Another act of piracy in the skies by the usual suspect airline

[SantiSuk]

This is part warning to any parents who travel with kids by aeroplane in this part of the world .... and part rant!

Three weeks ago I wrote the following complaint to a well known budget carrier whom I have always stoutly defended against other critics on Thai Visa in the past.

"Having been a previously regular customer of [A Airline] I will no longer use your airline whenever there is an alternative (at any price).

Last week I travelled with my family on Nok Air from Ubon to Bangkok and then from Bangkok to Krabi with [your airline].

I made the mistake of booking my 4 year old daughter’s flights using her Thai nickname instead of her legal first name. Nok Air rightly punished my stupidity by charging a 535 baht change of name fee. [A Airline] has a policy that does not allow name changes and so I had to book an entirely new ticket at some 4,500 baht or otherwise I would have wasted the entire holiday flight bookings for the family.

Why do you have such a financially punitive policy? It seems like piracy in the skies and enrages loyal customers."

They have just responded (two weeks later than their web-site promises):

"Thank you for emailing [airline] and we are sorry for the delay in responding to your e-mail.

In response to your email, please be informed that at [A Airline] once booking number has been issued, you are not allowed to substitute the passenger named in the confirmed booking with another passenger’s name. In case that name of passenger is total different and check-in staff is unable to verify the passenger, we regret that we have to respectfully decline check-in referring as mentioned above.

For any booking reservation, passenger are required to input the name or last name as appear in passport/ID to avoid any problem upon check-in/immigration and your own benefits.

We hope that our explanation has helped to provide you with a better understanding on this case. I hope this will not deter you from travelling with [A Airline] in the future and thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Since my daughter's family name and date of birth were exactly as booked I do not know how they have concluded the passenger was "total different" [sic] from the booking. I will have another probe at them but I do not expect them to relent. Their boss was on telly recently and admitted that he wished he was better-liked by people....... .

[mogandave]

Bummer that

[hansnl]

Just another manifestation of the power of the market, as they call it.

In normal parlance just another way to wring every possible baht out of your pocket by those flying bastards.

If you look at it with one eye open, you will see that they sell the same seat twice.

That is called overbooking.

Or just plain stealing.

And nobody seems to be able to do something about this bloody business.

[Briggsy]

What is their policy if you are just a couple of letters out? I may fall foul of this next month. Thai names in Roman spelling and all that.

[mogandave]

Why not book using names as they appear in the passport/ID and be done with it?

[tinhead]

No sympathy. Ticket should match what's on ID card or passport. Otherwise I could fly as Mickey Mouse if I wanted.

[CharlieH]

C'mon people ! Ok, technically correct about passport and ticket, yes, but this is not peter jones instead of michael mouse, this is a family travelling together, same surname, d.o.b correct etc and anyone could see the minor error. Whats happened to people, its all about the money, any excuse possible to get a few more bucks.

Whats happened to common sense and customer service, a minor adjustment easily made, customer happy, family happy, repeat business = more money! Thats the "right" decision. But NO it doesnt fit the neat little box so no one is allowed to think, just charge more! Complete Morons! In my opinion.

OP, yiu wont get anywhere as you will probably just get another line of scripted technicality, deal with a human being somewhere you might have more luck, but doubtful with that organisation.

I feel your pain and agree with your sentiment.

Edited November 25, 2013 by CharlieH

[merijn]

Travelled last with Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Phuket.

During check-in the staff noticed that my name was not correct on the booking ( sort name instead of passport name).

He said no problem and phoned the reservation department from the check-in counter to update the reservation with the correct name.

5 mins later i walked away with my boarding pass with the correct name.

No issue what so ever, so this is also possible.

[alfalfa19]

If it's the airline I think it is, I am not surprised. They advertise bargain rates, but get it back with all kinds of shady practices and scams. First and last time I flew with them was several years ago, the airplane seemed to "lock up", tilting violently in one direction, engines screaming, then violently tilted almost 180 degrees the opposite way, engines screaming full throttle now, for about 10 seconds , before leveling out. That incident by itself far outweighed all the little bogus charges incurred while booking online. I don't mind paying a bit more with another airline that actually performs maintenance on the aircraft, so that I can avoid the outlay for new underwear.

Edited November 25, 2013 by alfalfa19

[wolf5370]

Last year Bangkok Air booking made a mistake copying from my passport - they used my first and second name rather than surname (I have 3 middle names, but surname is on a different line). Anyway, didn't notice until later, then went back. "Oh don't worry", she said, " boarding desk will understand". Two days latter I was scared they would reject me, but was no problem and flew fine. I always fly Bangkok Air domestic if I can - failing that Thai Airways - won't touch the others (Nok because they always went to the old airport - but now Air Asia does too).

[khrab]

Last year Bangkok Air booking made a mistake copying from my passport - they used my first and second name rather than surname (I have 3 middle names, but surname is on a different line). Anyway, didn't notice until later, then went back. "Oh don't worry", she said, " boarding desk will understand". Two days latter I was scared they would reject me, but was no problem and flew fine. I always fly Bangkok Air domestic if I can - failing that Thai Airways - won't touch the others (Nok because they always went to the old airport - but now Air Asia does too).

and to merijn

This information is from 2nd hand but very plausible:

During the whole process, reservation, ticketing, check-in, the airport staff is the last in the row and the most powerful. It's is a long process until you finaly board your flight. What would happen if everyone involved in this process would bent the rules? - Chaos -

But when the flight is ready for check-in there are no further airline staff to come and so the airport staff has the most power and will do everything to get the flight out smooth and on time.

Nobody cares if there was a little "bending" during check-in as long everyone and everything gets on its way without to many hick-ups.

-

[WhizBang]

Why not book using names as they appear in the passport/ID and be done with it?

Exactly, that is how it should be done, with the passport taking preference, should there be a discrepency with the Thai ID card.

[MrWorldwide]

Why are we being so cagey ? I've flown AirAsia more times than I can count and there is always something that annoys me, but nothing on this scale - in any case, it wouldnt stop me naming them.

[SantiSuk]

Why are we being so cagey ? I've flown AirAsia more times than I can count and there is always something that annoys me, but nothing on this scale - in any case, it wouldnt stop me naming them.

OP here.

I was respecting Thai Visas 'no name and shame' policy. Perhaps I am wrong, but I am sure I saw reference to there being such a policy - I understand that the policy is due to Thailand's distorted libel laws, which apparently can get defamers and websites in trouble even if the so-called defamation is based on fact (ie not defamation in any sensible legal system!). I knew that 90% of people on here would guess who I was talking about so no need to name IMO.

My next step will be to write to the CEO in his head office. I have found that the guy I refer to as the CEO in my op is the founder and major shareholder (and probably Chairman). A different guy is CEO.

Thanks for the interest - even from those who seem to have missed the fact that I admitted to being stupid in getting the wrong first name. The point, as many others have appreciated is that firstly you need to be aware of the risk with certain carriers and secondly that this carrier takes a particularly hard line which I find unnecessarily harsh. The exposure would seem to be particularly high for those falangs who find themselves booking a ticket for someone whom they have only just met and asked for their full name (in English) by e-mail; I've noted a number of girls in my village who have had this done for them by falangs resident in Europe. One of the girls could not get her flight because the falang booked it with his credit card and was not there at check-in (but that's an entirely different and more frequent issue I'll bet.

enforcing exact names with no flexibility appears to be a financially self-serving policy, but in the longer term I suspect that it is the cumulative effect of all these little rip-offs that are counter-productive for the airline's reputation.

I for one would now put Nok Air streets ahead of this carrier, whereas previously I used the carrier subject of this complaint all the time (and found them to be an excellent airline). Following another's posting I will now pay Bangkok Air's higher prices to fly to Phnom Penh, which I do at least anually. I would now always use Nok Air instead of them from Ubon to Bangkok, which I do even more regularly, sometimes with a family of four. Of course I will always use the exact name per the passport/ID card, no matter who the carrier.

To the poster who asked what happens if you get two letters wrong with this carrier the answer is that I don't know. The rather officious straight-bat lady on sales/bookings at Don Meuang mentioned that people have sometimes put the "wrong" (don't know how wrong) middle name and that also causes them to reject the booking. It was said in the vein of "if you thnk we are being harsh on you, we can be even meaner!"

To$$ers

[PlastikbinLina]

Just another manifestation of the power of the market, as they call it.

In normal parlance just another way to wring every possible baht out of your pocket by those flying bastards.

If you look at it with one eye open, you will see that they sell the same seat twice.

That is called overbooking.

Or just plain stealing.

And nobody seems to be able to do something about this bloody business.

Agreed. As I recently discovered when I bought 2 tickets on line to Australia from Phuket to Perth and found that our seats were chosen randomly. For the flight between Thailand and Malaysia we sat together. From Malaysia to Australia our seats were placed far apart from each other. One towards the front the other at the back. I asked if they could sit us together and of course yes we can they replied but as you and your wife have been allocted seats next to someone else you'll have to buy two new seats, this despite the plane being half empty. I had no choice but to concede. I'd paid for the flights already. Another one they try to get your money for is food. They announced on the flight that only on board food they sell is allowed, no outside food can be consumed on the flight. They're a budget airline and look for any sneaky way they can drag a dollar out of their passengers. I took food on board and ate it anyway.

[NanLaew]

Why are we being so cagey ? I've flown AirAsia more times than I can count and there is always something that annoys me, but nothing on this scale - in any case, it wouldnt stop me naming them.

OP here.

I was respecting Thai Visas 'no name and shame' policy. Perhaps I am wrong, but I am sure I saw reference to there being such a policy - I understand that the policy is due to Thailand's distorted libel laws, which apparently can get defamers and websites in trouble even if the so-called defamation is based on fact (ie not defamation in any sensible legal system!). I knew that 90% of people on here would guess who I was talking about so no need to name IMO.

My next step will be to write to the CEO in his head office. I have found that the guy I refer to as the CEO in my op is the founder and major shareholder (and probably Chairman). A different guy is CEO.

Thanks for the interest - even from those who seem to have missed the fact that I admitted to being stupid in getting the wrong first name. The point, as many others have appreciated is that firstly you need to be aware of the risk with certain carriers and secondly that this carrier takes a particularly hard line which I find unnecessarily harsh. The exposure would seem to be particularly high for those falangs who find themselves booking a ticket for someone whom they have only just met and asked for their full name (in English) by e-mail; I've noted a number of girls in my village who have had this done for them by falangs resident in Europe:). One of the girls could not get her flight because the falang booked it with his credit card and was not there at check-in (but that's an entirely different and more frequent issue I'll bet.

enforcing exact names with no flexibility appears to be a financially self-serving policy, but in the longer term I suspect that it is the cumulative effect of all these little rip-offs that are counter-productive for the airline's reputation.

I for one would now put Nok Air streets ahead of this carrier, whereas previously I used the carrier subject of this complaint all the time (and found them to be an excellent airline). Following another's posting I will now pay Bangkok Air's higher prices to fly to Phnom Penh, which I do at least anually. I would now always use Nok Air instead of them from Ubon to Bangkok, which I do even more regularly, sometimes with a family of four. Of course I will always use the exact name per the passport/ID card, no matter who the carrier.

To the poster who asked what happens if you get two letters wrong with this carrier the answer is that I don't know. The rather officious straight-bat lady on sales/bookings at Don Meuang mentioned that people have sometimes put the "wrong" (don't know how wrong) middle name and that also causes them to reject the booking. It was said in the vein of "if you thnk we are being harsh on you, we can be even meaner!"

To$$ers

I had a UK corporate agency that issued a Business Class ticket that mis-spelled my surname. When I emailed them, they reckoned the ticket needed reissuing and they would work out a refund with the carrier as the name on the original booking could not be changed. When they sent me the 'corrected' new e-ticket info, they had the correct surname but used the shortened form of my forename (not same as the passport). They had to cancel and re-issue a THIRD ticket before they got it right.

They f***** up and accepted it.

The OP f***** up. Just accept it.

Edited November 28, 2013 by metisdead
Profanity

[Africanteacher]

At the Local, the thai ladies call me 'Big Dikc'.
I just might book my flight using that name.

[mogandave]

At the Local, the thai ladies call me 'Big Dikc'.

I just might book my flight using that name.

I think you should just go with Richard Head, like you passport.

[MMarlow]

Whats happened to common sense and customer service, a minor adjustment easily made, customer happy, family happy, repeat business = more money! Thats the "right" decision. But NO it doesnt fit the neat little box so no one is allowed to think, just charge more! Complete Morons! In my opinion.

.

The complete morons surely are the people who book tickets in nicknames. Why would anyone in their right mind do that?

[MMarlow]

Why are we being so cagey ? I've flown AirAsia more times than I can count and there is always something that annoys me, but nothing on this scale - in any case, it wouldnt stop me naming them.

OP here.

I was respecting Thai Visas 'no name and shame' policy. Perhaps I am wrong, but I am sure I saw reference to there being such a policy - I understand that the policy is due to Thailand's distorted libel laws, which apparently can get defamers and websites in trouble even if the so-called defamation is based on fact (ie not defamation in any sensible legal system!). I knew that 90% of people on here would guess who I was talking about so no need to name IMO.

My next step will be to write to the CEO in his head office. I have found that the guy I refer to as the CEO in my op is the founder and major shareholder (and probably Chairman). A different guy is CEO.

Thanks for the interest - even from those who seem to have missed the fact that I admitted to being stupid in getting the wrong first name. The point, as many others have appreciated is that firstly you need to be aware of the risk with certain carriers and secondly that this carrier takes a particularly hard line which I find unnecessarily harsh. The exposure would seem to be particularly high for those falangs who find themselves booking a ticket for someone whom they have only just met and asked for their full name (in English) by e-mail; I've noted a number of girls in my village who have had this done for them by falangs resident in Europe. One of the girls could not get her flight because the falang booked it with his credit card and was not there at check-in (but that's an entirely different and more frequent issue I'll bet.

enforcing exact names with no flexibility appears to be a financially self-serving policy, but in the longer term I suspect that it is the cumulative effect of all these little rip-offs that are counter-productive for the airline's reputation.

I for one would now put Nok Air streets ahead of this carrier, whereas previously I used the carrier subject of this complaint all the time (and found them to be an excellent airline). Following another's posting I will now pay Bangkok Air's higher prices to fly to Phnom Penh, which I do at least anually. I would now always use Nok Air instead of them from Ubon to Bangkok, which I do even more regularly, sometimes with a family of four. Of course I will always use the exact name per the passport/ID card, no matter who the carrier.

To the poster who asked what happens if you get two letters wrong with this carrier the answer is that I don't know. The rather officious straight-bat lady on sales/bookings at Don Meuang mentioned that people have sometimes put the "wrong" (don't know how wrong) middle name and that also causes them to reject the booking. It was said in the vein of "if you thnk we are being harsh on you, we can be even meaner!"

To$$ers

It seems the airline, whether you approve of their regulations or not, did everything correctly and by the book. It seems that you didn't, you booked a ticket in your own daughter's wrong name.

Tosser, indeed.

[Showbags]

You screwed up and now you want to blame them...shame on you.

[BookMan]

I don't think the OP did anything overly wrong or made a huge mistake. He had all his daughters correct details, just substituting her nickname. Very very easy to do

This must be incredibly common in Thailand where everyone has a nickname so you would think the airlines would have some flexibility on this issue flying within Thailand. It really is a common sense clause that is needed on the part of the airline

[canopus1969]

Travelled last with Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Phuket.

During check-in the staff noticed that my name was not correct on the booking ( sort name instead of passport name).

He said no problem and phoned the reservation department from the check-in counter to update the reservation with the correct name.

5 mins later i walked away with my boarding pass with the correct name.

No issue what so ever, so this is also possible.

The difference being a decent airline like BKK Air and a cheap charlie one like AA - anyone who travels with AA deserves everything they get.

[stevenl]

Come on guys, be fair. The OP acknowledges he made a mistake, but he feels the airline should have cut him (and others in the same position) some slack.

Yes, it was a stupid mistake, and yes, they are acting according to the booking conditions, but could the airline be more flexible in this? I think yes, but I also think it would cost them money, since I don't see these things costing them more business than it brings money in. So will this change, I very much doubt it.

[mogandave]

In all fairness, chikensh*t or otherwise, it is either a rule or it isn’t. Check the policy, and you may be able to get a refund of some kind.

Do you really want people at check in counter to be allowed to circumvent the booking/security system on the fly an hour before liftoff to correct/change/ignore spelling?

What is a guy with a name that has security issue with his name, misspells it to avoid scrutiny, and the guy at the gate decided to let him on because he seems like a nice guy. Then we’d all be taking off our belt and shoes and going through all that BS for nothing…

As far as bringing your own food on the flight, I doubt very much if most people want people dragging a lot of crap (much of it stinking) on the plane and chowing down on it? I do not. I would be surprised if the airline is making much on the food they sell.

[Briggsy]

Why not book using names as they appear in the passport/ID and be done with it?

When making group bookings, the person making the booking may not be in possession of everybody's passport. This is the issue.

[mogandave]

Why not book using names as they appear in the passport/ID and be done with it?

When making group bookings, the person making the booking may not be in possession of everybody's passport. This is the issue.

What year is this? Who would book a flight for someone without a scan of their passport or ID?

[ravip]

Seriously, try this on ANY other airline and tell us if things went tickety boo!

An ID should be a serious thing what ever the issue is.

A nickname for an airline ticket...???

[SantiSuk]

Seriously, try this on ANY other airline and tell us if things went tickety boo!

An ID should be a serious thing what ever the issue is.

A nickname for an airline ticket...???

Seriously, read my original post for the answer to your challenge, ravip. You just risk looking like a mug if you rush to criticise someone without reading a thread properly.

I suspect those who are criticising me as being a tosser for using a nickname do not live in Thailand and/or do not understand the significance of a nickname here.

Edited November 26, 2013 by SantiSuk

[tartempion]

Was At Udon Thani airport yesterday waiting for my son to arrive and checked Thai Airways ticket counter and read this note:

When checking in a child you will need to provide birth certificate and blabalabla

Note to self: make sure you bring child birth certificate when traveling anywhere