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?

@titchy The booking reference we have is only the Booking.com reference number, so we weren’t able to do this.

Her husbands isnt showing up at all though from what I gather.

It is not really your fault, if you think about it is scammy as fuck that you could lose out over this. If there was no field for middle names on the form, it is almost like a set up 🤔

don’t beat yourself up . Hope it all works out ok

@CraftyNavySeal It does make sense.

Have you tried with the Booking.com reference though? Or are you assuming?

You are NOT stupid.
Everything crossed it’s resolvable. Park it for tonight and thrash it out with ChatGPT. I’ve found it incredibly helpful for this sort of thing.

When you went into the JAL app and it showed your flights, it would have a JAL reference number with it/flight details.

Check the confirmation emails carefully, you should also have one from JAL.

@titchy We have tried.

It wont be the booking.com reference, its different

It is actually quite annoying these 3rd party bookings and quite difficult sometimes to find your booking on the airline website, why they cant coordinate reference and booking numbers I do not know.

If it has not been suggested yet get new passport without a middle name if It will be cheaper than amending the booking

I logged in and can see my flight details on the JAL website since I don’t have a middle name issue. I checked for an option to change names, but I’m unable to edit even my own, so it seems that name changes aren’t possible through the website

I thought you didn’t have a middle name. Sorry for my facetious message, but I’m confused.

Don't rush in and do anything like this OP. You will have added your passport number to the booking and a new passport will have a new passport number. That will cause way more issues than a missed middle name.

If you have a middle name you can also be described as having two first names. For example, on a UK passport there is no Middle Name field, just a Surname field and a Given Names field where you list your first and middle names without distinguishing between them.

I think technically the Booking.com website is not incorrect, but I think what you did was a very easy mistake to make and you should not be beating yourself up over this. I do hope you manage to sort it out.

Just to reassure you, I boarded a flight last year with a last name discrepancy between my passport and booking!

I have a non-hyphenated last name. E.g. Jane Smith Jones, where 'Smith Jones' is my surname. Due to a weird automated form-filling thing, my last name got entered on the airline booking as 'Jones'.

I actually posted about it on here when I realised (the morning of my flight) and was panicking. The consensus was that because 'Jones' was technically my last name (although not my surname) it should be ok. I took the risk and it was fine - they didn't even bat an eyelid at the gate! I was bricking it though. (And this wasn't JAL)

I agree with this 100%

I went on many flights last year and always use Skyscanner for best deals. You can save hundreds of pounds!!

Skyscanner will then link you to another site such as Booking.com.

Obviously I check to see if it's cheaper to fly direct with airline but it rarely is.

So why would you not use it? Strange question!

That makes sense. I have 2 middle names, many people have more than 1 middle name so adding a middle name option wouldn't work.

I actually got told off at the airport when we last flew for including my sons’ middle names on their ticket (it meant their last name was cut off as I guess the system ran out of characters although they don’t have very long names, even with their middle names included). Damned if you do, damned if you don’t I imagine! I hope you are able to get this sorted OP.

I know you’ve tried but please carry on contacting booking.com. I had to contact them recently over a booking issue. First couple of times =useless, promised they’d get back to me etc
last time= got the sensible customer service bod who sorted it all for me
if not your credit card company may have advice. Yes strictly speaking it’s your fault but again you might get lucky and find the person that can sort

good luck. It’s an easy mistake to make

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and support.

Based on other people’s experiences shared online, only a few have received a positive response from JAL regarding name corrections, so I’m trying not to get my hopes up. For now, I’ll wait patiently for an update from Booking.com.

I’m currently in recovery after three decades of struggling with depression, and this trip means a great deal to me. I wanted to visit my parents and show them how much I’ve grown and changed. My memoir is also due to be published soon, and I was hoping they could be the first people to read it in person.

My older child, who is autistic, worked incredibly hard at college and passed his exams last year, and my younger child also worked hard for their GCSEs last year and earned a sixth-form scholarship. Because of that, I promised I would work hard to make a family trip to Japan happen in 2026 — so this situation has been really disappointing. However, I’m very grateful that my British husband has been completely supportive and not negative toward me at all, and I’ve also received so much helpful advice from people here. It has made me appreciate the United Kingdom even more — thank you.

@JennyWren5 I meant my family members' middle names.

I booked a ticket on JAL for my child I did not include his middle name. He got on the plane without incident. This was in April 2025. I booked with miles through american airlines and did not try and amend the booking. I think you will be fine without middle names-- take the trip.

How would you have known that though? This must be a common problem surely. Log in directly with the airline. You can do that with third party sellers and take the booking from there. I say show up to the airport anyway
So many countries have different naming systems, especially in Asia. Surely they allow Leighway?

But this is when you CHECK IN. It's not the ticket booking name that has to match exactly, it's the check in name. You haven't yet checked in and entered all your details, so you can still enter your middle names at check in.