Mistakes happen from time to time. Sometimes something happens, and you have to change your plans. What happens if you booked your plane ticket, but now your name has changed because you got married since you reserved your ticket. How can you fix the name on your ticket so it matches your new identification?
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Can I Change Passenger Name on An Airline Ticket? (Solved!)
In general, it depends on the airline you bought your ticket from as to how to get the name changed. Read your airline’s Terms and Conditions and Change and Cancellations sections to see what their rules say. Contact customer service. Explain your situation and let them fix your name on your ticket.
Everyone has times when things come up, and you need something fixed or someone else to take your place if you want to learn more about how to change your name on your airline ticket, read below.
Can You Transfer a Plane Ticket to Someone Else's name?
Avoid buying tickets for people that you are not sure one hundred percent will make the flight. Most airlines do not allow you to change the ticket to a different person. Of course, this is unavoidable sometimes. Say, you bought tickets three months before your wedding for the honeymoon for you and your fiancée to go to the Bahamas.
Unfortunately, you broke up two days before the wedding. Now you would like to take a friend instead of losing your money. The odds of getting the airlines to transfer the ticket to another person are not likely to happen. If it, does it will likely come with a hefty fee.
The airline probably will not allow your friend to take your girlfriend’s place on the ticket for your honeymoon. Instead, they may allow you to exchange the ticket for a ticket later in the year. Then you can cancel the ticket without any penalties.
While most airline tickets are non-transferable, a few airlines will allow you to change the ticket to someone else for a fee. The closer to the flight, the higher the cost will likely be. Easy Jet is one of the few that does allow you to change the ticket over to someone else, but in most cases, you will come out ahead if you cancel and then reschedule another ticket with the new name because the fees may be more than a new ticket.
Can We Change the Name After Booking Flight Ticket?
If you have a typo in your name or got married or divorced and changed your name, you need to get the name on your ticket changed to the correct name as soon as possible. Some airlines have a two-week wait time before you can get your updated airline ticket. If your flight is scheduled for sooner than that, it will not help much.
Each airline has different rules for handling minor typos and mistakes on your airline ticket. At the same time, many airlines will let you fix small typos in your name without much trouble. Some will even allow you to do so online or through their customer service. Whatever, you do don’t wait until the last minute to get your ticket fixed, or you will probably be left behind.
If you made a significant name change since you bought your ticket, that will fall into an entirely different matter and be much harder to fix. Be prepared that you may have to pay a fee to get the name corrected. Also, remember your passport, driver’s license, or ID, and your ticket must match perfectly. You will need to get those updated too.
How Hard is it to Change the Name on a Plane Ticket?
Depending on which airline you booked with will determine how hard it will be to fix a name change. If you purchased a non-transferrable ticket, unless you can cancel it and reschedule another ticket, there may not be much you can do. Some airlines do not allow it at all. For instance, British Airways will allow you to cancel your ticket and rebook after a twenty-four-hour cooling-off period with the new name.
Some only allow 48 hours to make any adjustments to names on tickets, and some limit those to three characters in case you mistyped. Ryanair, which is much more flexible, will do a full name change up to two hours before your flight for a fee. It depends on the method you use to make the changes and how much it will cost with Ryanair. In some cases, it may be cheaper to buy a new ticket than update the old one. However, if the name change is due to marriage, they will change your ticket for free if you provide your marriage license.
Most European airlines are more willing to change names on tickets than American airlines companies. For Instance, British Airways is ready even to help change your name over the phone and does not usually charge anything for doing it. Irish airline, Aer Lingus, will allow name changes at a high fee per person, but these enabled changes can happen as late as two hours before the flight.
How Much Does It Cost to Transfer Name on Airline Ticket?
The cost to change a name on an airline ticket varies depending on the carrier. Some do not allow any changes at all, while others will if you pay a fee. Another factor to consider is whether your purchased ticket has on it “non-transferrable” or not. If it does say that, you will probably not be able to change the name on the ticket at all to another person.
Frontier Airlines does allow you to change the name on your ticket with a $75 fee plus any difference between the fare when you booked and the latest price. JetBlue does not allow you to make name changes. They will allow you to cancel or change your flight only twenty-four hours after booking it. Cancellation fees range between zero and $150.
Delta Airlines does not allow name changes, and if you cancel or change your ticket, you will be charged a fee of between $200 and $500, depending on your original fare. If you booked through a third party, you could expect to pay an extra $50.
Southwest tickets are nontransferable, but there is no charge to cancel or reschedule your flight. If you cancel or reschedule within twenty-four hours of booking your ticket, it is free to do.
United Airlines tickets are non-transferrable. You have twenty-four hours to cancel or change your flight; after that, they charge a fee.
Can I Change Passenger Name on Flight American Airlines?
Although American Airlines did not allow name changes on tickets before 2020, they changed their rules, with Covid being a significant problem. They now allow travelers to change their names and even let the original purchasers transfer the ticket into someone else’s name. This new policy, however, does not apply to all types of tickets. This is primarily for corporate travelers. Business Extra accounts and Business accounts can also transfer tickets without issues.
If these areas do not apply to you, then you will likely still not be able to transfer your ticket to anyone. However, you can still follow the guidelines above to cancel and reschedule your ticket.
How Much Does It Cost to Change the Name on a Plane Ticket American Airlines?
If you book a ticket on American Airlines and need to do a name change within twenty-four hours of purchasing it, you can do it for free by calling them if it is at least two days before your scheduled flight. After that, you can plan on paying between $200 and $750 depending on the cost of your original ticket to make a name change. If you bought your ticket through an agency, the price would probably be even higher.
Can You Change the Name of a Passenger on a Southwest flight?
While Southwest will allow you to fix a small typo on your ticket, it does not allow you to transfer a ticket to someone else. Southwest Airlines tickets are non-transferrable. You cannot even pay a fee to transfer a ticket to someone else. Passengers can go to the website of Southwest and do a same-day name change. To do that, follow these instructions:
- After you get to the website for Southwest Airlines, choose to manage booking.
- Next, type the booking confirmation number and the last name of the passenger into the appropriate area.
- All your details should come on the screen.
- Modify them by changing the name.
- Once the changes are done, you will receive an email of the changes made. Unlike most other airlines, Southwest does not charge any fees for this or any other customer services.
This should allow you to modify your name as needed.
Can You Still Fly if Your Name is Spelled Wrong?
Unfortunately, airlines do not allow you to fly unless your names match perfectly. Security has to verify whether your credentials match your ticket before they can let you get on a flight. They are generally very strict about it because of the heightened security in recent years.
All your travel documents must match. You will need to address the issue in time to cancel your old ticket and get a new one re-issued if the airline cannot help fix it; otherwise, you will not be allowed to fly.
Another reason airlines do not like to allow name changes is because since they sell their tickets cheaper the further out you purchase them. Many people would buy them up like some people do sporting tickets and sell them at very high prices. Making them non-transferable has stopped most of this.
Conclusion
When purchasing airline tickets it is critical to make sure that everything is spelled correctly right away. If you notice a problem, you will want to get it fixed immediately to ensure you have enough time to do so. In some cases, you may need to cancel your old ticket and reschedule a new one to fly. Make sure you always carry the proper identification when flying so that you can prove your identity.
If for some reason, you cannot go and want someone to go in your place, you will probably need to cancel your ticket and reschedule with the person’s name, or in rare cases, you may be able to change the ticket to someone else’s name, but it is likely going to cost a high fee.
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