Quick flying / TSA question

Does the name on your ticket / boarding pass have to match exactly the name on your ID?

Work booked me for business travel using my First Name and Middle Initial but my driver's license reads First Initial Middle Name (one of the pain of being named a 3rd...). Apparently they can't just change the name on the reservation / tickets and are recommending canceling and re-booking.

I don't fly enough to know if this will be an issue or not but would rather not wait until I get to the airport to find out!

if its a typographical error then they shouldn't give you too much crap, so long as its not a completely different first and/or last name on the ticket

1. Does your boarding pass have SSSS on it in big bold letters?

2. Are you middle-eastern looking?

3. Do you have a middle-eastern name?

If you answered No to all questions, you're in the clear If you answered Yes to any questions, YMMV

I had a customer make a reservation for me for a flight to Jamaica. My name is Charles, they made it for Chuck. I played Hell getting that corrected, almost missed my flight. Good luck. Make sure well before you go to the airport.

We'll see. I just found this on TSA's website -

TSA said:

If the name printed on my boarding pass is different than what appears on my government ID, will I still be able to fly?

Secure Flight is a behind-the-scenes process that TSA and airlines collaborate on to compare the information you provide against government watch lists. The additional data elements that you may be asked to provide, such as date of birth and gender, serve to better differentiate you from individuals on the government watch lists.

Due to differences in boarding pass systems, boarding passes may not always display the exact name you provided when booking your travel. The name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform the watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued, so small differences between the passenger's ID and the passenger name printed on the boarding pass, such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, or hyphens and apostrophes should not cause a problem for the passenger.

http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/faqs.shtm

TSA said: If the name printed on my boarding pass is different than what appears on my government ID, will I still be able to fly? Secure Flight is a behind-the-scenes process that TSA and airlines collaborate on to compare the information you provide against government watch lists. The additional data elements that you may be asked to provide, such as date of birth and gender, serve to better differentiate you from individuals on the government watch lists.

Yeah right, search for "mike hicks TSA watch list."

I'd say if you want to be 100% sure, rebook, you'll most likely get an SSSS code but that will only cost you a few extra minutes and you won't have to worry about missing your flight over a printing error.

My wife travels for business, and her agency always seems to book her as JANELMARIE. Yes, Marie is her middle name, but still. Anyhow, it's never caused a moment's concern.

If you ever want to study customer relations mishaps, watch what happens when an airline has a problem. Wow. I figure "gate agent" must compete with McDonalds fry manager for well-paying jobs with a customer service focus.

I got the SSSS five out of six flights in two weeks time last fall. What a pain; don't know why that happened because it hasn't happened before or since. SSSS will get you the full search of the bag and pat down.

Super Secret Special Security screenings. Great. Just one more reason why I have no interest in flying on commercial aircraft today.

I've never had any trouble whatsoever, and my name is frequently misspelled on boarding passes.

I just flew on a ticket issued to "Mr. Justin" with no last name.

Granted, they didn't bother to check my ID at any time in the process, but I doubt it would have been a problem anyway.

dfrank wrote: I got the SSSS five out of six flights in two weeks time last fall. What a pain; don't know why that happened because it hasn't happened before or since. SSSS will get you the full search of the bag and pat down.

Maybe you're really hot....

Woody, you're not right.

dfrank wrote: I got the SSSS five out of six flights in two weeks time last fall. What a pain; don't know why that happened because it hasn't happened before or since. SSSS will get you the full search of the bag and pat down.

that is a suspicious flying pattern.

wife got the SSSS tag one time. She couldn't find her ID at all so they tagged her.