Cheaper to change name by deed poll than on flight ticket

It’s cheaper to change your name by deed poll than it is to stump up the cash that some airlines charge to change your name on an airline ticket, with charges varying wildly between operators. This was revealed by UK airport parking comparison site, Airport Parking Shop. In a research to understand the cost of correcting your name on an airline ticket, it looked at 27 popular airlines that fly customers from the UK to all over the world and found a vast difference in the fees that these airlines charge and their rationales for doing so.

While some airlines will do it for free, those that charge have fees ranging from GBP 25 (USD 33.16) to GBP 160 (USD 212.22) per flight, meaning making changes to a ticket if you also have a return flight could set you back as much GBP 320 (USD 424.45).

With the cost to legally change your name by deed poll coming in at between GBP 9.50 (USD 12.60) and GBP 15.99 (USD 21.21), if you’re not that fussed on your actual name or the spelling of it, then this is a cheaper option than paying some of the airlines’ fees.

The study found often the name correction fee is subject to a different number of criteria. Factors include ticket type, when and how the ticket was booked, how the correction is made and if there is a requirement to pay any difference in fare or taxes. Some airlines state that changing married names could be done for free, whereas others state that corrections simply weren’t allowed and that the traveller would need to cancel and rebook their ticket.

Alice Fowler, product manager at Airport Parking Shop said: “We would advise that before booking travellers check the airline’s correction policies as some airline charge a significant fee, which in some cases can be more than the cost of the flight.”