And – this really all started when the customer service person ticketing your flight issued the ticket to “Peg” rather than asking if that was her given name on her passport. Since my given name is Beth – not Elizabeth – I am asked that all the time when booking travel.

A comedy of errors all around!

And – for future reference – my travel agent once told me that, if your flight is cancelled, don’t wait in the line at the airport to be re-booked – along with everyone else. Head to the nearest phone and call the airline reservation line. You have a better chance of getting on flight quicker!

All of my previous jobs dealt with customer service or customer facing situations. Sometimes the answer is no. Many times it is more in how you say it rather than the actual no. I probably would have been fired for providing the answers that you received.

BTW I know of a woman who had problems cashing a check because the teller would not recognize Trish as a nickname for Patricia. The teller insisted that if her name was Patricia then people would call her Pat not Trish.

I think bottom line is don’t use nicknames as your name.

Here is something from the TSA web site regarding your friends situation.
“Q. If the name printed on my boarding pass is different than what appears on my government ID, will I still be able to fly?
A. Secure Flight is a behind-the-scenes process that TSA and airlines collaborate on to compare the information you provide against government watch lists. The additional data elements that you may be asked to provide, such as date of birth and gender, serve to better differentiate you from individuals on the government watch list.

Due to difference in boarding pass systems, boarding passes may not always display the exact name you provided when booking your travel. The name you provide when booking your travel is used to perform the watch list matching before a boarding pass is ever issued, so small differences should not impact your travel. You should ensure that the name provided when booking your travel matches the government ID that you will use when traveling. Small differences between the passenger’s ID the passenger’s reservation information, and the boarding pass (such as the use of a middle initial instead of a full middle name or no middle name/initial at all, hyphens or apostrophes) should not cause a problem for the passenger.”

Here’s the link: http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/secureflight/index.shtm

Sorry you had such a bad experience in such a trying time.

I expect the answer that you received was “Sorry, but we did everything according to the book.”

Bruce