A $5000 mistake. :(

[fkn_ace]

Last year I was miraculously able to book 4 J seats (me, wife, 2 kids) on SQ to Europe using velocity points. Happy days.
This week I realise one of the middle names of my son is where his surname should be. ie his name is missing his surname, thus its wrong on the booking!

I called Virgin - they can't correct the name, they can only cancel his ticket and rebook as per policy/t&cs. Obvously there is now no reward flights left, so I'd have to book a cash fare for my son. $5k is the cost.
I called SQ asking for help but they said nothing they can do. Only Virgin can change the name via whatever policy Virgin have. doh but understandable.

The flight is actually the second leg, ie we fly from Australia to SIN (names are all correct on that booking), then fly from SIN to FRA on the next booking (this is the booking that has his surname missing).

Is there any other course of action I can take that will result in me not having to pay for a new J ticket for my son, and still fly in J?
Is there any other way I can get his name fixed?
Or do we fly anyway and see what happens?
Or do I just need to suck it up and pay?

Also should this post be in the Virgin thread or the SQ thread?

 

[RooFlyer]

I don’t know Virgins policy, but have you tried calling again to see if a different agent will give you a different result?. I would also find an email or some written communication to send to them. But if it’s a hard and fast rule, then you probably don’t have much hope, but I would certainly be trying again.

Have you found an actual policy relating to this on the website? If it’s not specified then I think you still have some hope.

 

[fkn_ace]

thanks RooFlyer - yep I've tried the HUCA thing 4 times this week to no avail with Virgin and twice with Singapore (they seem to be more understanding but ultimately cant/wont help).
I've also emailed Virgin but haven't heard back (except the auto reply). I will keep trying but I'm losing hope.

 

[RooFlyer]

That’s very frustrating. See if you can find the policy wording on the website. It wouldn’t be the first time the telephone agents are uniformly ignorant of something.

 

[bam71]

Just had a quick look, and it’s as I suspected. Both VA and SQ have the standard “Name Correction” policy, which is the name can be corrected provided it is 3 letters or less. Anything else is a “name change” which is not permitted. Although, even if it was only 3 characters, when it’s a codeshare everyone points the finger at everyone else.

 

[Danger]

I would be arguing it's not a name change but merely an input error. That is his middle name; it's simply in the wrong place. It's not a name change at all, just a case of moving his real name to a different spot in the booking.

 

[snabbu]

IIRC different airlines have the first/last name fields around the opposite way I'm used to with QF. Back in the day I had been close to making the mistake of inputting my last name in the first name field and visa versa on aa.com.

 

[Guvner]

The flight is actually the second leg, ie we fly from Australia to SIN (names are all correct on that booking), then fly from SIN to FRA on the next booking (this is the booking that has his surname missing).

So two separate PNR's then? One correct, one incorrect? Can you call in to add his surname to the middle name field which is blank? At least his surname would be on the booking. Then subsequently call in again and ask to swap the fields around which doesn't constitute a name change IMHO.

 

[NM]

I do often wonder in such cases what would happen if the error was not found until flight check-in, and in this case at the SQ check-in desk in Singapore. I wonder how much flexibility the check-in agents have at that point to fix the problem rather than denying boarding and referring the passenger to the booking airline (VA) for remedy. But I am not sure I would be willing to risk it to find out how it panned out.

Note to self: check, double check, triple check and quadruple check flight booking details.

 

[oz_mark]

I would be arguing it's not a name change but merely an input error. That is his middle name; it's simply in the wrong place. It's not a name change at all, just a case of moving his real name to a different spot in the booking.

Which is why the references are to the name correction policy. The problem is that the extent of the correction goes beyond what the policy normally allows.

 

[Danger]

Which is why the references are to the name correction policy. The problem is that the extent of the correction goes beyond what the policy normally allows.

I would argue it's not a name correction either. It's not, for example, Marie when it should have been Mairie. The name is correct; it's placement in the booking isn't. Where's the policy on that?

 

[ZigZagWanderer]

Just had a quick look, and it’s as I suspected. Both VA and SQ have the standard “Name Correction” policy, which is the name can be corrected provided it is 3 letters or less. Anything else is a “name change” which is not permitted. Although, even if it was only 3 characters, when it’s a codeshare everyone points the finger at everyone else.

Just a sneaky idea:

Try multiple changes of three letters at a time...

 

[fkn_ace]

Thank you everyone for your responses. What a great community!
To answer some questions:
-Yes it's two PNRs. one correct and one incorrect.
-My son has two middle names, one is in the middle name field and one is in the surname field instead of both being in the middle name field.
- I assume a check in agent in singapore would be more helpful than the call centre too but I too am hesitant to test it out with the stakes so high.
- I love the cheeky "multiple changes of 3 letters at a time" idea but the middle name that is in the surname field is much shorter than his surname.

thanks again for everyone's comments.

 

[Tiki]

Thinking outside the box.... buy a Y class ticket to get your son on the plane. Then after take off, let him come to sit in the empty J seat originally allocated to him?

 

[AIRwin]

Thinking outside the box.... buy a Y class ticket to get your son on the plane. Then after take off, let him come to sit in the empty J seat originally allocated to him?

What if it is already allocated to another pax with an upgrade request or staff traveller?

 

[Guvner]

Thinking outside the box.... buy a Y class ticket to get your son on the plane. Then after take off, let him come to sit in the empty J seat originally allocated to him?

Two similar bookings on the same flight will likely trigger a manual process to investigate the ticketing. The J seat won't be allocated to him.

 

[AIRwin]

Two similar bookings on the same flight will likely trigger a manual process to investigate the ticketing.

But names are different...

 

[Guvner]

Two of the three names on the booking are the same. The passport numbers, D.O.B and other pax information will be the same. Even something as simple as the same FF number will raise an eyebrow.

 

[aikman]

I have a similar story. I had to book a SQ J seat over the phone and the Velocity agent spelled the name wrong so it wasn't even my fault. It was only one letter out but the next agent I spoke to said the only way out was to cancel the ticket, so I did. Luckily the seat immediately went back as a reward seat so I was able to rebook it.

 

[AIRwin]

Is there any other course of action I can take that will result in me not having to pay for a new J ticket for my son, and still fly in J?
Is there any other way I can get his name fixed?

Do you live near an airport with SQ flights where you can ask?