I just booked a flight on Onur Airlines from Trabzon to Istanbul for my daughter who is travelling in Turkey. She has emailed me to say she thinks this will be a problem because she has not got the credit card it was booked on. Seems strange as the online booking site took the booking OK even though it was her name travelling and my name on the credit card details. Will this be OK do you think. If not, how will I get a refund from Onur Airlines. I have emailed them about this but need an answer pretty promptly as she needs to get back to Istanbul to catch a flight back to Australia to see her mum!!!! Don't want her to miss that after two years away. Thanks.
1
george5
All airlines require some form of identification upon checking in with electronic tickets. While some airlines require only a passport/ID card or similar, others insist that the person that paid for the trip via credit card is present. Check the fine print on the Onur Air page to see what they require.
If they do require the card holder (i.e. you) to be present, call them in advance. You're unlikely to get a refund, but you might work out something with their head office so that your daughter may fly. If they don't reply to emails, call them by phone.
2
andrewsmith
There's theory and there's real life.
The small print usually says the credit card owner should be there at check in.
In real life, I have booked flights for friends (mostly E Europeans who had no credit cards), flying to visit me in the UK. And they have been able to board with their own ID. I have also booked flights for friends, and then travelled with them (on another booking). Friends checked in first; the airline never asked for me.
The airlines have two concerns. Firstly, if UK immigration refuses entry to one of their passengers (for example, suspicion over fake ID, or without required visa) then the airline must fly the individual back to the destination. This is costly for the airline so they verify ID & visa carefully at check-in.
The second concern is credit card fraud. Maybe your daughter booked a flight with a stolen credit card, in which case the airline may end up flying your daughter and not getting paid. That's the reason they reserve the right to ask for the credit card owner at check in. Usually they don't exercise that right, but sometimes - presumably when fraud is suspected - I guess they must, otherwise they wouldn't bother putting it in the terms and conditions.
Now here's the bit I don;t know. What would trigger an airline's suspicion a card is stolen? Obviously, if its reported stolen then they'd know. I guess they profile certian countries (eg Nigeria), or perhaps certain buying patterns (ticket bought day before departure) but all this is speculation. Perhaps an airline employee can post how this works in practice.
3
riceuten
>If UK immigration refuses entry to one of their passengers (for example, suspicion over fake ID, or without required visa) then the > airline must fly the individual back to the destination.
Not only do they have to fly them back, they have to pay a whopping fine as well, over £2,000 I heard somewhere. Therefore airlines can be absolutely paranoid about a slightly tatty passport that may not pass muster at Stansted/Heathrow/Gatwick.
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