Mum’s holiday warning as easy plane ticket mistake lands her with £70 bill
A WOMAN is facing a shock £70 bill after a simple mistake while ordering flights online.
The mum forgot to add the middle name for herself, husband and children while booking the trip to Greece on Lastminute.com.
She only put their first names, because the website asked for 'given names' and didn't specify the need for a middle name.
But she has now been told by Aegean Airlines that the middle names need to be added to the booking - at a cost of €20 each.
She wrote on : "Both Aegean [Airlines] and Lastminute.com do not have a slot of including middle names on the booking form.
"I have tried contacting lastminute who have said no changes can be made - only cancellation is possible."
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The woman is reluctant to cancel her holiday because there were "no provisions" to add middle names onto the booking.
But Aegean have said changes can only be made during check-in, which could incur a fee or extra costs.
She said there was nowhere to add the middle name, but has since been informed that it should be added alongside the first name.
Adding a second given name via the costs €20 (£17.29) per person, setting a family of four back €80 (£69.15).
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But a number of fellow mums have since revealed that they have also flown without middle names without a hitch.
One person wrote: "I've never had a middle name on a booking, ever."
Another added: "I seem to have booked with my shortened first name instead of the one in my passport. It was with EasyJet, & only to the Channel Islands, but it wasn’t a problem!"
Many advised the mum to simply avoid mentioning the lack of middle names when boarding.
But there have been previous instances of passengers being barred from flights because of middle name mix-ups, including a WOW Air woman who was stopped from boarding a plane to Iceland.
Lastminute.com told Sun Online Travel: “It is important to note that in regards to flight booking changes, customers are subject to the rules and policies of the individual airlines, to which we are also bound as the online travel agent.
"As such, amendment rules and policies will differ from airline to airline.
"Rules around name changes are generally strict and customers are advised to take special care when entering their booking details.”
