Couple Charged $5,000 Over Airline Ticket First Name Mistake

One seemingly small error ended up costing one Australian couple big — an extra $5,000 on their plane tickets.

Phil and Kate (who have chosen to keep their last name anonymous), were set to fly from Brisbane to Melbourne, Australia on Virgin Airlines and then from Melbourne to London on Qatar Airways.

The plan seemed foolproof until the pair reached the check-in counter and a staff member said that Kate’s ticket was printed with the name “Kate” even though her full legal name is “Katherine.”

Phil, who had purchased the tickets for $2,400 each through the travel company Student Universe, was told that the only way to fix the error would be to cancel the tickets for a small refund and buy a new ticket under the name “Katherine” which would now cost $4,700.

“They didn’t have time, that was their reasoning, to issue a name change on the ticket – but they had time to sell us a new ticket,” Phil told local outlet 9 Now.

The couple was told that the name on Kate’s passport had to be identical to the name issued on her ticket, and when the couple contacted Virgin Airlines, they were told that details needed to be made through Student Universe.

Since the pair used a third-party booking website, there was not much the airline could do, they said.

“They’ve just taken advantage of the entire situation, particularly peak travel season and time was of the essence,” Phil explained of Student Universe offering them new tickets at the higher price point. “We were caught in a situation where we needed to fly — and they knew that”.

Student Universe’s policy states that most airline tickets “allow changes for a fee” plus whatever the price difference is in the fare, but notes that “airlines generally do not allow changes to your routing or name changes,” as was the case with Phil and Kate.

Virgin Airline’s website also explains that customers who booked with any third-party agency or website will need to contact the third party directly to “discuss any queries you may have with your travel arrangements.”