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?

Odd? It’s a major travel platform! It’s not like booking through some no-name company with no reviews that screams “scam”.

Booking.com is a major cheap platform with continuous stream of problems reported - the advice I would give to anyone would be “avoid it “ . It may be big but it scream scam to me

Firstly, you will be fine travelling with tickets as is - but I totally understand how worrying the wait would be for you.

So ... Either change the passports - you have lots of time to apply for student loans, so can change back if necessary but I don't think the student loan people would be as tough on you as JAL seem to be. Do you even need a birth certificate for student loans?

OR write to the many newspaper travel desks who troubleshoot on readers' behalfs. DM me if you want details/can't find them.

It will be OK!!

My DH helpfully bought tickets with the wrong first name for me, his OWN WIFE. He left out a bit. The only issue was that we couldnt check in online but it was fine at the airport.

I haven't read the full thread but you should write to consumer champions in the Guardian (and equivalents with other papers) to call out Booking.com.

You are being too hard on yourself, it absolutely was not clear from Booking.com website.

🙄🙄

Can your husband delete the app and re register for it without the middle name? Or did it require you to show your passport as ID to register?

Ryanair 😲 refunded 👀
?????

MickoL will have a heart attack and issue an internal audit instruction.🤣

I thought First name(s) boxes were for things like double barrelled first names. So Lilly-Mae Sophie Smith would put Lilly-Mae in the first name(s) box. Middle names are not first names. 'Given names' includes first and middle names are they are chosen and given to you by your parents.

Different countries have different naming conventions. First name(s) in the UK means the name you use of a day to day basis. Your 'first' name or names if you have a double barrelled one.

I would really argue with Booking.com that if they want you to include your middle names they need to change their wording or add and extra box for UK bookings. Totally their fault. (Except if the "!" next to the first name(s) box says include middle names when you hover over it... Does it??)

Is that cheering you up?

I would have thought it is more cheering to know that if booking.com gives bad news, there is an alternative option that will cost about £300

And you don’t need middle names for a student loan

I think this is a warning that third party booking sites are more liability than they are worth.

I’ve flown with JAL several times and never had my middle name on my booking. JAL app is clunky, website is worse. On one occasion I couldn’t access the booking until 24 hours before. Don’t panic, check in at airport if necessary.

This sounds like a nightmare, I’m sorry for you. If Booking.com are not responding then I would contact your MP for help - it’s amazing how receiving an email or letter on an MP’s letterhead can magically improve customer service. This is exactly the type of thing an MP can help with.

Good luck!

I´m Spanish, I have 2 names and 2 surnames. The name on the ticket never matches the name on the passport as the system chops it up because not enough characters on the forms usually. No problem on Spanish carriers, but foreign ones are problematic. I remember once in Paris at check in the attendant had to check with us what was names and what was surnames to chop it up accordingly. Go on trip and don´t be so square minded.

My husband booked a long haul flight for me in my married name, when my passport was in my maiden name. I took my birth and marriage certificates with me as well asy driving licence (in married name) and had no problem. Should note that every official that we encountered agreed that my DH was an idiot!

You will be fine, we went to Japan in November and also booked through Booking.com. The tickets often have your last name first anyway so ' Smith Lucy' for example. We didn't put our middle names and were fine

"Please be sure all names are entered correctly when booking flights.
Enter names in last - first - middle order"

And then the subsequent screenshot shows First names followed by Last names. Very unfair that they can get their instructions wrong but you can't make a minor mistake and have it corrected.

Don't cancel anything until you've exhausted the complaints process & tried every avenue.

I had no idea about the middle name thing until we were at the airport once, turned out fine.

Hope you can resolve it. A new passport is a good plan, if it comes to it.

You really don't need to worry about this at all. There is no requirement to include your middle name and you won't be denied boarding, not even by JAL.

What they do want is for the names to match. So your husband needs to delete his app and re-register without using his middle name. Then his flight should show.

In your case, it's unlikely that booking.com will get JAL to update this as they don't allow name changes. Some airlines are weird like this, it's annoying.

No need to cancel your flights or passports or lose money. Just turn up at the airport and go. You'll be fine.

In future, you can enter both names in the 'First Names' field when there is no separate 'middle name' field.

Also, I have learned through my own experiences that booking flights via 3rd parties can be an absolute pain when even the simplest thing goes wrong. Now, I never do it. If you book direct with the airline you deal direct with the airline and it is so much easier. However, in this case, I don't think JAL are particularly helpful so it probably wouldnt have helped much.

I really admire the positive attitude of Mumsnetters. I, for one, tend to overthink things negatively, even when I don’t know what the future holds (I haven’t received an update from Booking.com yet). Next time, I’ll either book the flight directly or make absolutely sure to enter my family members’ middle names in the first name field—lesson learned. I don’t think I should complain to Booking.com, since it’s common sense to make sure the name on the ticket matches exactly.

@Lucked JAL confirmed over the phone that duplicate accounts aren’t allowed for a single person, and the fact that my family members’ tickets and passports don’t match won’t change that.

@Ginnnny I’m not too worried about flying from London, since people there understand the importance of including middle names on tickets. What I am concerned about is the return flight, as we’ll be departing from a small airport in my hometown. This might be a bit off-topic, but when we submitted our marriage form at the local council here, it was very complicated. They didn’t have much experience with international marriages between Japanese and British couples, whereas most people in big cities said the process was straightforward.

@IsItSnowing , I've worked in the industry and the names on the ticket and passport needed to match exactly.

If you have an internal flight from your home city in Japan to Tokyo and then your long haul flight home from there could you book tickets for that part of the journey for your husband and children? If it’s all classed as one flight from Japan to UK that wouldn’t work, but if it’s the equivalent of taking a short internal flight (think easyJet from Edinburgh to Gatwick) and then your international flight that might be a cheaper option and you might be less likely to be refused to travel in Tokyo.

I think you'll be fine. Your husband is not wrong that you don't normally put middle names on flight tickets.

However, JAL might give you a different answer because Japanese don't have middle names. The name is the name. You use them all. It's their custom and that's similar for many East Asian countries. I think they might be ok with you when you are at the airport.

Genius idea.

I booked through booking . Com last summer and lost a lot of money. They're basically unable to make any changes.