Airline passenger charged $750 to correct spelling mistake

Dave — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 07:34:14 +0000

Flight Centre and Etihad charged Souhala Toughlajian,a 78-year old woman, $650 (price after discount) to correct a spelling mistake made on an airline ticket. Because she was born in a non-English speaking country, her name has two different spellings – one on her Lebanese passport (Souhaila Toghlajian) and another on her Australian one (Souhaly Toughlajian). Furthermore, she recommends herself as Souhala Toughlajian.

Souhala’s daughter called her to check the spelling for a booking made a June, but the woman gave the name from her expired Lebanese passport; she wanted to make a reservation for a Beirut return fare of $2060. What she didn’t know was the absurd charge of changing the name of the ticket holder – $750 or that the fare price after the “sale” would be $200 cheaper.

Angered by the treatment of the company, the woman’s daughter bought a ticket at another company, for only $1500.

A spokesman from the Etihad and Flight Centre said it’s not possible for a person to have a name spelled differently, despite them being issued 40 years apart. The Lebanese embassy from Canberra said this is very common among former citizens.

This is just another example of why you should always check an airline’s fees before buying a ticket. Also check the prices for the same flight across different airlines to see which is the cheapest. (via Daily Telegraph)

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Airline passenger charged $750 to correct spelling mistake