Qatar Airways Name Change or Correction Policy & Fee

How to change name on Qatar Airways ticket?

Qatar Airways Company Q.C.S.C, better known as Qatar Airways, is one of the largest Government-owned airlines in the world that flies to over 150 international destinations in 90 countries across 6 inhabited continents around the globe. It flies to over 11 destinations in the US alone. The airline, which is headquartered in Doha, has a gigantic fleet of 200 aircraft comprising mainly of the advanced Boeing 747 and 777 carriers. Established by the State of Qatar in the year 1993, this official flag carrier of Qatar, made its maiden journey back in January 1994 before quickly expanding its operations to all major destinations across the world within the next five years. The airline, which has several other successful divisions like the Qatar Aircraft Catering Company, Qatar Airways Holidays and Qatar Airways Cargo, has been a part of the Oneworld Alliance since 2013 and is the largest shareholder in the International Airline Group (IAG) as of March 2020.

Being a premium carrier that is known for its top-quality customer service and world-class amenities such as the exclusive premium lounges and Privilege Club facilities, Qatar Airways has several well-formulated and clearly laid down policies in place for the benefit of its passengers. The Qatar Airways name correction policy is one of them. Details about the name correction rules and policy guidelines, Qatar Airways name correction fee and the name change procedures are discussed in detail below.

The Qatar airways name correction policy

The Qatar Airways name correction policy is a comprehensive strategy that aims to provide its customers with hassle-free air travel experiences in the long run. It distinctly mentions all the types of name changes and corrections it allows, and the fees it charges for such alterations. The policy also comprises a set of well-written guidelines that clearly specify the terms and conditions under which such name changes or correction requests can be initiated. Qatar Airways is also very strict about its name correction rules and their misuse. The Qatar Airways name change guidelines specifically instruct travel agents not to indulge in malpractices such as creating speculative and fake bookings hoping to be able to change passengers’ names in those bookings at a later stage using loopholes in the name change rules, in the possible event of a genuine booking happening. The airline notes that such abusive practices keep away genuine passengers who can’t book Qatar Airways flight tickets due to the apparent unavailability of seats, leading to a considerable loss in revenue for the company.

So, for the knowledge of the passengers, the Qatar Airways name correction guidelines are discussed point-by-point and in great detail below,

The Qatar Airways name correction guidelines

1. i) The Qatar Airways name change policy doesn’t allow a name change on an existing PNR. To change the name on a Qatar Airways flight ticket, the existing PNR must be canceled first and a new reservation has to be made based on the current seat availability.
2. ii) Passengers whose PNRs have been issued by travel agents can get their names corrected on flight tickets from the trade portals of their agents.
3. iii) Each new e-ticket must be endorsed with a pre-defined message during the name correction or change process. These messages are as follows:
   REISSD FOC D/T NME CORR
   REISSD FOC D/T NME CHNG
   Passengers should use the message that is applicable.
4. iv) The Qatar Airways name correction policy doesn’t allow name changes or corrections on its flight tickets in case there are other airline segments (OAL) included in the itinerary with either a codeshare or interline travel agreements.
5. v) The Qatar Airways name correction rules also don’t permit name corrections or changes on partially flown tickets except in some legal case scenarios which are discussed later in this article.
6. vi) Qatar Airways doesn’t allow passenger swapping in the name of name change on tickets. Qatar Airways flight tickets are non-transferable, meaning that a change or no change; it is the original buyer who must actually travel.
7. vii) No name changes or corrections are allowed on the flight ticket once the passenger has checked in and the boarding pass has been issued.
8. viii) Qatar Airways doesn’t accept a name change or correction request if the passenger fails to verify his date of birth (DOB) with a valid document.
9. ix) As per the Qatar Airways name correction rules, passengers who wish to travel with two different names on tickets and passports for the inbound and outbound journeys should purchase two different flight tickets. And in such cases, no name change or correction processcan be initiatedon such tickets.
10. x) Name changes or corrections on tickets can’t be made if PNRs are created from the passengers’ FFP Privilege Club profiles.
11. xi) As per Qatar Airways name correction rules, a name change or correction on the flight ticket is permitted only once per passenger.
12. xii) The maximum number of characters in a name that can be corrected on a Qatar Airways flight ticket is 3. And the counting includes the entire first, last, or middle names together. The counting also includes the passenger’s title and the space between the characters. However, the addition, deletion, or change in the Passenger Type Code (PTC) and the date of birth (DOB) are not included in this count.
13. xiii) If any active Electronic Miscellaneous Document (EMD) pertaining to any of the optional services offered by Qatar Airways doesn’t match the new name after name correction on PNR, can’t be reissued to the corrected name. The Qatar Airways name correction policy hints that passengers must be prepared to let go of the EMD in such cases.
14. xiv) All name changes and corrections that are allowed on Qatar Airways flight tickets are valid only for 157 ticketing stocks.
15. xv) As per the Qatar Airways name change policy, inclusions of middle names are not mandatory for creating bookings. However, it is always better to enter full names as they appear on passports or other valid legal documents to steer clear of confusion, delays and inconveniences that may arise at the airports at the time of checking in.

Types of name corrections allowed by Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways clearly distinguishes between a name correction and a name change and lucidly lays down the policy guidelines that depict various types of name corrections and changes it allows for the understanding of its esteemed passengers. As per the Qatar Airways name correction policy, a name correction shall be interpreted as a correction of a few characters in the passenger’s first, middle or surname, in his title or PTC on his flight ticket. The reasons behind initiating a name correction could be many including a typing mistake, a spelling error or an unintended missing out of a few letters. The following types of name corrections are allowed by Qatar Airways.

a. Correction of misspelled names: The Qatar airways name correction policy allows rectifications of misspelled names when one or more letters are unintentionally omitted, incorrectly typed or a transposition happens between two or more letters.

b. Names & surnames inverted: Qatar Airways passengers are allowed name corrections when their names and surnames are accidentally inverted. Ex: SANDY/DUNCAN replacing DUNCAN/SANDY

c. Omissions of parts of names: Inclusions of omitted middle names and parts of surnames on tickets are considered name corrections under the Qatar Airways name correction policy.

d. Changing between a nickname and actual name: Qatar Airways considers changing between a nickname and the actual first name as name correction and permits passengers to change their first names to nicknames and vice versa.

e. Changing from initial to full name: Qatar Airways allows rectifications of names on tickets if diminutives have been used in place of full first names during booking by mistake. The only condition is that the first letter of the first name and the letter used in the diminutive should be the same. Ex: changing from J. HARPER to JONATHAN HARPER.

f. Removal of prefixes: Qatar Airways passengers can remove prefixes and suffixes from their names and surnames on flight tickets, and such rectifications are considered name corrections as per the Qatar Airways name correction rules.

Types of name changes allowed by Qatar Airways

The Qatar Airways name change policy defines name change as a complete change in a passenger’s first, middle, or surname or in any or all combinations of them due to unavoidable circumstances. Requirements for such changes on flight tickets may arise because of the following three reasons,

1. a. Marriage
2. b. Divorce
3. c. Adoption

Name changes are allowed and limited to only in special cases where passengers have already changed their names legally before the date of scheduled departure. Requests for such changes have to be supported by legally valid documents such as court orders or identities such as passports issued by the passengers’ country of origin and relevant local authorities.

Note: Apart from the types of name corrections and changes discussed above, no other form of rectification or possibility of name change is permissible as per the guidelines of the Qatar Airways name correction policy.

How to add names correctly on Qatar Airways tickets

Apart from discussing the name change guidelines and types of name corrections and changes it allows, the Qatar Airways name correction policy also talks about how to add names on Qatar Airways flight tickets correctly. It provides easy-to-follow tips with various possible case scenarios to the passengers so that they don’t have to go through the hassles of name corrections or changes later on. The tips discussed in the name correction policy are as follows,

1. i. The total character count for the combination of the passenger’s first, middle and surname must not exceed 50 letters. This includes the passenger’s title as well.
2. ii. In case any passenger doesn’t have his first name mentioned on his official identity proof, he should repeat his title in the field of his first name
3. iii. If the passenger doesn’t have a surname, he must re-enter his title in the field of his first name and put his first name in the field of his surname at the time of booking.
4. iv. Special characters such as hyphens, accents or apostrophes present in the passenger’s name must be omitted while entering the name during booking.
5. v. If any passenger has two family names, he should mention both of them together in the field of family names.
6. vi. In case a passenger has a suffix to his name, he should enter his first name and the suffix in the field of his first name.
7. vii. If the passenger’s name far exceeds the maximum 50 characters limit and has more than two or three middle names, then he should enter the first and last names as they are in their designated fields and put the first letters of the other parts of his name right after the first name or contact Qatar Airways Trade Support for further assistance.

Procedures of name change Qatar Airways

Changing or correcting passenger names on Qatar Airways flight tickets is not a difficult task. There are different ways to do that. Mentioned below are a few such ways with simple step-by-step procedures.

Changing passenger name online

The most convenient way to change or correct names on Qatar Airways flight tickets is to do it online through the official website of the airline, www.qatarairways.com. There is this “Manage Booking” tab on the home page. Passengers need to click on this tab and confirm their identities by entering their six-digit PNR and their last names. They should then follow the instructions and continue to proceed with the name change or correction process. Once they click on the correction tab, they should enter their correct names in the designated fieldsas per the rules and guidelines of the Qatar Airways name correction policy. The entire guidelines related to the Qatar Airways change passenger name have been discussed in great detail in the previous section of this article. After entering their correct names that match Government-issued id proofs, passengers need to pay the required Qatar Airways name correction fee and save the changes. Completing the process until this point would get the passengers mailed confirmations from Qatar Airways regarding the name change. Passengers also get their updated and reissuedQatar Airways flight tickets in their registered e-mail addresses soon after.

The same service can also be availed from the “Help” section of the official website. Once the passengers log in to the website using their passenger credentials, they can get into the help section and click on “Name Correction”. Doing so would redirect them to the next page where they have to enter either their PNR or their ticket numbers and click on the “Retrieve” button to retrieve all the booking details from the online reservation system.

Correcting passenger name by calling customer care

The online method of name correction may seem convenient for the tech-savvy, but the traditional method of calling customer care for a name change or correction is the simplest way and is suitable for the young and old alike. Here passengers need to dial up the toll-free phone number dedicated to the countries of their origin and confirm their identities by providing their PNR or the 13-digit Qatar Airways flight ticket numbers. They should follow the IVR and wait till they are connected to a Qatar Airways representative. It is easier to get name corrections done on flight tickets this way compared to other methods of name correction, as services are usually very prompt and reliable. Normally passengers get name correction confirmation as soon as they pay the Qatar Airways name correction fee.

Changing name by visiting the airport kiosk

For simple and last-minute name corrections on tickets, passengers may also consider the option of visiting the nearest airport kiosk. Although this is the only method of name correction that provides in-person assistance, it is always advisable not to wait till the date of travel to fix complex name changes or correction issues. This method is suitable for passengers who have minor name corrections to make on their flight tickets.

Note: In case passengers have legitimate queries regarding name changes or corrections that they are unable to find answers to themselves even after studying the entire guidelines discussed above, they can always access the official trade portal of Qatar Airways and contact the helpdesk officials via mail. The mail id is tradeportal@qatarairways.com.qa. They can also get into a live chat with Qatar Airways representatives and get satisfying answers to their queries.

How much is the Qatar Airways name correction fee?

Qatar Airways doesn’t offer its name change or corrections services free of cost. There is no cooling-off period here like the one provided by almost all other airlines. Passengers are charged $150 for a name change in the US, while in Australia and New Zealand, passengers are charged AUD100 & NZD100 respectively. However, name correction charges are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of Qatar Airways. Therefore, passengers are advised to contact the Qatar Airways helpdesk and confirm before proceeding with the name change or correction. Passengers should also be ready to pay the applicable fare difference.