Airline ticket; missing one of two first names

Question

I am flying Europe to South Korea and then back for two weeks. However I might have done a stupid mistake when booking the ticket. I have two first and two last names, but when booking the ticket I omitted one of the first names while in a hurry.

So my passport reads

GIVEN NAMES:
JOHN RICARD

SURNAME:
ERICSON FANSON

But I booked the ticket as

First name:
John

Last name:
Ericson Fanson

Would this be an issue? I contacted the agency to change the name but after 3 phone calls they told me to contact the airline. However in case there's a fee, I was thinking to see if it's even necessary to make the amendment.

Answer 1

It depends.

I used to omit my "unused" first name from flight bookings, and rarely had problems, even on long-haul flights.

While I don't think it is technically necessary to have all your names on the flight ticket, some airlines may reserve the right to deny boarding if your id doesn't match you ticket. At the end, this will often come down to the individual agent.

I had problems once or twice when I got extra scrutinity (e.g. because I travelled on a one-way ticket), so I put both names now just to be sure.

Unfortunately, your experience may also depend on your country of origin, depending on how "well received" the nation is at your destination.

That said, I wouldn't be particularly worried if you're from a western European visa-exempt country.

If you want to be on the safe side call the airline and ask if they'd allow you to board. Many airlines will even straighten out honest mistakes without a fee. If there's a huge fee involved I'd probably take my chances.

In any case I'd always put my full names for everything to do with immigration.

While this doesn't include the name on the ticket, it does include the passenger data that you submit through the airline (together with you passport number and other personal details). This data is usually entered in a separate step, but it's up to the airline's system if you can put a different name there.

Answer 2

You only need to provide your first FULL name. I have three first names, my first name in my passport is PAULUS and that's what I need to enter for the airline ticket. Everybody calls me PAUL of course (well, some have funny reasons to call me something different). When married, your last name needs to be your own name, not the one of your spouse. Simple as that. For EU citizens, look at the machine readable part of your passport. Give first name and last name exactly as spelled there. Not sure about other areas.