Airline Name Change Policies 2026

An airline name change is any modification to the passenger name on an existing booking. Airlines split this into two cases that get treated very differently: typo correction (fixing 'Jonhn' to 'John' on the same person's ticket) is usually free or under €30, while passenger transfer (moving the booking from your name to a completely different traveller's name) is what enables ticket resale and costs €30-€160 depending on the carrier.

The category Google gets wrong: the actual answer to 'can I transfer my flight' varies by carrier, by fare class, by booking channel, by origin country, and by how close to departure you are. There's a real matrix here that nobody publishes well. We're trying to publish it well — we run the marketplace, so when easyJet quietly shifted their fee in March we found out within 48 hours from a confused seller. Most travel-content sites write the article once, never update it, and recommend services that have been dead for years.

Airlines don't advertise transfer pricing prominently because they'd rather sell you a fresh ticket. The option exists on most low-cost carriers and on flexible/business fares of full-service carriers. Standard economy on legacy carriers (BA, Lufthansa, Delta, United, American, Air France, KLM) generally does not allow passenger transfer at any price.

These are the European airlines where passenger transfer is a normal published service, not an exception.

Ryanair: name change up to 2.5 hours before departure. Fee €/£115 online or €/£160 at the airport. Typo correction (1-3 characters, same passenger) free up to 2 hours before check-in. Online via 'Manage My Booking'. Most-transferred carrier in Europe.

easyJet: name change up to check-in opening (~30 days before departure). Fee £35 online or £50 at the airport. One- or two-character typo fixes free. Quietly increased fees in March 2026 — current numbers above; verify on the easyJet site for your specific booking.

Wizz Air: online up to 3 hours before departure. Fee €45 online, €50 at the airport. Wizz Discount Club members: same fee, no member discount on name changes.

Vueling: name change across all fare types. Fee €30-€90 by fare class, requested at least 24 hours before departure. Spanish search 'vueling cambio nombre' is 1.1k monthly volume — huge intent.

Aer Lingus: €/£60 online. Routine paid service across all fare types. The most transfer-friendly Irish carrier.

Jet2: up to 28 days before departure, £35 per passenger. Strict 28-day window — miss it and the change isn't possible.

Norwegian: standard tickets do NOT allow name changes. LowFare+ and Flex fares allow changes for a route-dependent fee. Check the fare-class summary in your booking confirmation.

Standard tickets on these carriers are not transferable to a different passenger at any price. Typo corrections only. Confirmed by each carrier's official policy as of 2026-05.

British Airways: typo corrections free, no passenger transfer on standard tickets. Flexible fares (Club Europe, Club World) allow rebooking but not passenger transfer — same person, different flight.

Lufthansa: typo corrections handled at check-in (up to 3 characters). No passenger transfer. Flex fares allow paid date/route changes but not name changes.

Air France / KLM: identical policy across both. Passenger transfer not available. Typo corrections case-by-case at the airport.

Iberia: standard tickets non-transferable. Flex fares allow paid rebooking. Iberia Plus elite members get more latitude on date changes (still not name changes).

Turkish Airlines: name corrections for a fee, not full transfers. Customer service handles edge cases — not a self-service operation.

Emirates: minor name corrections only. No passenger transfer on standard fares.

Delta, American Airlines, United: no passenger transfer on any standard fare. Their version of the resale workflow is the eCredit / Travel Bank — you cancel, they issue a non-refundable credit valid 12 months in your name. Transferring that eCredit to another traveller is its own separate process; some allow it (Delta SkyMiles members can transfer credits via the Delta Wallet feature for SkyMiles holders) and most quietly don't.

Source: each carrier's published name-change policy. These shift — easyJet and Ryanair both changed fees within the past 18 months. If your booking screen shows a different number, the booking screen is right.

Quick answer for the US searcher: Delta SkyMiles members can sometimes transfer eCredits to other SkyMiles members through the Delta Wallet, subject to programme rules and the credit's terms. Non-SkyMiles travellers and most other US carriers (American Travel Bank, United Travel Bank) do NOT support transferring credits to another person — the credit is locked to the original ticketed name.

What this means for resale: a Delta eCredit you can't use is harder to monetise than a Ryanair ticket. The credit is tied to your name, so a buyer would need to be travelling with you (you book a flight together using your eCredit and their card). Some peer-to-peer marketplaces handle this 'travel companion' workaround; SpareHolidays focuses on direct transfers via name change rather than companion bookings.

If you have a Southwest flight credit (1.9k monthly searches in the US — clear pent-up demand), Southwest specifically allows the named credit holder to apply the credit to ANY traveller, not just themselves. Functionally Southwest credits behave more like cash than like a name-locked eCredit. That makes them easier to use, but also harder to resell — the buyer has to trust the seller to actually book the flight in the buyer's name using the credit.

Online: most low-cost carriers (Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Vueling, Aer Lingus) handle name changes through the website's manage-booking section. Cheapest, fastest, and creates an automatic confirmation email you can forward to the buyer.

By phone: full-service carriers and edge cases (Norwegian Flex fares, Wizz multi-passenger bookings) usually require calling the airline. Have ready: booking reference (PNR), original passenger full name as on the booking, new passenger's full name as on their passport, and a payment card for the change fee. Calls take 15-45 minutes — schedule accordingly.

At the airport: possible on most carriers but at a higher fee and tight on time. Don't plan for this. Use it only if you forgot to request the change online before the deadline.

Third-party 'name change services': avoid. They charge you twice (their fee plus the airline's fee), the airline often refuses changes routed through unauthorised intermediaries, and you may end up out of pocket with the booking still in your name.

On SpareHolidays the name-change step happens AFTER the buyer pays. Your funds are sitting in Stripe escrow before you contact the airline — the platform won't release them until you upload proof of the completed transfer and the buyer confirms. That sequencing is the entire point of escrow: you're not asked to incur a transfer fee on trust.

Sequence: buyer pays → funds clear into escrow → you contact the airline → process the name change → upload the new confirmation → buyer verifies it shows their name → funds release to your Stripe Connect account within 24 hours. Auto-release fires 72 hours after the travel date if the buyer ghosts.

List only on carriers that support name changes. If your airline blocks transfers, the workflow above is impossible. Your alternatives are an airline credit (most carriers issue one even on non-refundable fares — see the eCredits section above), a travel insurance claim, or holding for a 3+ hour schedule change that triggers a full refund under EU261/2004.