Middle Name On Airline Ticket: Necessary?

When you book a ticket, most airlines state that the name on the reservation has to exactly match the name on the government issued ID. Is there any truth to this, and what happens if your ticket doesn’t have your middle name attached to it?

Let’s talk about that, because I can appreciate that this can be intimidating, since I don’t think anyone wants their trip ruined before they even get on a plane.

It’s generally fine to not include your middle name

Let me cut to the chase — if you book an airline ticket and don’t include your middle name, you’ll typically not have any issues. Airlines generally require you to include your first name and last name, and then there’s a field where you can put your middle name. Some airlines state that this field is “optional,” while others state that it needs to be included “if shown on ID.”

With that in mind, here are a few points to consider:

• It’s a best practice to include your full name, as it appears on your ID, on your ticket
• You can either put your middle name in a dedicated field for middle names, or you can just put your entire “given name” (as in your passport) in the first name field
• Even if you include your full name at the time you make your booking, don’t be surprised if the “surface” of the ticket only displays your first and last name, as that’s common, and it’s nothing to be alarmed about
• If you’re traveling internationally and need to provide your passport information during online check-in, you absolutely need to include your full name (including your middle name) as it shows in your passport; during online check-in you can typically add a middle name, even if your initial ticket didn’t show it
• The much more important point is that you provide your correct legal name, and not a shortened version of it; in other words, if your name is “Joseph” but you go by “Joe,” make sure the ticket has the former, and not the latter

Personally I’d have no qualms booking a ticket with just my first and last name on it, and I’ve never had an issue. That being said, can I guarantee that it will absolutely never be a problem for anyone? Occasionally I see “freak” stories of people claiming that they were denied boarding or had to buy a new ticket because they didn’t include their middle name.

However, I often find the circumstances surrounding this to be a bit questionable, and wonder if there’s more to the story.

Misspelled names are problematic

While I think skipping your middle name is typically fine, what about if you misspelled your name slightly? Well, that’s much more likely to be a big issue, and it’s something you’ll want to correct ASAP.

When you book a ticket, always pay close attention that you didn’t spell your name incorrectly. In other words, if your name is “Benjamin” and you accidentally typed it out as “Benajmin,” you could have problems.

What should you do if you find out that your ticket has a name misspelled? Well, you should try to get it fixed as quickly as possible:

• If you just booked your ticket, try contacting the airline, and they might be able to fix it, or if it’s an eligible ticket, you can refund it within 24 hours
• Some airlines can’t change a ticket to update the name, while other airlines have policies to let you change the name on a ticket in exchange for a small fee
• If you have a more complex ticket that involves travel on multiple airlines, is booked through a partner airline, etc., it can be a bit more complicated to change the name on an existing ticket, so you’ll want to be even more careful in those situations
• In some cases, airline representatives may state that they can’t fix the name, but they can notate the record with information about the correct name; that might work, but it’s not something I’d count on with 100% certainty

While there’s a chance that you can get away with a minor spelling error on a straightforward ticket, personally it’s a risk I’d rather avoid, as I wouldn’t count on being able to take that flight.

Bottom line

While airlines like to pretend that you’ll be denied boarding if the name on the ticket doesn’t exactly match the name on your government issued ID, the reality is a bit different. I certainly wouldn’t be worried if your ticket doesn’t show your middle name (or even if it’s just not on there at all).

Misspelling errors are a much bigger issue, though. That could be cause for being denied boarding, and it’s something I’d avoid at all costs.

What has been your experience with including middle names on tickets, and/or name misspellings?