There’s a scene at the end of the movie Fletch (1985) where Chevy Chase uses a plane ticket made out in another person’s name, and no one blinks an eye.
Can confirm. My first snowboard trip was to Mount Hood, Oregon, in the late 80s. I only went because something came up and my friend couldn't go, so he just gave me his plane ticket. The person at the ticket counter just asked me, "Are you Kevin Johnson?" I said "Yep", and walked onto the plane.
In the late 1980s, I flew under my suitemate’s father’s name to get to college once (he had to change his travel date and sold me his ticket which was under his father’s name so his dad would get the frequent flyer miles).
And Bruce Schneider has proven you can forge boarding passes
Boarding passes are going away. TSA is rolling out ID scanners that lookup the reservation without scanning a boarding pass.
They've stopped asking for boarding passes at security in most US airports, but you still need them at the gate come boarding time.
Sorry, Schneier
No one checks names on Aussie domestic flights to this day