that the reason Bob/Robert wants to change the name is that he can’t get frequent flier credit because the AIRLINE won’t match a frequent flier number to the ticket unless the name matches what the AIRLINE has on file.

    There is no question that he’ll be able to get through security, on the plane, and through the entire itinerary. But the AIRLINE’s policy requires him to have the name match to get credit, and the AIRLINE wants him to pay $100 to correct it.

    What’s ironic is that there’s probably no chance that the airline supervisor’s name is “Denzel.” Indian customer service reps choose “American” names because we couldn’t pronounce their real first names. So in a country where Dhalliwal becomes Denzel, they can’t understand that Robert becomes Bob.

  • Dave

    Speaking of absurd charges – if you book a flight with Air Canada via their on-line booking system (which of course is convenient for us, AND saves THEM money), you cannot even SPEAK to an agent without invoking a $20 per person charge on top of your ticket price.

    I recently booked 3 tickets for a flight 8 months down the road, online. Friends of ours used an agent to book theirs. When we compared tickets and seats – it turns out we were on a different flight. Their flight was not even listed as valid on the online system. I then proceeded to make a call to inquire, and heard the recording, which basically says “if you have made your booking on-line, you will be charged $20 per person to speak to an agent.” Not “$20 to change your reservation”. $20 to SPEAK to an agent!!!

    Is it just me, or is this completely ridiculous?

  • http://www.bob-bennett.com Bob Bennett

    Mike’s November 13th post comes the closest to stating WHY the whole thing irked me in the first place. Shortly after the flights, I read up on United’s policies on how to submit documentation for mileage credit. I carefully assembled all of the necessary items. To see the result, check this on my own web site. The only thing redacted from the document is my mailing address.

    http://www.bob-bennett.com/BennettUnited.jpg

  • dave

    I booked a ticket online for my daughter in her maiden name- call it a dad thing-maybe in the back of my reptilian part of my brain I hate here new found loser husband- anyway it was a Delta Flight from FRA Germany to Phoenix. I was told that same old song and dance of “no exceptions for a name change” and that the entire ticket was useless, which on top of losing the ticket meant that a new ticket would be at the last minute off the chart price. I gave up trying to talk to “customer service”- which in India directly transalates to ” how can I so pleasantly say that you are screwed”. After hours of retrys, finally I got to an agent that broke all the rules-spoke english from birth-and got the name change without paying. It took hours of both my time and theirs- now they will have to raise the ticket prices to pay for. I can’t understand- if I made the ticket- why is it so impossible to change the ticket that I made?

  • brett

    While Bob’s story is sad, its not as bad as mine. I made a frequent flyer reservation (so i had to speak to a human) for my wife and I, and after getting it all done, I checked the reservation online and discovered that the agent I spoke with misspelled my wife’s last name as DAVID, not DAVIS…I’ve called, emailed, etc. and have been told that if I make that small change that my reservation WILL BE CANCELED. But I’ve been told by customer no service that they have noted the problem in their records. I was never given the option of paying a fee to change something that was the airlines fault in the first place, I was just told NO.

  • Steph

    The issue at hand, be it re-ticketing fees, mileage credit, or having a snack on a trans continental flight, is CUSTOMER SERVICE. It no longer exists in the airline industry, (or many other service oriented businesses.) It makes no sense to me. It is just good business to give customers the best experience they have the ability to give.

  • Greg Wang

    Bob-

    Just so you know, TSA is usually a little lenient about first names. I get all of my tickets issued for “Greg” while my legal name is “Gregory.” I’ve been doing this for the last 5 years and never once got refused (20 flights). One time, the TSA agent actually mumbled, “Greg… Gregory… alright.”

    So your main problem is with frequent flyer miles, as you know.

  • Mark Attico

    I am currently a travel agent, and got into the travel business as a bottom-of-the-barrel rez agent at America West (just prior to the USAir merger). I totally agree that the core issue is customer service. When I was a res agent at the airlines, I knew that when I went to find out if I could get a fee of any sort waived or reduced, what mattered most wasn’t necessarily the reason for the change or how slowly or quickly it was requested, it was which supervisor I happened to get when I dialed that line. There were a couple that would waive absolutely nothing, ever, for any reason. A couple had been facilitators in my training class and would often be more lenient because we were friendly.

    There were times that I sympathised alot with people who would be faced with ridiculous change fees in situations that I knew were unfair, or even when the change benefitted us (IE, someone calling in a day in advance of a monster snowstorm to switch their overbooked flight that was 100% sure to be cancelled moving onto a redeye that was 40% full). There was even a ticker in the rez center that would sometimes show a congratulatory message about agents who got a passenger to pay an exorbitant additional collection amount on a reservation.

    These types of fees are moneymaking profit for the airlines, pure and simple. Were they within their rights to charge a fee that they said they would charge? Sure. Does it help their customers to do so, in any case? Not even a little bit.

  • KnuklHed

    A little off subject, but I find it hilarious that the lawyer, Joe F. Beaufort, read the story and thinks… A. that Bob is also a lawyer, and B. that the issue is whether or not he will be allowed on the flight as Robert.

    Bob wants the flight miles credited to his frequent flier account.

    Lets assume for a moment that getting on the flight is the goal. Having worked in both security & law enforcement I can promise you that arguing contract semantics with the security agent screening IDs is not a viable way of accomplishing anything. Especially if you plan on accomplishing it right now (like getting on an airplane). As right as you may be, arguments are for a court room, but they just make my job harder. Making my job harder will not gain you any sympathy. And if it is at all within my power to help you in accomplishing your goal, my sympathy is what you want. All I’m required to do is follow policy, pulling the “I’m a Lawyer” card may cause headaches for someone higher in the food chain 6 months from now, but for now I’m covered. Do you want to wait 6 months for resolution, or get on that plane.

    This principle applies to anybody you encounter in the execution of their job. Whether it is a VA State Trooper knocking a 15mph reckless down to 14mph over and saving you a thousand bucks, or a ticket agent waiving a hundred dollar fee, your attitude is paramount to a positive outcome for you. Often an honest explanation will get you there, “sorry officer it’s been a long day & I wasn’t paying attention” or ” my brother in law screwed up, he only knows me as Bob”.

    When it doesn’t go your way, turning into Captain A-hole won’t get you anywhere, and it’ll probably only make matters worse for you. I know you’re getting bent over by the rules, I’m just not allowed to say it. I don’t like it, but I can’t fix it. I work here for the same reason you bought the cheap ticket, I need this job to pay the bills (and hey I just got a raise to 11 bucks an hour last month). Yelling at me is only going to make me more likely to enjoy it the next time somebody gets screwed over.

    On the other hand, perhaps Joe could represent Bob (since he’s not a lawyer) in some sort of court action. That is after all how these things perpetuate, they are not challenged legally because it’d cost me far more to do so than just cough up the 100 bucks. Maybe Joe could file a Class Action lawsuit that get’s each plaintant $5, while Joe pockets half a million. At least it would expose these BS contracts to the mainstream public with the right PR. Then again the airlines would probably just strengthen the legalese in their contracts, to make them harder to understand, and easier to screw you.

    So I’ll continue to drive when I can avoid flying, and put my money in the pockets of shady oil companies instead of shady airlines, at least they dont ask me to sign anything at the pump.

  • Bob (a.k.a. Robert)

    I am having similar issue. Girlfriend booked my flight with “Bob” instead of “Robert”. The travel agent says he can’t change it. Recommends I get a “fake” ID with “Bob” on it.

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