My big mistake with our Japan flight booking

[HelloandThankU]

Hi. I booked flights to Japan with Japan Airlines through Booking.com for the first time. The booking was for my husband, our two teenage children, and me. At the time of booking, there was a space for first and last names but no option to include a middle name. My husband said it wasn’t necessary, so we left it out. The total cost of the tickets was £6,100. Unfortunately, these are non-refundable tickets.

After downloading the JAL mobile app, my flight details appeared, but my husband’s did not show up in his app. This concerned me, so we called Japan Airlines. We were told that the names on the tickets must exactly match the passports, including middle names, and that we could be denied boarding if they do not match.

I don’t have a middle name, but my husband and children do. I wasn’t aware that Japan Airlines was so strict about this. We contacted JAL, but they said they cannot amend the names because the tickets were purchased through a third party. We then contacted Booking.com, and they are currently in communication with JAL, but we have not received any update yet.
After researching online, I found that many people reported being unable to get name corrections with JAL when booking through a third party, although some said they still went to the airport and hoped for the best. I don’t want to take that risk in case my family are denied boarding on the return flight. We cannot afford to buy another set of tickets. I know this was a serious mistake, and I feel awful about it — I was really hoping to take my children to see my parents back home.

I’ve been on the phone a lot with JAL and Booking.com, and my child with autism heard me. I feel like I upset him, and I worry that I made him sad. Has anyone successfully added a middle name with Japan Airlines when the ticket was purchased through a third-party site?

I know someone whose first name is made of two names. (eg. Mary Anne without hyphen). I thought the first name was the first name, the middle name was the middle name, and the last name was the last name—it seemed straightforward to me. I would have been more cautious if it had said “given name” or “forename.

Oh I absolutely know what you are saying, I hope it doesn't sound as if I don't & I am also very sympathetic to you.

I just don't think it's helpful when people say that the website is misleading/ambiguous as I think it is a format that has been in use for a while.

That said, mistakes an be made under any circumstances & you would hope that it would be a relatively easy fix by booking.com even if here was an admin fee.

@januarybluesaregone If I’m correct, the British Airways official site says you don’t need to include a middle name. Lucky you!

Note I am not a lawyer…!

But do the distance selling regulations apply here? They give you four weeks to ‘cool off’ and cancel your purchase without financial penalty.

Maybe worth posting on legal if you get nowhere with booking.com

Not helpful at all, jog on.

I understand your worries, but rest reassured. I went to Japan last November and did not originally enter our middle names with Mytrip, the booking operator. From my experience, notwithstanding Booking.com limitations, you should be able to add full passenger information when you are checking in / registering for the flight. Check in/registration is normally done on the airline’s web site or app, which will have all the requisite fields. As long as your first and last names match the Booking.com reservations, you should be able to add full passenger details (full names, passport info, baggage, seating, meals) when you register for the flight, which is generally a week to a few days before your flight. You will usually receive an email or text message alerting you when to register for your flight.

Why do you feel the need to be so mean saying you don’t know why the poster booked through a third party. Honestly why do some posters like to have a dog and put people down when they already feel crap!!

@KateP93 Thats what I’ve been trying to say. How do they check in without the code? I’ve not flown JAL but are they expecting clients to just arrive at the airport and check in there? I guess so if they have chosen seats but we usually look at the allocation and change it if we need to and also make sure info is correct and add passport details.

I booked a flight to Thailand with Air India and for some reason at the time I didnt put our middle names. I think it was because we regularly flew to Turkey and Portugal to visit family and NEVER put middle names (my husband has 3 middle names). Anyway, I read something somewhere about NEEDING to put middle names and I panicked beacause it was a much more expensive flight than we were used to. I tried to add middle names but Air India were trying to charge me for a whole new flight and said we HAD to and wouldn't be permitted to fly if not but we just didnt have the money for it. So we decided to just try and see if it was fine on the day. As it turns out - literally no problem at all noone questioned it at all not the way there or on the return journey. It is weird that easyjet or jet 2 would allow but other airlines are suggesting they wouldnt.

If this is your definition of mean then bloody hell give your head a wobble and stop being so soft.

JAL says you select seats at on line check in. So that’s fairly standard unless you have paid early. But check in seems on line and then bag drop at the airport.

To me this seems ridiculous. Most airlines will change names for a fee. Surely you wouldn’t be expected to lose £6000 for a simple admin error that lots of people make and correct all the time ??? Doesn’t sound right.

Surely it would be cheaper to speak to the passport office and see if the passports can have their middle names removed?

I'm sure you'll be fine, but you could change your kids names to remove the middle name, get new passports then when you're back decide how much you want them back and repeat if needed.

That does sound really drastic …

This simply isn’t the case. Not even tickets to Australia cost anywhere near £6000pp! £2k at an absolute maximum if booking last minute in peak season. Booking.com prices are the exact same or marginally cheaper than booking direct with the airline. It’s a useful tool to find what airlines/times/routes will work out cheapest but you need to take that information from booking.com and go to the airline’s actual website. The same quote will appear and you’ve got much better legal protection.

A while back their was a lad who made a similar mistake and the cost of changing was more than the flight.

So he changed his name by depol and got a new passport within that time.

£6000 is alot of money and dropping a middle name might be worth it - assuming you have enough time.

@OhDear111 I can check in through the app, but I can’t change the details every time I try—red text keeps appearing. I can change the seat in the app, but it depends on the ticket type (black text shows up). I can probably change my seat, but not the passenger’s personal information.

I found this online, but it doesn’t provide any information about middle names. www.aviateworld.com/media/5304/jl-name-change-policy-updated-07dec22.pdf

@HelloandThankU Hmm. Really odd in my view. I think you are a bit stuck really! Hopefully if BA allow no middle names to Japan, JAL will too. - on the day!

Don't be so hard on yourself. The reason one uses a third party is because they are the experts! They should know which airlines have particular rules and you won't have a clue. Your contract was with them, they should resolve the issues or refund all your money. Enjoy visiting your family and don't cross bridges until you get to them!! You have done your part.

We have flown with JAL booked via British Airways. +1 year ago.. We paid around 4200 for a family of 4, for indirect outward flight and direct return flight. Going via JAL was more expensive but more like 6000k for the family.

Flying with JAL was an elite flight. The best I've experienced. My fingers are crossed OP!

This error is on Booking.com, I really don't know why they sell tickets not compatible with the airline. There should be no room for anything like this. I'm fuming for this OP. My SIL once had an issue like this via 3rd party (booked via random company but tickets were for a BA flight). She simply turned up to the check in desk and everything was fine (she was a wreck tho!). She could not check in online for that ticket due to the name error.

Chase up Booking.com and try to get it changed

When OP receives the 5- or 6-letter reservation codes and/or 13-digit eticket numbers, she can use these to check in/register within the specified timeframe (each airline allows registration within a specific time window prior to the flight). Note : The Booking.com order number is different from the eticket number and reservation code.

We had air Canada give us boarding passes with only first and last names. My husband and son have the same first and last names, but different middle names so my son is not a "jr". AC apparently couldn't put middle names on their boarding passes (they told us that) and then they dropped my son from the flight because the airline computer thought it was a duplication. He was 11. It took hours to sort out. Fortunately it was an international flight (USA to Canada) so we had arrived early and had extra time. Our tickets were fine, it was the boarding passes. I hate that airline.

Hmm.
Very helpful.