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I booked a ticket for my aunt to visit me, from Vietnam to the U.S. via Korean Airlines (booked through orbitz). There is my aunt's middle name on the ticket and on the passport. However, at the Vietnam's airport, the Korean Airlines manager insisted that there was no middle name in the "system", and thus refused my aunt to get on the flight.

Is it possible to get refunded or re-booked? Who has the authority on this matter and whom I should contact?

The tickets are expensive, not to mention that we will also miss our booked tour in the U.S. so we need to figure this out soon.

EDIT :

At the moment, Orbitz has cancelled the whole trip and declined to refund since they consider it a "no show". I'm not sure I did anything wrong at all through the whole process. To whom should I contest this decision?

UPDATE Someone who had this same issue recently found this question via Google. So I figure I should update this question about how I deal with Orbitz for the future aggravated customer.

So after 7 months, the issue is not definitively resolved yet. Right after the news, we dispute the charge with Amex (reason: service not delivered). This leads to a few things:

  • The charge is taken off our credit card. Until now, it has not been brought back up

  • However, dispute through Amex means that when we call Orbitz, they say there's nothing the customer service can do, because it's not in the dispute resolution department

  • Recently, someone at Orbitz told us that the charge will come back up. However, 2 months have passed and we haven't seen anything.

  • Throughout the process we have been gathering documents to take Orbitz to small claim court if the charge does come back. If you Google "take Orbitz to small claim court," there are several success stories to follow.

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  • Did Korean Airlines tell you what name they had on the booking? And if so, how did it compare?
    – Gagravarr
    Commented Jul 17, 2014 at 18:00
  • They said that there was no middle name on the system. I'm still trying to resolve the issue. Orbitz is the one that claims to cancel all the subsequent flights, whereas Korean Airlines claims that the return trip in one month is still okay. I'm considering taking Orbitz to the small claim court if they don't refund. I will update in due time.
    – Heisenberg
    Commented Jul 18, 2014 at 3:37

1 Answer 1

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This sounds like a very poor judgment on behalf of Korean Airlines. Technically speaking, it is required that the ticket will show the same name on the passport but first and last are sufficient. I've traveled so many times from the US and never placed a middle name.

You're not only entitled to get your money back but you're also entitled for a compensation from the airline for the wrong call. You will need to submit a very detailed letter to customer relation of Korean Airline and explain exactly what has happened. Names of employee who refused her, time of travel, PNR, ticket number and so forth.

A NO SHOW definition is when you're not AT the airport at the time of travel, this is not your case. She was DENIED BOARDING which makes your case completely different.

If you have a confirmation from Orbits that you placed a middle name - you should contact orbitz and demand for a explanation - why they omitted the middle name from her ticket.

Let us know the end result of this fiasco.

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