Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Airways recently offloaded many people from their flights because they had booked their tickets online with a credit card that wasn’t theirs, but a friend’s or a relative’s. These people had to purchase another ticket if they still wanted to fly.
I know that a few other Middle Eastern airlines, all Indian airlines, and Cathay Pacific, have the same policy to the extent that the person who’s credit card has been used to book the flight, needs to accompany you to check-in.
When my parents came to visit me in Madrid from France, I booked them flights on my credit card; similarly when my brother and I traveled around Spain, all flight/train/hostel bookings were made under my name. If all airlines, or any travel-service related company for that matter, begin using this policy, they may lose lots of business from online purchasers so I wonder if it will ever become standard online booking policy.
It’s all to prevent credit card fraud, but seriously inconvenient, no?