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I recently bought a ticket for my whole family online. I have a daughter who is almost a year old.

Everything's fine, but then I noticed that they cut her name short. Here is the example of the name (not her real name) as shown on her passport.

To reiterate, this name is a pseudonym:

SURNAME - RIVERA
NAME - Chanelle Elize
Middle name - Mendoza

On her e-ticket it shows:

RIVERA Chanelle E M

Has anyone encountered this problem before? I'm worried that they would make a big deal out of this.

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    All: Please note that there is no need to protect anyone's privacy by editing the name in the question. It is already a pseudonym.
    – phoog
    Jun 23, 2015 at 16:35
  • I noticed it was a pseudonym right after I submitted the suggestion and wanted to take it back. :)
    – Panzercrisis
    Jun 23, 2015 at 18:02
  • I wonder if the ticketing systems always uses initials, even if the full name would fit.
    – Matthew Herbst
    Jun 23, 2015 at 18:57

3 Answers 3

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Don't worry! Full middle names are never required on flight tickets, and even the initials are usually not needed. As long as the rest of the name and the initials match the passport, she will be fine.

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  • I used a third party website and I wrote her name correctly. Her name is not even complete. Thanks for your help!
    – user30999
    Jun 23, 2015 at 5:37
  • Small addition: For flights to the US (from outside the US), the name in the electronic ticket must match precisely what is written on the passport. That doesn't mean that the name cannot be abbreviated on printouts and boarding passes, though.
    – DCTLib
    Jun 23, 2015 at 10:11
  • "Full middle names are never required on flight tickets" - Good to know, and explains why I've never had trouble with tickets having my middle name and license not (presumably a common occurrence and contributing in no small part to that policy).
    – Kevin
    Jun 23, 2015 at 14:02
  • @DCTLib It doesn't matter that much, small changes can be corrected at the airport. Sometimes I travel under the name "Jon" or "John" (on the ticket, not just boarding pass) instead of "Jonathan". It's not a problem.
    – Calchas
    Jun 23, 2015 at 15:27
  • Can anyone cite the actual rules about names? The TSA says small differences shouldn't matter but they don't define "small differences", and then they go on to say that You should ensure that the name provided for Secure Flight when booking your travel matches the government ID, which seems to contradict their previous statement.
    – Johnny
    Jun 23, 2015 at 16:42
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I have the same issue when I travel as my name is extremely long as well. I've had them cut my name off, combine the names into one, and do all sorts of other things. But I have never had problems. I am sure the name is accurately documented somewhere in the system, it's just a space issue on any printed confirmation.

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If you are flying to the United States of America, you should be worried. In the last 1.5 years (since our youngest was born) we already missed two flights because she has 3 first names, that usually don't fit on the ticket. Which means extra checks and longer waiting times.

The USA is very strict (for good reasons) and it has to be a perfect match with the passport.

Only the details on your passport and ticket matter. Even if you have a print out of a customer service email saying it's ok, that still isn't a valid ticket for boarding. It usually comes down to the willingness of the airline/airport staff and their supervisor during check-in, so allow for extra time during the whole check-in process (in our experience up to 3 hours).

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  • so I take it that you didn't include her entire first name into the ticket? And later at the gate explain and convince the officer?
    – Honey
    Mar 12, 2018 at 0:53

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