No Chances

I've been flying on my current passport for almost a decade. It bears my full legal name, as it has forever.

I've flown on points, booked through Aeroplan, a few times, going to Italy, Scotland, and as far as South Korea. My Aeroplan account is under the name by which I'm known: Ross Brown.

The only people who know my first name are those associated with the government or medical institutions that require my health card, though even my doctor calls me by my middle name and uses it for prescriptions or for referring me to specialists.

As I've said, I've flown on tickets that bear the name that is associated with my Aeroplan account, using my valid passport, and I've never had a problem.

Thank goodness I watch the news.

In November, I saw a story about a PEI man who was denied boarding a plane to Ireland because his ticket was in the name Doug but his passport read Douglas. It's the same name, but shortened.

For three letters, poor Doug and his wife missed their flight.

Seeing that story, I was naturally concerned. Even though I've flown many times with a ticket that said Ross Brown, it didn't match my full name: Gregory Ross Brown.

I'm leaving for Costa Rica in a few weeks.

I called Air Canada, to try to clear up the issue but that agent told me that because I was redeeming Aeroplan points for this trip, there was nothing he could do.

"What are you saying, there's nothing you can do?" I asked, feeling my temperature rising and fighting to stay calm.

"I can only cancel your reservation and reissue, but you'd lose all of your Aeroplan points."

Again, fighting the urge to scream, I said, "We're only revising my name. I'm still sitting in the same seat, next to my wife. Why should anything else change?"

"I'm going to have to transfer you to an Aeroplan agent," he said. His previous words had come out wrong. It made him sound like he was telling me that I was screwed, but he was trying to tell me that I needed to go through Aeroplan for the name change, that his abilities were only to change the flight reservation himself. I calmed down as he put me on hold and transferred the call.

It took more than 40 minutes of waiting (in addition to the 10 minutes I waited and dealt with the AC agent) before an Aeroplan agent answered my hold. I calmly and succinctly explained my dilemma, and Amanda told me she could help.

Now, when I had seen the CBC story about Doug, back in November, I had immediately got online with Aeroplan and submitted a name-change request. I provided a photo of my passport, as required, but when weeks had gone by without hearing anything, I assumed that my request had fallen into a black hole.

Amanda asked me if I had submitted an online request and I was able to tell her that yes, I had, weeks earlier. She put me on hold to investigate.

About 10 minutes later, Amanda returned to tell me that she had made the change and that I should receive an e-mail confirmation any second. And indeed, as she told me this, the confirmation e-mail appeared in my inbox. I also had the Air Canada app open on my phone, and the name change was immediately reflected.

Thanks, Amanda! (She told me that because of Doug's story, lots of people had been contacting Aeroplan to ensure their account name matches their passport.)

Now, all I have to do is ensure that my passport, which expires in July, will be accepted at the gate. I may apply for an emergency renewal. I don't want to take any chances.

If you have an Aeroplan account or one with another travel provider, make sure your name matches your passport or similar government ID. This simple confirmation can potentially save you thousands of dollars.

Happy Wednesday!