Photo: Rebius/Shutterstock

Passenger’s Phone Autocorrects ‘Luke’ to ‘Lukewarm,’ and Ryanair Is Charging Him $130 to Change It

News Airports + Flying
by Eben Diskin Mar 8, 2019

There are a lot of details to pay attention to when you’re filling out the information on your flight booking. Billing address, credit card number, departure dates, seat assignments, dietary restrictions, etc. Typing your own name might be the least of your concerns, but it’s one of the toughest and most expensive errors to correct. This Twitter user posted about an incident involving his friend, who misspelled his own name on a Ryanair booking and was then asked to pay $130 to fix it.

 

Allegedly, autocorrect changed the name from “Luke” to “Lukewarm” and the passenger didn’t notice until the booking was complete. Then, when he tried to correct the seemingly minute error, Ryanair asked for a fairly exorbitant fee. This is consistent with most airlines’ policies, which rarely allow name changes on basic fares, or if you’ve already checked in online. Correcting the name is essential, however, as you will not be allowed to board the plane if you show up at the airport with a name on your ticket that does not match your passport.

Luke may have been able to avoid this issue had he signed up for the Ryanair Choice program. The frequent-flyer program gives Ryanair travelers added benefits like free seat selection, priority boarding, and a 48-hour grace period to make changes to your booking — including your name.

Unfortunately, if you don’t belong to Ryanair Choice or a similar loyalty program, and you misspell your own name on your booking, you’ll likely have to bite the bullet and pay the fee.

H/T: Twitter

Discover Matador