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I am from the US and I recently booked a ticket on SAS to Norway. The website was very buggy and kept crashing/kicking me out, which I hear is a pretty common experience. For some reason, every time I input my name into the website, and clicked to the next step, it would delete and/or alter my middle name by removing the last letter. My middle name appears on my passport, so it would be really nice to be able to have that match.

After trying many times, I finally got it to work, but I guess it didn't go through. When I look at the website, my middle name appears to be missing altogether from my booking. When I look at the app, the last letter of my middle name is missing. I called the SAS customer service number (1-800-221-2350), and they told me in no uncertain terms that in order to fly I would need to "request a name change," and that would cost $80. They say that if I do not pay $80, I will not be allowed to board the plane.

1)Is this correct? Will I really be denied boarding? 2)Is there any way to avoid paying the $80? After all, this is their problem--I very carefully input my middle name!

Thank you for any guidance. By the way, we are now past the 24-hour free cancellation window as it was extremely challenging to get through to customer service. (Usually the line would just hang up after half an hour or so).

Bunji
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1 Answers1

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You're probably OK. As rules of thumb, middle names are ignored entirely when it comes to ID matching, and so are obvious minor typos like a missing letter. I can't find any official sources to back me up, since the TSA understandably isn't terribly keen on publishing just how much of a name mismatch they'll accept, but here's a story in Travel+Leisure about how to handle this.

That said, ID matching requirements are generally becoming stricter and stricter and I understand not wanting to depend on the airline check-in/TSA agent having a functioning brain and/or heart, especially since the US is known to be particularly persnickety when it comes to matching ID.

A few things to try:

  • Call SAS again and request a name correction, not a change, which should be free.
  • Check-in early at the airport and request a correction in person.
lambshaanxy
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