La Paz: Season Two

A Very Costly Typo or Shit Happens

We did it. We bought the house. Started moving in a week ago, and we’re leaving for Europe tomorrow. Boxes are all unpacked, pictures are on the walls, but everything is not in its place. It’s a great house, but we’ll have to enjoy it later.

At 24 hours before flight time, I logged into Alaska Air to check in. It’s an international flight, and I had to enter passport information, and oops, didn’t work at all. Last name on ticket does not match last name on passport for Amy Elizabeth Richard. Well, damn, my last name was spelled Richatd. “R” and “T” are very close together on the key board. Ed did book these tickets, BUT I was on the computer looking at all these bookings...more than once, I assure you. 

This is a cautionary tale. Justfly does not “take care of the rest.” And I’m not sure if any online booking agency does.

Bottom line, last name on ticket must match last name on passport, even if it does look like a typo to everyone in the world. 

First I called Alaska. We can’t change anything, the agent said, there are three flights, and you booked through justfly.com, but Condor Air owns the ticket stock. Call them. I called Condor Air. Nope, said the agent at Condor, we can’t do anything, the travel agent (in this case justfly.com) must change the name. I called justfly.com., and the woman said we can’t change anything within 24 hours of your flight with three different airlines. But you booked the tickets, I ask, why not? We can’t. If you had called earlier we could have done it.

I called Alaska Air and Condor three times, and every agent said you have to go through Justfly. Ed was on the phone with them for two hours, and they would not change the name on the ticket. After speaking multiple times with the agent, Ed was finally connected to the supervisor who said the same thing as the agent. Ed insisted on talking with the manager, and after another long wait, Mike got on the line. Mike said the agent at the airport counter could change the name at check in.

He assured Ed it would be not be a problem. If it’s only one to three letters it can be changed. 

Because Ed and Mike the Manager were on speaker phone, and I happened to be on my third call to Alaska at the time, I asked the Alaska agent if what Mike was saying is true. 

She goes off to speak to a colleague and returns to tell me that no, it’s not true. The agent at the Alaska counter will not change the spelling of the name on the ticket, and if TSA sees the discrepancy they will send me back to the counter and I may not get through to my flight. 

Shit. It’s possible I have three TSA’s to go through. It’s not worth the risk. 

I bought a new ticket that cost me more than the original ticket for the two of us. This is difficult to admit. I’m a pretty good proofreader, but not in this case.

Never let this boil down to 24 hours. There will not be changes. Ten years ago maybe, but not now. Nobody wants to be responsible for the wrong person getting on the flight. Maybe I should feel safer for that.

After this debacle, we’re not sure that these third party agents are a good idea. If you fly a lot, let us know what you think and how you book, particularly with multiple airlines.

At this point it seems we’re both flying tomorrow. I will ask the agent at the counter tomorrow what they would have done about the spelling issue. I’ll let you know on the other side of Prague if I needed to buy that extra ticket. 

Right now, I think I need a shot of tequila.