PNR Name Formats - advice needed

[Robert 0]

I’m looking for some advice around Malay name formats in Malaysia Airlines bookings owing to some confusion my wife and I have.

 

Using the format on the MH website the sample name of Safiyya Aliaa Binti Abu Bakar should be entered into the booking as:

 

First name

Binti Abu Bakar

 

Last name

Safiyya Aliaa

 

When making a booking using the opposite format (as we normally) do it works ok however MH have told us that we maybe denied boarding at any point if we do this on international bookings. This hasn't been issue a previously. My wife’s Enrich account is also following the opposite format with no problem for the past few years.

 

Last night I made a domestic booking and the saved profile has the format for first name (using the sample name) as Safiyya Aliaa Binti which resulted in an error with the Enrich number. Platinum support explained why and said the booking name and the Enrich name need to be changed to match the MH format.

 

I asked if this will cause a problem on other airlines eg QR/QF and they didn’t know. I called QR and was informed to use the opposite to MH to prevent issues and they didn’t know if the Enrich number would work.

 

If it doesn’t work then you don’t get access to the better seats during check in and run the risk of lounge and other benefit issues plus the pain of having to manually claim miles.

 

How are others getting around this issue?

[Chris Tan 0]

It's simple, really. Book your tickets according to whatever your account name is. Forget what the call centre agent said about getting denied boarding, because it's all hogwash. You won't be turned away on any airline for not following MH's suggestion, which really isn't authoritative.

The Malaysian passport doesn't even distinguish between first and last names. In that sense, it's up to you to decide.

[Zamir 0]

If for me, I stick to the format of

First name
Safiyya Aliaa

Last name
Binti Abu Bakar

[Robert 0]

2 hours ago, Zamir said:

If for me, I stick to the format of

First name
Safiyya Aliaa

Last name
Binti Abu Bakar

which makes sense to me and my wife. In addition thi is the format that AK use: https://support.airasia.com/s/article/How-should-I-fill-up-the-guest-and-contact-details-when-booking-a-flight?language=en_GB

Why on earth do MH insist on: https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/hq/en/help/booking-guide.html

[Lim Kar Yong 0]

7 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

It's simple, really. Book your tickets according to whatever your account name is. Forget what the call centre agent said about getting denied boarding, because it's all hogwash. You won't be turned away on any airline for not following MH's suggestion, which really isn't authoritative.

The Malaysian passport doesn't even distinguish between first and last names. In that sense, it's up to you to decide.

My Australian ETA states that my given name is "unknown"  while my full name is my Last Name  😁

[Chris Tan 0]

5 hours ago, Robert said:

which makes sense to me and my wife. In addition thi is the format that AK use: https://support.airasia.com/s/article/How-should-I-fill-up-the-guest-and-contact-details-when-booking-a-flight?language=en_GB

Why on earth do MH insist on: https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/hq/en/help/booking-guide.html

There's no right answer for this, because the concept of given names and surnames in the western sense is incompatible with many Malaysian naming conventions. My understanding is (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong here) the "Bin/Binti X Y Z" part is the closest thing to a surname/last name, because it's inherited from the father. Then again, you don't typically address someone by their "surname" as you would with a Mr Smith or Dr Lee.

As long as your names are correctly spelt and reasonably complete (no issues dropping the bin/binti for example), you'll have no issues, so just go with your Enrich profile's naming order to make sure the number sticks.

1 hour ago, Lim Kar Yong said:

My Australian ETA states that my given name is "unknown"  while my full name is my Last Name  😁

That's because Malaysian passports don't technically have given names, since the entire name is coded as the last name in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ). The Australians take it at face value now that they scan your MRZ whereas previously, your TA could manually enter it in your application. This has caused a LOT of grief for repeat visitors who are now subject to extra scrutiny because the system thinks it's their first time.

It's quite different from, say, the U.S. which lets you decide what your naming convention is.

[Zamir 0]

4 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

There's no right answer for this, because the concept of given names and surnames in the western sense is incompatible with many Malaysian naming conventions. My understanding is (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong here) the "Bin/Binti X Y Z" part is the closest thing to a surname/last name, because it's inherited from the father. Then again, you don't typically address someone by their "surname" as you would with a Mr Smith or Dr Lee.

As long as your names are correctly spelt and reasonably complete (no issues dropping the bin/binti for example), you'll have no issues, so just go with your Enrich profile's naming order to make sure the number sticks.

That's because Malaysian passports don't technically have given names, since the entire name is coded as the last name in the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ). The Australians take it at face value now that they scan your MRZ whereas previously, your TA could manually enter it in your application. This has caused a LOT of grief for repeat visitors who are now subject to extra scrutiny because the system thinks it's their first time.

It's quite different from, say, the U.S. which lets you decide what your naming convention is.

I agree on you regarding the concept of given names and surnames. Some form also have up to First Name, Last Name and Surname which just make me more confused. However, I do recommend that you follow closely to what written in your passport such as including Bin/Binti just to avoid any plausible questioning or confusion by officers.

Edited January 18 by Zamir

[jani 0]

I personally don't even put Bin/Binti in any of my bookings. Never encountered any problems.

Though, my son, whose name is quite long (both his and my name have Mohammad), won't fit so we put:

First: M Aamir

Last: M Shazani

[Sandeep G 1]

14 hours ago, Lim Kar Yong said:

My Australian ETA states that my given name is "unknown"  while my full name is my Last Name  😁

This is why although our passport is certified as ePassport - we can't use the e-Gates in Australia - because they need to have the Surname/Family Name separate from the First/Given Names. This is the format that most other countries use - and actually the individuals name on the Biodata page is listed under

Family Name/Surname: Kennedy

Given Names: John Fitzgerald

In Malaysian context; simply - Name: John Fitzgerald Kennedy

 

So all the time ETA and e-Passport gates in other countries kelang kabut and we can't use despite the convenience.