Airline Thinks My Wife Is A Man Because She Has A Ph.D.

Once upon a time, it might have been a good — but not sure — bet that someone with the title of “Dr.” was probably a man. But apparently no one told that to the reservations system at Singapore-based Tiger Airways, which has stuck one traveler with a ticket that bestowed a Y chromosome upon her — and which she’s going to have to pay to fix.

Consumerist reader Jacob says that he and his wife are planning their dream vacation in Southeast Asia, and booked two tickets for a Tiger Airways flight from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to Singapore.

He writes, “After submitting payment and reaching the final booking confirmation screen, I noticed that my wife’s passenger details described her as a ‘Male, Adult.'”

Did he fill in the wrong box somewhere along the line?

“Nope,” he tells Consumerist. “When filling out the personal information, a prefix was required (i.e. Mr., Mrs., Miss, etc.). My wife is a bad-ass Ph.D. Statistician, so I selected ‘Dr.’ — because that’s what she is. Apparently, in Tiger Airways land, only men can be doctors.”

Jacob says there was no mention of “male” or “female” until the final, post-payment booking confirmation. He provided Consumerist with a copy of this confirmation, which clearly lists both he and his wife as adult males, along with the “Dr.” prefix before his wife’s name.

He also attempted to contact Tiger via Twitter and its customer feedback form and received no response.

“I’d love to correct this before it causes all sorts of problems at the airport,” he writes. “But there is only one way to remedy the mistake — calling one of their international call centers. And then PAYING for the change.”

We’ve written to Tiger’s media contacts in the hope that they can remedy the ticket error — and update their system to be in line with 19th century gender standards.

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.