skip to main content

Student changes name to avoid Ryanair name change fees

Updated / Friday, 5 Jun 2015 16:22
A mix-up meant Adam Armstrong had been booked to fly under the name of Adam West
A mix-up meant Adam Armstrong had been booked to fly under the name of Adam West

A student changed his name by deed poll because it was cheaper than paying a Ryanair fee to correct a booking error.

A mix-up meant Adam Armstrong, 19, had been booked to fly to Ibiza under the name of Adam West.

Rather than face a Ryanair administration fee of £220 (€300), Mr Armstrong, from Manchester, changed his name free of charge and then obtained a new passport for £103 (€140).

Now he and girlfriend India Lomas, 17, will fly to Ibiza as planned next week.

The couple’s flights had been booked by Ms Lomas's stepfather.

He said: "Her stepdad got my name from Facebook but I had put it as Adam West as a joke, because he was the actor who played Batman on TV."

Mr Armstrong said Ryanair told him there was a £110 (€150) charge for changing the name, but it would have to be paid twice as Ms Lomas was on the same booking.

Ryanair's administration fee to change details on a booking is £110 or €110. Customers must pay in their own country's currency.

The airline said a name-change fee is charged to prevent reselling of tickets for profit.

A spokesperson for the airline said: "Customers are asked to ensure that the details they enter at the time of booking are correct before completing their booking and we offer a 24 hour 'grace period' to correct minor booking errors."

They added: "A name change fee is charged in order to discourage and prevent unauthorised online travel agents from 'screenscraping' Ryanair’s cheapest fares and reselling them on to unwitting consumers at hugely inflated costs."

Mr Armstrong's decision to change his name provoked reaction online.

More stories on