There’s an online marketplace that lets passengers sell their airline tickets, called OffFly. They arbitrage airline ticket name change rules to match passengers who want to fly with those who already have tickets, and whose names are close enough.
The idea behind the website is simple. We compare your name and surname with other users’ names and surnames. Since most airlines allow changes to up to three letters for free, we match users with similar names so they can reuse tickets. For example, with the surnames ‘Frank’ and ‘Zhang,’ you only need to change three letters, so you can do this for free!
It’s a little more complicated than this, I think.
- The particular degree of flexibility with name changes will vary by airline
- You may have challenges or extra scrutiny changing both the name on a ticket and secure flight information like passenger date of birth. Doing both makes it look like you’re transferring the ticket!
- You are also breaking airline rules by doing this, if they find out you can expect the tickets to be cancelled (and there could be consequences for your frequent flyer account).
Airlines make it difficult to change the name on a ticket because they don’t want you selling your ticket.
- People might buy cheap fares far in advance (like they’re a leisure traveler) and sell last minute (for emergency or business travelers usually asked to pay more).
- The airline needs to enforce their fare gating in order to price discriminate, charging some people more than others. If ticket sales between passengers were permitted, it’s the passengers rather than airlines who might capture the difference in revenue between cheap and expensive tickets.
- So it was mighty convenient when the government started enforcing ID requirements for security – mandating that a traveler’s ID match the ticket is necessary to prevent one person traveling on a ticket issued to someone else and that’s crucial to the the whole price discrimination system. (The government didn’t impose an airline ID requirement until 1996 as a way of looking like they were ‘doing something’ after the TWA flight 800 accident that some at the time thought might have been terrorism-related.)
However there are times you need to fix the name on a ticket, and times you need to change the name on a ticket altogether. Here’s the latest guidance from American Airlines on how to make this happen.
Basically they will agree to name changes as long as travel is entirely on their own flights, that they have sold directly, and where you can convince them it’s still you… and not a ticket being sold.
You might get married, change the name on your passport, but realize you already had booked tickets that need to change. Your name might not match your ID, because you’re booked based on your middle name or what you’re called rather than the name on your ID (maybe someone else did this for you).
Naturally someone has figured out that this flexibility can be used for other purposes, too…!
(HT: ukassz)
If it benefits consumers, I am for it; if it creates a scalpers ‘black market’ that inflates prices and ultimately harms average consumers, I’m certainly against it. I’d imagine airlines are against it for different reasons, like, they prefer to make that profit, not others. Am I reading this right?
So you pay this site for a discounted ticket and you hope like hell to get away with it. What happens when you show up at the airport and find the ticket was voided by the airline? Do you get your money back? Really, just spend the extra $25 to $50 for a real ticket.
This makes no sense at all. The odds do not stack up.
Basically you need to have 2 people with similar names flying on the same route in or around the same time/date. Then one needs to want to cancel in the same window that the other is willing to purchase, and then both need to know about this site. All this for probably a 10% saving + the risk that it all goes wrong.
That is stacked probabilities, better to buy a lottery ticket and use the winnings to pay for the flight.
This is likely a scam
@tom makes my points exactly. In this instance, what’s in the interest of the airlines is also usually in the interest of the consumer. I don’t want to go to a middleman to get an air ticket. Anything that creates a secondary market is a horrible idea. Keep the strict limits on name changes.
Wow, this is huge, and we didn’t expect an article here! We want to be fully transparent, so we’re addressing any questions or concerns.
First, we aim to tackle the issue of no-shows and ghost seats. If you know you can’t travel, why not list your ticket (for free) and give someone else the chance to use it? It’s a win-win, both socially and environmentally.
European airlines typically don’t request passport details or dates of birth (DoB) until check-in. Most low-cost airlines open their check-in windows between 30 days and 24 hours before the flight. If you haven’t checked in yet, no passport or DoB information is needed.
@1990 You’ve got it! We hope this will benefit both consumers and the environment.
@George N This is a community-driven project. We’re not selling tickets—it’s entirely up to you to list and exchange tickets with other users. For tickets requiring more than three name changes, you can resell them. In many cases, the name-change fee might still be cheaper than buying a new ticket.
@Tom While there are Facebook groups attempting something similar, they lack a name-matching algorithm, which makes the process more cumbersome. We’ve streamlined this by creating a centralized platform. Admittedly, it’s a game of probabilities, but you’d be surprised at how many name combinations actually work!
We’re sorry you see this as a scam. Our sole purpose is to facilitate communication between people who can’t use their tickets and potential travelers. Many of us have grabbed last-minute deals without overthinking dates or destinations, and we believe this approach can work well here too.
@offfly
Respect.
Don’t mind the skeptics here. I mean, it may not work for most, but if it helps some, then why not.
It’s slightly different but your attempt to solve an apparent issue in the travel industry (unused tickets) reminds me of the people who started Skiplagged (cheaper fare when you purposely fail to complete a multi-segment itinerary).
It may work out just fine until it becomes big enough that the airlines sue to stop it. I’m sure your team is well aware, but please watch out for that.
Wishing you guys and your users the best. You at least seem to be genuine in your pursuit here.
In the future, someone like RyanAir or Wizz Air will create a new ticketing model, where the goal is to sell 100% of tickets (at some pre-set profit like 15%) and will allow flight tickets to be exchanged on a marketplace (like StubHub), and prices will actually get cheaper before take off so the flight is 100% full (because the airline will still charge for bags and seats).
I personally think Google Flights probably has better pricing data than any airline, and airlines should outsource that to them.
The current airline model of tickets getting more expensive before takeoff goes against all the economics of supply and demand and is only allowed because of the security theatre of not being able to resell your ticket.
@ offfly — We all look forward to your scam being shut down.
With my last name, no way in hell!! To all the “Smith” & “Jones” of the world, have at it.
However, the house (airlines) always wins when you roll the dice on a contraption like this.
Also, should there be some major calamity, the manifest may point to a different “John Smith”. Good luck when the airline shows a major discrepancy in age, middle initial, or address. You may have hindered your position for a settlement to save a few bucks.
Mike (2 comments above) has the right solution. It is the same ticket/revenue solution the airlines had in place from inception. Of course they had the help of the CAA and the government approved routes and fares. But, truthfully, it was a much better air travel experience, everywhere. Mike’s plan could be tweaked a bit to accommodate the buyer being able to resell his ticket and the merchant (airline) still makes their profit margin . . . but the beancounters got greedy.
I really like that most of the tickets listed there are Polish.
@Mike If this leads to changes that benefit customers with cheaper prices, that would be fantastic! We’d be thrilled if this sparks a serious discussion at higher levels and improves ticketing systems.
@Gene Why do you consider it a scam? Just curious to hear your reasoning.
@Gavin This concept is popular in Polish Facebook groups, which might explain why it’s more widely known in Poland. We tried to find similar practices in other countries but had no luck.