Name change airline ticket now free on Spanish airlines

Error

A French consumer purchased an airline ticket on eDreams' website. In the booking process, he made a typo in entering his name. After discovering this, the consumer contacted the travel agency to correct the error. The travel agency was willing to fix the error only at a €50 administrative fee. The consumer disagreed and sent a complaint to the French data protection authority (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertés). Because eDreams is based in Spain, the French authority forwarded the case to its Spanish counterpart, the AEPD. 

Correction

According to the Spanish authority, a consumer has the right to correct their private data. According to European data protection rules, this must be allowed free of charge. So Spanish airlines and booking offices will no longer be allowed to charge for correcting a mistake in the name on the airline ticket.

• Free changes
  Because a name change is open to different interpretations and not everything can be changed free of charge, the consumer must prove that it is to correct a mistake in the name. For example, this can be demonstrated based on proof of identity. After providing the proof, the airline or booking office will correct the private data accordingly on the airline ticket free of charge. Making a name change free of charge is restricted to situations where you made a typo or spelling error in the name or reversed the first and last names.
   
• Paid changes
  A name change on an airline ticket can also mean transferring an airline ticket to another person. For replacing the passenger with a different person, different rules apply. If a consumer wants to put the ticket in someone else's name, the seller's terms apply. Sometimes such a change is permitted subject to paying an administrative fee.

Want to know more?

Read more about the ruling on the website of the Spanish authority AEPD (please note: text is in Spanish).