Error on your flight ticket? £160 please! Airlines use small print to charge for name changes even when there is a spelling error Which? found firms using smallprint rules to charge for name changes Ryanair charges as much as much as £160 if changes made via a call centre The European Commission is looking to reform the rules and end charges Costly: Airlines and holiday websites are charging travellers up to £160 for minor amendments to tickets Airlines and holiday websites are taking advantage of travellers by charging as much as £160 for even minor amendments to tickets. Recent studies have revealed huge increases in fares, particularly around school holidays, however the carriers are using stealth charges to add to the burden. Consumer champions at Which? found many firms are using smallprint rules to impose a charge for name changes where there has been a mistake or spelling error. For example, Ryanair charges £110 per name change if the correction is made online and as much as £160 via a call centre or at the airport while minor errors may be charged at £10 through the reservations centre. Monarch charges £100 per name for online changes or £120 at call centre but corrected spelling errors free of charge. Both carriers said customers would also have to pay extra if the ticket price had risen since the original booking. Researchers at Which? Travel were contacted by Frederick Hubbard, 70, who realised that he had missed an "e" out of his name when booking a flight to the US through Lastminute.com. He thought it would be a simple matter to correct, however he was told by the website that there would be an astonishing £45 admin charge. Mr Hubbard was also told that he would need to rebook the flight at £540 and then wait for a refund of his original payment, which could take up to four months. "The whole principle of having to pay a charge as well as buy another ticket and wait that long for a refund, just to make a small spelling change, is lunacy," he said. It could be £540 I don't have. Mr Hubbard said his frustration grew after he contacted the airline concerned, KLM, which told him that if he had booked direct, he could have changed the name and had the money refunded within four weeks. A Which? spokesman said: "Being charged for minor name changes to airline tickets, and sometimes having to buy another ticket, is a recurrent complaint among consumers." Expensive: Ryanair charges £110 per name change if the correction is made online and as much as £160 via a call centre or at the airport while minor errors may be charged at £10 through the reservations centre She said the European Commission is looking to reform the rules to put an end to "punitive" administration fees for spelling errors. The spokesman said: "It says airlines should provide reasonable corrections of booking errors free of charge up to 48 hours before departure." Mr Hubbard's complaints to Lastminute.com paid dividends and he got his refund within a week, however the firm's standard terms say the delay can be 16 weeks. The firm said it accepted that 16 weeks was a "considerable" time but it was a "worst case" scenario based on the length of time airlines could take to provide refunds. Minor changes: Monarch charges £100 per name for online changes or £120 at call centre but corrected spelling errors free of charge The Which? study found not all airlines charge as much as the "budget" carrier Ryanair, with its maximum fee of £160. British Airways has no charge to correct spelling mistakes, although the traveller will have to fund any increase in taxes and fees if they have increased since the original booking. EasyJet allows people to correct spelling errors for free, but it charges £35 for a name change. Virgin Atlantic charges £30 for spelling corrections, while Thomas Cook charges £20, although this may be waived if done within 48 hours of booking.