Cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages will not by themselves encourage people to fly. Prospective travelers need to believe it is safe to travel before buying tickets. To that end, passengers must start providing basic personal information starting November 1st prior to receiving boarding passes.
The governments Secure Flight program is requiring all passengers to provide their date of birth, gender, and full name as it appears on government issued photo ID, such as a drivers license or passport.
Airlines claim that they have asked for this information for several months now from passengers when they made reservation and believe that there will be few problems. American Airlines emailed millions of its customers who made reservation prior to September 15th to explain that this information must be provided. Reservations since that date have not been accepted without this information.
A transition period is anticipated and some customers are likely to be denied a boarding pass at the gate. Overall a relatively smooth transition is expected by the American Society of Travel Agents.
Initial uncertainty at airports could be comparable to a few years ago when the government started requiring passports for Americans traveling to Mexico.
To avoid flight complications, airlines recommend that passengers with reservations check to confirm that their reservations include the required personal information at least 72 hours prior to take off. According to American Airlines, this information can also be entered into a fliers frequent flier account which will then automatically be entered for future reservations
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