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?

What number did you call as we can't find any numbers that work!

Did you fly with JAL?

Generally middle names are not required for bookings. If they are it’s ridiculous that you are not requested to provide them when making the reservation.

Once on a long haul trip I was unable to check in online due to my middle name being absent. I had no problem doing it once I was at the airport though.

From bitter experience I have learnt that it is always best to book directly with the airline, even when it’s more expensive.

I have a family member who had an issue with booking.com and their customer service is absolutely dreadful
She looked online and there are numerous groups dedicated to how awful they are. If an MP is able to get them to do anything there will be hoards of people moving to their constituency😀

@Gallusoldbesom We looked into it. A one-way flight from Tokyo costs ¥39,860 per person at the cheapest rate, which comes to ¥79,720 for return, and for all four of us, that’s ¥318,880—about £1,497. I wouldn’t mind paying this to JAL if they can successfully correct my family’s middle names on their existing tickets. But if we fly without having their names corrected and end up paying an extra £1,497 for new domestic flights, that’s no longer an option for us. Taking the bullet train would be cheaper, but we’d then have to stay in a hotel, which would make it quite expensive in the end.

Op sorry to hear this. My advice is to just be relentless with booking.com untill you get confirmation of the update. Remind them of the rules (of any apply that mean this must be updated for you and point out if this isnt updated then it will just add to more issues and if you had known you certainly wouldn't use booking.com again. Im sure it will be fine but just go on at them till its sorted.

I agree, but in my passport I have my first name and middle name listed under 'Given names' and there's no separate box for a middle name.

@Teddleshon1 , Generally middle names are not required for bookings.
The plane ticket needs to match the passport.

She's probably just bouncing ideas and stuff around, like we all do when thinking about contingencies, she doesnt need snippy berating posts, shes stressed enough, she's recovering from MH issues, its a big trip that she's building up. A bit of sympathy and care in posts wouldnt go amiss. She doesnt need a telling off for not going along with suggestions she might not want at the moment.

You will be absolutley fine, wait out for booking.com to come back with a reply. Middle names are not needed.

We had a similar problem with JAL. Booked tickets direct with them though.
When we booked i used just our first and last names.

It wasn't until I joined their frequent flyer club and realised that they wanted our middle names on a particular format. From memory the field won't accept spaces so it was firstname and middle name as one long string of text.

Interestly it's not a long text field and if you have a long first and second name it truncates it when printing.

If i added the middle names there in the FF page i couldn't link to the booking.

When i phoned JAL they were quite used to this. They asked me to send copies of our passports to them. Then they changed it free of charge.

I would continue with a 2 pronged attack on this if in a similar position with a third party. See if Booking.com can give you your JAL booking ref.

Send your passports to both JAL suppprt and Booking.com. Keep calling both.

Hope this helps.

It's not my experience at all. For years I only put first and last name on my flights. Never even realised it was a potential issue until a friend was telling me she put her middle name instead of her surname and then we did some digging on how to put it right.
I do now put my middle name in but I must have taken 10 or more flights with no middle name. Nobody even queried it.

@HelloandThankU , I hope you have heard back from booking.com . I had different issues but similar when booking a flight via booking.com, this is no different to making a correction to a name of a passanger, Booking is able to do it.
I assume you have contacted booking.com via the helpcenter, where you select the flight you need help with and maybe you can say you need to make a correction on the passengers name, that they were input incorrectly.
there might be a feee, but not a big deal.
Also, if the tickets are issued they might need the PRN number, I cannot remember if it was booking or the airline that had it , when I was correcting my flight.
in the past when I contacted booking.com they have been responsive.

Do you mean with Japan Airlines, or generally? If you mean generally you’re absolutely wrong that the middle name is needed. I’ve taken several dozen international flights without having my middle name on the booking.

@HelloandThankU I had this issue when I flew to India. I realised my middle name was missing on the tickets.

I called the airline and they were insisting I cancel the tickets and rebook!

This would have been extortionate so after doing lots of research online the general consensus was they don’t check your middle name.

I chanced it and went as normal and no one said anything, but the stress of it beforehand ruined the excitement for me.

A quick update:

I just called Japan Airlines in Japanese, while my husband called three times yesterday in English. They confirmed that passengers will not be allowed to board if the middle name appears on the passport but not on the ticket.

Yes its a bit of a risk to go forward now without it being changed

So wait for Booking to get back to you push and push and push for that and see where that gets. I would be loath to go to all the faff of getting new passports but that might be where you end up but I wouldnt want to consider that without thrashing it out with Booking first

JAL own booking site has Mandatory First Name and Mandatory Surname but does not list middle name as mandatory but it does say to put it in at the top. I'm sorry OP, this must be stressful for you.

You're not alone, it seems to happen to 1000s of people.

https://www.reddit.com/r/awardtravel/comments/1g0pskj/jal_award_ticket_missing_middle_name_is_that_ok/#:~:text=u/Vegetable%2DHorse5130%20No%20issues,I%20hope%20this%20helps%20others.

Whilst this is their policy which they meticulously and carefully cite if you call them, from what I have read online, it seems the reality is quite different and you will almost certainly be fine.

I think that it may be a company thing that they won't casually say things like "you should be ok" - where other airlines might, but instead stick rigidly to company policy if asked. Calls are probably recorded.

From having been over invested in reading reddits and other reports of this exact thing, I strongly believe you'll be fine with your existing tickets. If you are going to lose so much money anyway, why not chance it and then fork out if there is genuine refusal at checkin? That's what I'd do.

Could it be cheaper to get new passports? Apologies, haven't read whole thread.

Sorry to hear this update, but I disagree that this is your mistake. It's absolutely on Booking.com. If they'd asked for forenames or given names there would be an argument for including both given names in the first box. But they didn't. It was grammatically incorrect of them and unclear to ask for a 'first' name and indicate plural 'firsts' with 's' in parentheses. Only one thing can be first unless there's a linguistic work around like 'joint-first', 'first three' etc. The 's' would be more properly taken to indicate a hyphenated first name, not a second name, as second can't be first! You did check that each first and last name matched the exact spelling on the passport.

Booking have taken a large sum of money from you in return for invalid tickets due to them neither checking the validity of the ticket (when there is a known problem with middle names) nor setting up a data input system that is clear nor giving you sufficient info to check the validity of the ticket yourself before it was purchased.

I would find your anger, switch to email in dealing with Booking and politely but firmly make it clear that you hold them responsible and would chase them for any additional tickets you need to buy in Japan due to their carelessness. I doubt you would actually want to take them to court, but don't let them think they can leave your query in the 'low priority' pile.

I would read it, you're about the 20th person to suggest this.

I also thought passports had to match your birth certificate.

No but you need a legal document if it doesn't.
This could be a marriage certificate, statutory declaration or deed poll.

Thanks, so deed poll first then new passport

She might have to but I dont think I could to be honest.

Then you have to change it all back again