I tried booking a flight online and encountered some problems after entering all my information so I contacted a customer service agent online. She was in the process of making the booking for me, however, she required information which was not part of the initial online booking form, such as my passport date of issue, expiry and nationality. Are these details typically required in booking an international flight?
I am used to only providing my full name, date of birth and passport number.
Yes, this can be require depending on the type and destination. For example, some countries insist that you have six months left before expiry date, and also, visa requirements are different for different nationalities.
As a result, she may be being extra diligent, and preventing you from encountering a problem when you check in for your flight and they stop you from flying.
Eg: I've been able to travel from Australia to New Zealand on my NZ passport with fewer than six months left, but would not be able to go to the US.
All airlines will check that you have a valid passport and documentation before they board you. And most do record this information in your booking, even if they aren't required to submit it via APIS and such.
However there are no universal rules as to when they gather this info, other than the rule that they are required to check it BEFORE boarding you. Some airlines will ask for passport number at booking, some ask for full passport details at booking, some just wait until you check in.
Often with online bookings, the airlines gather the absolute minimum amount of details they need to sell you a ticket. The more info you have to type in, the more likely you are to abandon the booking process.
But when people call in to book, they are more willing to provide more details when speaking with a human. So your phone agent was able to ask you for more details up front and fill in more blanks in your booking record.
