Can You Change The Name On a Plane Ticket? 2024

When reserving a flight it is important to ensure all the info is correct before hitting submit.

But what if you make a typo or you entered your name or your spouse name incorrectly, can you change the name on the airline ticket?

And what if you wanted to change the name on an existing ticket to someone else’s name?

Here Is a quick answer:

Most airlines do allow minor changes, like correcting a typo or adding or removing a middle name. You can also update your name because of legal change, but changing a name to transfer a plane ticket is not allowed.

In this post, we will answer all your questions about changing the name on a plane ticket, including the cost of doing so, how to correct a mistake, and whether or not you can cancel a ticket purchased for someone else.

Let’s dive right in.

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Can You Change The Name On The Airline Ticket?

Yes, you change and correct  the name for an airline ticket, but only minor changes.

Meaning if you wanted to add or remove letters so the name matches the name in the ID.

If you want to change the whole name, it is also possible but the airline will recommend providing some documents and you may even need to pay some significant fee.

How Much Does It Cost To Change The Name On a Plane Ticket?

Minor and simple mistakes are corrected for free on most of the airlines.

And the charges for changing a name varies from one airline to another and the time you want to make the change, however, the change will range between $75 and $100 if you did want to make the change within 24 hours of your booking, and $200 to $250  after 24 form the booking time.

Sometimes buying a new ticket will be more convenient than the hassle of changing the name on the airplane ticket.

How Can I Change The Name On My Flight Ticket Mistake?

Basically, there are 3 cases that will require a name change.

  • Minor mistakes changes 
  • Major name change
  • Legal name change 

If you did submit your name incorrectly on your flight ticket, it is important to be proactive and correct the error to match the exact name in your ID as soon as possible.

Minor mistake changes

Let’s start with the first one, this is when you want to change one letter or two letters on the name.

Usually this type of correction does not need to contact the airline customer service.

But if you can’t fix it yourself, you can contact the customer service as soon as you find out about the mistake.

Most airlines do not charge any fees for minor mistakes, but you will need to be careful because the more mistakes you have on your name the more complicated it gets, as some airlines will consider it a major name change and you may end up paying some chargers.

Some airlines may not allow passengers to correct and change names on certain destinations, like Delta Airlines for example “ Delta is restricting name changes and name corrections, for travel between the U.S. and China. After confirming the itinerary, if the passenger’s name needs to be updated, a new reservation will need to be booked.

Major name changes

Most airlines may not allow you to change the whole name, because it is like transferring the name, for example if you want to change the name from “ James Mcavoy ” to ” Robert Kiyosaki ”, it will be more difficult and even pricey even if the airline allows it.

The best way to approach this is to cancel the flight before 24 hours and book another flight, most airlines do not change any fee for canceling a flight in the 24 hours.

Ensure that you always read the airline cancellation policy before booking a ticket.

Important

Legal name changes

This is when you already booked your flight, and legally changed the name, and now you wanted to update the name on the plane ticket to match the one in the ID.

In this case you will need to present some documents so the airline can prove that you legally changed the name.

  • Legal name change document
  • Marriage documents
  • Divorce documents
  • Court order

The airline customer service may ask for any document that proves the name change, and they will provide you with the instructions of where to submit the documents.

If you don’t have the time to submit the documents, you can still present the document at the airport, and the airline staff will handle everything.

Why Is It Complicated To Change a Name On a Plane Ticket ?

Traveling on air is a bit sensitive unlike trains or busses, so there are reasons why a passenger can’t simply change the name of a ticket whenever they like.

Here are some of the reasons why passengers can’t change the name on plane ticket easily:

Security reasons

After a passenger books a flight, the name is already stored in the airline PNR ( Passenger Name Record ), also in the TSA and FBI list to ensure that your record is clean.

Your info needs to match what is already stored in the database, and if you just keep updating your name that will cause some confusion.

Also some of the bad guys may get away by providing wrong info to the airline, this why most airlines recommend double checking that the name you provide matches what is in the government ID and the passport.

Illegal flight tickets reselling

You don’t want someone buying a ticket for $90 and transferring it to you for $600 when the demand is high.

If passengers can simply transfer tickets, there are guys and websites that are ready to turn it into a profitable business. 

So to avoid a whole black market of reselling tickets most airlines make it hard correcting and changing names to avoid transferring tickets between passengers.

Can I Transfer My Airline Ticket To Someone Else?

As I mentioned earlier, most airlines do not allow transferring flight tickets.

Even though few airlines may allow it ( with exceptions ), but to know whether your airline allow it or not you will need to contact heir customer service department, and if they do you will likely need to provide both your information and the information of the person you are transferring the ticket to, and may need to pay a fee to complete the transfer. 

So Can I Get A Refund If The Airline Won’t Change the Name ?

Most of the time no.

Airlines typically provide a refund in cases where they have made an error themselves.

Most of the airlines display a notice during the booking process stating that you need to enter the name as in the government ID.

That is an indirect disclaimer from their end, but they will not mention anything about the refund.

One trick that helps to avoid all this hassle is saving your info on your airline frequent flier account and you don’t need to enter the info whenever you want to book a flight.

Final Thoughts

Changing a typo on a plane ticket is possible but transferring a ticket to another name can be a complicated process.

So it’s important to ensure that all of the details are correct before reserving your ticket.

If you need to make any changes to your ticket, be sure to check your airline’s policies and fees regarding name changes, ticket transfers, and cancellations. 

It’s also important to act quickly if you need to make a correction or cancel a ticket, as some airlines may have specific deadlines which are on most airlines within 24 hours.

We hope this helps

Happy travels

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