Etihad Airways

Hello

I booked a ticket to abu dhabi in 2020 march june july nz was in full force covid lock down since june 2020 i have been asking for a refund from etihad they just tell each time that my money will appear in my account in 45 days but it never does its been going on for so long.

I just want a refund or even a credit note this is so horrible to keep someones hard earned money of $3000 is a lot of money.

I just want my money back.

I am writing to express my disappointment regarding the travel experience I recently had with Etihad Airways. As a newly enrolled international student en route from Bangalore to JFK via Abu Dhabi on August 24th, 2023, I encountered significant challengess that have had a substantial impact on my journey and academic commitments.

To provide an overview of the situation:

My flight, EY217 (Guest: Ms Shubha U Gowda , Booking reference: LB9A59 , Ticket number: 607 [protected]) was scheduled to depart from Bangalore at 4:45 AM on August 24th. Unfortunately, the flight was subjected to a 2-hour delay in takeoff, leaving me stranded at the airport for about 5 hours without access to food or proper facilities.

Regrettably, this delay caused me to miss my connecting flight in Abu Dhabi, despite the fact that boarding was still in progress when I reached the gate. The personnel at the transit desk were less than accommodating, and there seemed to be a lack of flexibility in addressing the situation. Despite the delay being beyond my control, I was informed that the connecting flight to JFK could not be adjusted by an hour to accommodate passengers facing this issue.

I was forced to pay 30 USD for a transit visa at Abu Dhabi else I would have to wait in the airport for the next flight which was 3.15 AM on August 25(18 hours from the time we landed at Abu Dhabi). Later we were sent to a hotel.

This disrupted my travel plans, causing me to miss a very important orientation program for new international students at my university. This program was intended to provide critical information about course materials, resources, banking procedures, safety measures, and transportation options – all of which are vital for students transitioning to a new academic environment. Additionally, the accommodation arrangements that I had made in New York and the travel arrangements from New York to my college were nonrefundable and have been an added financial burden considering I am a student.

The consequences of missing the orientation were profound. Not only did I lose access to crucial information that would have facilitated my integration into the university community, but I am also encountering difficulties in navigating the campus, familiarizing myself with the available services, and establishing initial connections.

The ordeal resulted in me traveling for nearly 48 hours without sleep and deprived me of the opportunity to adequately prepare myself for the programs ahead. The physical exhaustion and mental stress of the journey has taken a toll on my well-being and hindered my ability to start my studies on the right foot.

Given these circumstances, I kindly request for a compensation amount. This sum is intended to cover the financial burdens I incurred due to the additional expenses and missed commitments. I understand that travel disruptions can occur, but I believe there should be mechanisms in place to address the consequences they have on passengers. As a student embarking on my academic journey, I am operating within limited financial means, and the financial strain imposed by the unexpected costs is genuinely overwhelming.

I believe that Etihad Airways has a responsibility to acknowledge the inconveniences and hardships faced by a first-time traveler and international student. Providing compensation in this situation would not only alleviate my immediate financial concerns but also exemplify the airline's commitment to passenger satisfaction.

I appreciate your attention to this matter and hope for a prompt resolution. If additional information or documentation is required to process my request, please let me know, and I will provide it as soon as possible.

Hi On my recent travel from London to Abu Dhabi, I purchased a seat 74A for a price of £17.99. On airplane map this was shown as a lone seat next to the window and there was no seat next to it. This was the reason i paid and bought this seat. It was not the case on the actual journey and i had a passenger sitting right next to me. I did not get what i paid for and did not have a pleasant flight.

Booking reference: WLNONJ

Travel Date: 14/10/2023

Travelled journey 19th July 2022 and Returned journey 23rd august 2022

I have raised 2 complaints in Ethihad airline after our journey with them last year (August 2022). Please see the details below.

They didn't email or respond back for 1 complaint but did respond to other via email but not a clear response.

After that I have emailed many times but no response. Only the response was through chat system and also the only response what I received was 'still working on it and allow us some time.'

I have used their chat communication system was the only option and had conversation with them few times and the response was 'still working on it and allow us some time'. It has more than an year but still no corresponding email or escalation of our complaint happened.

1st Complaint

Ethihad customer team sent the ticket information reported our departure terminal is 3 in Heathrow airport but supposed to be Terminal 4. We booked our transport to terminal 3 and didn't realise until the few hours so we booked the taxi from our place to airport terminal 4 which costed extra. Even though we arrived early due to their poor customer service in Check in area as we were booked in economy class because we witnessed their care towards business class. After check-in we had to run to get into the flight for boarding. still I haven't received any response from their feedback/customer team.

2nd complaint

Due to emergency cancellation and rebooked the ticket (1x single ticket) costed me more than £1500 plus initial ticket fare.

I had to book the ticket from overseas in a stressful time but (their poor communication)their team mentioned ticket price around £1100 then transferred to different team and finally charged £1529.14 for single ticket from overseas to UK.

Dear Etihad Airways Customer Service,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to express my deep disappointment and dissatisfaction with the flight experience my family and I had on our recent journey with Etihad Airways.

My family and I have been loyal customers of Etihad Airways for several years, and we have always been pleased with the level of service and quality of our flights. Unfortunately, our most recent trip was a significant departure from the service we have come to expect from your airline.

Our journey commenced with a JetBlue flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). We found this leg of the journey to be satisfactory and without any notable issues. However, the real problems began once we boarded our Etihad Airways flight from JFK to Abu Dhabi.

Firstly, we had specified our dietary requirements and requested Jain food for me , as per our tradition and dietary restrictions. To our dismay, this request was completely overlooked, and we were not provided with any suitable food options on both legs of the journey. This was particularly distressing for us, as I have health concerns related to my sugar and blood pressure levels. The lack of appropriate food made our journey extremely challenging and uncomfortable.

Secondly, the absence of functioning air conditioning on the flight was unbearable. Not only did it make the cabin uncomfortably warm, but it also made it difficult to breathe properly. We repeatedly brought this issue to the attention of your staff, who apologized profusely, but they were unable to provide any relief. Additionally, there were no alternative food options or even fruits available to alleviate our discomfort.

The overall experience on the flight was so distressing that it affected my health. After we arrived, I was unable to perform my job for seven days due to the adverse effects of the journey. This experience has been not only inconvenient but also detrimental to my well-being.

We expected much more from Etihad Airways, given our past positive experiences. Therefore, I kindly request a full refund for our tickets, as our experience did not meet the standards we have come to associate with your airline. We believe that this refund is warranted, considering the extreme discomfort, inconvenience, and health-related issues we experienced during our journey.

even in return we have a many problem with luggage , my bed come with damage.

I sincerely hope that you will take our feedback into account and address the issues we encountered. We look forward to your prompt response and a resolution to this matter.

call me [protected] or e mail me [protected]@gmail.com

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

I am writing to you today to tell you how disappointed I am about the seats on the flight. My name is andrew simos and I am flying with my wife margaret some from Athens to Sydney on the 18/10/23 on a long flight and I have several complaints. Firstly, I have just found out when I tried to book online that I won’t be sitting next to my wife from Athens to Abu Dhabi. This is unacceptable. I have been flying for over 40 years and I have never had to request to sit next to my wife. This should be an automatic thing, we shouldn’t have to request this. Next, I paid $100 Australian dollars to book certain seats on the Abu Dhabi to Sydney leg of the flight and I discovered that I did not have those seats. Someone else had booked those seats. I Dena d my money back and I will be very reluctant to travel with Etihad again. I should not have to get in early and book online to sit next to my wife. Absolutely ridiculous. My email address is

[protected]@hotmail.com

A. Request for compensation

1.27th Aug Case ID: [protected] 

2. 23rd Sep Case ID (no acknowledgement)

3. 26th Sep Case ID: [protected]

4. 11th Oct Case ID: [protected] (reopened & escalated)

5. 15th Oct Case ID: [protected] - 4th submission for same issue, not related to below issue.

B. Request for letter stating flight has been delayed

1. 27th Aug Case ID: [protected]

Hi ,

My name is Srinath Bhupathi. I was travelled USA to India on 24th September and my flight reservation code was 2RQDGK(EY) . I had 2 check-in bags. one baggage had broken. I am requesting to claim my baggage charges. Here I am attaching the proof of damage bag.

please contact this email: srinath.[protected]@gmail.com if any quarries.

Thanks,

Srinath B

Etihad number [protected]

My flight from Tokyo to Abu Dhabi on July 16 was delayed by four hours on the day we were due to leave. We checked the website to see if our original seats reservations were the same seats. They were not so we decided to do them again but the system would not let us without paying again.

I rang the airline and spoke with an operator who said that it was difficult to do as we were still registered on the previous flight and it would take time to sort out. 20 minutes later it was resolved but later we were told that that flight was cancelled too and were offered another flight. When I looked at the connecting flight time it showed a stopover of 17 hours so I asked if we would be provided with a hotel when we arrived. The man said not and asked if we could hang on as he looked at alternative fights.

He then confessed that there was no guarantee of any flights leaving that day as there was no information of what was really going on. He said he would know later what time flights were departing. I asked how much later on and he told me around 5 hours. I asked him to e-mail me when he knew so we would have it in writing.

Five hours later I got a phone call saying there would be no flight that day but we were booked onto the same plane same time next day. I then had to call again to ask for the e-mail confirmation and request that our seats be reserved.

The problem I had is that my son was graduating the next day from University and being delayed 24 hours was going to make it tight as we were flying into London then travelling to Liverpool (me my wife and my son). so when we heard that the flight was delayed by four hours we knew we would miss our connecting flight and the Graduation Ceremony.

We called Etihad and explained this and they said that there were no other flights that would make that connection. They offered us a later flight but we said that we wanted to get back on time and that Etihad should put us on another flight with a different airline. We were told that was not possible.

We contacted our travel agents in London and explained the situation and they said that they would investigate options for us. They then informed us that they could not book us new flights because Etihad were still showing that the flight was not delayed, it only showed that if you went onrtro the individual flight.

We rang back and spoke with a woman who said she would do her best to get us back in time. She rang back 2 hours later offering us the same flight that would miss our conecction. We explained that to her again and she said she would try again and ring us back in 2 or three hours, which would be 1am be we said that would be fine.

She did not ring back so we had to ring Etihad again and were told by the people in the call centre in India that they did not have the authority to book other airlines and offered us the flight that would miss our connection.

I asked to speak with the manager of the call centre and once we had explained our situation she asked us what we wanted her to do. We told her that we needed to be on another airline that would get us back in time for the graduation. She said no and that if we wanted that we would have to pay for it ourselves and if we did that we would lose our right to compensation if we did. I pointed out that it was the law and the airlines duty to get us back by any means. She said that she did not know about that and that anyway there were no other flight that would get us back in time.

Unless she had psychic powers she did not even look as her response was instant. Realising that we had hit a brick wall we then asked her to book us onto the flight and she agreed.

Several hours later when we went to check in we realised that she had not put put us onto that flight so we had to ring again only to be told that there only 3 seats and there were four of us. so we had to take the flight after that which meant a layover of 9 hours!

when we arrived at the airport we had on more try to get back via another airline, the man at the desk apologised for our delay but told us that he could not help as there was no duty manager that day. I asked him who was in charge when the duty manager was not in and got no reply. We asked him to call the duty manager and he did and spoke with her. We asked if she was coming to the desk and he said that he did not know. We told him to ring her again and find out, he informed us that she would be coming to the desk 45 minutes before the flight departed.

When she arrived she was very apologetic and said that she could not get us onto another airline but would get us onto the earlier flight in Abu Dhabi, we asked if the flight had the capacity because it was the same flight we were offered that only had 3 seats. She looked at her paperwork and said yes there are seat and we should go to the transit desk and get new boarding passes.

We did that and there were no boarding passes and no seats on the plane for us, she had sent the e-mail asking for us to be put on that fllight but the staff there queried why as the plane full before the e-mail was sent as we knew.

As you can see there has been a litany of lies and deceit to the point where all Etihad staff were only offering Etihad flights to get us back and preventing travel agents from booking other airlines. We know that there were flights that could get us back in time because when we were leaving our friend in Tokyo messaged us to say there was a flight from Haneda that would get us back in time and she was prepared to pay for his flight back. We declined the offewr as we did not want our friend to pay.

Part two.

Once back in the UK i tried to look on your website for a form to fill in for compensation for our 32 hour delay, there were lots of adverts from companies offering to do it for us for 35% but none to do it ourselves. I noticed the feedback form and wrote my experience. I then rang Etihad to find out how I could make my claim. I was told that i had to use the feedback form so apparently i had already done it.

On the for it said that somebody would call me to discuss my claim and then it would be processed. However two weeks later i got an e-mail offering me 800 US dollars in Etihad credits. I again rang Etihad and asked why I was being made an offer when nobody had spoken to me. I explained that I had 700 US dollars of receipts that need to be refunded and I asked if the offer was for me or for our group. He was a little unsure but then said it was for the four of us, which meant 200 dollars each in credits. I asked him how could be when it states on your website that we are entitled to 600 Euros each for a cancelled flight. That was the same website that says Etihad are responsible for getting us back as near to the original time as possible on other airlines.

I rejected the offer and asked for an explanation and let him know that I was not interested in credits and was told the airline had looked into my case thoroughly and that it was a fair offer. I still rejected the offer.

I then asked how I would get my expenses back and duly sent off my receipts. I was then asked to put my bank details into the form and that I would get my money with in 30 days.

Your system did not work and after several attempts I wrote to Rihzlan and explained that it did not work and attached screenshot of the problem and asked him to sort it out for me. I also asked him to explain why he had taken the 35 dollar request of a refund for all the phone calls i had to make.

I got no reply and went online only to find that my case had been closed because he did nothing. I reopened my case and tried again to enter my bank details but the data was missing, i even tried to just accept the offer but that did not work.

So here we are three months later and I have got nothing but grief and silence from Etihad Airlines, reputedly the third best airline in the world. I have tried to find a way where i can just talk to a human being and sort this out but have been stuck in telephone loops that lead to a dead end or online chats that cut you off if you take more than two minutes or staff refusing to explain anything just making derisory offers.

My experience with Etihad has been horrendous and I am no nearer to resolution that i was on the day I flew. the fact that my son, whom we had taken to Japan for a holiday after he got a first class honours degree, seemed to be of no importance to the airline and I am shocked at the lack of humanity and decency show by Etihad. For me personally your reputation is in tatters.

I would like to know what happens next and how we are going to reslove this issue promptly and fairly.

I called the custoemr servies and asked for if there is complimentory hotel for more than 22hrs transit, the lady said you need to spend $750 dollars on tickets and your ticket is $630 dollar so you are not eligible for complimentory hotel booking, After hearing this I asked her if she can let me know how to raise a complain as I am not happy about the policy and would like to raise a complain, she refused to provide me any email or directly me on how to make a complain but was insisting that I can provide a feedback only. Then I was persistant to ask if she can let me know if there is any form I can fill or email to complain as I beleive as a customer it is my right to do so, She asked me to be on hold while she can speak to her supervior, she came back with a same answer that I can only give the feedback, after hearing this I wasn't happy at all and asked for the supervisor name initially I got refused and she said she will speak to supervisor again and put me on hold, this time she came back and gave me information on how to make a complain but when I asked her the supervisor name she put me on hold again and went to ask the supervisor if she can give the name or not, so this time she gave me his name, Sahil. After that I tried to search complain form on the website on my own but coldnt find it so through internet I find this page to make a complain not sure if this will be heard. But I am planning to avoid travelling with Itehad any more where you have to show that you have spend certain amount to be eligible for complimentory hotel. I have never experience this while asking other airlines for complimentory hotel. Shamble experience will try and tell my family and friends too about my experience and to avoid the travel through Itehaad Airways feeling very disappoitment.

Flight EY 25 Abu Dhabi to London 29th Sep 2023. Paid addition cost for seat 16k which is clearly shown on the seat selection screen on Etihad website as front row by bulkhead with leg room. Upon boarding, found there was a row in front. Seat paid for was not as advertised. Additionally the screen for seat 16k did not work properly, mentioned to stewardess, who was very apologetic that the flight was full and could not do anything about it. I then paid 9.99$ for the in flight WI-FI, which stopped working circa 1hour into the flight, so missed over 5 hours of messages and emails.

In essence, was uncomfortable, with no entertainment, and unable to work.

A very poor end to an otherwise fantastic trip.

Dear Manager,

While travelling from Hyderabad to Detroit via Abu Dhabi on 24/09/2023 vide a ticket bearing a PNR 5CPVTM one of our baggage was found to have been fiddled with locks opened and the above items gone missing. This was really not expected from an Airline of your stature. The loss was reported on TWITTER the moment it was discovered but it never got responded to.

Trust now someone comes forward and takes cognizance of this completely unacceptable offence.

Regards,

Vinaya Kumar Sinha

[protected]@hotmail.com

PNR- 5CPVTM

I had been charged 2 times from my credit card while booking by phone and it is not my fault at all they charge it 2 times and they said it is soft charge and will not give it to you before 15 days

Totally unacceptable taking money and it is their mistake and they tell me will give it to you after 15 days

Booking reference 18 September from Jordan to Abu Dahabi SA9GCK

My daughter Devadharshini palani vailmuthu had travelled in etihad airways on 19th september 2023 from cochin airport to edinburgh airport in a connecting flight. Her baggage had been lost and we had already complained about this in the Edinburgh airport but there are no responses from them.The baggage tag number is 131836. Please do give a response regarding this and help us with getting the baggage as soon as possible

I submitted an application for a 30-day, single-entry visa for myself and a relative on September 21. We are both from Sudan, and although I indicated in my application that I was planning on departing the country from Ethiopia and Egypt for the applications, when I submitted the two applications, the departure was actually from Sudan. I tried contacting the company via phone and email, but I didn't receive a response.

While travelling to cinncinati, I was stopped at the destination abu dhabi without any solid reason and was made sit for 7-8 hours, my board pass was torned without any solid reason and all my money into this procedure went to waste.

I was lied by the airways of my visa getting some issues due to what they turned down my boarding pass. If this doesnt take any action against etihad service, i'm gonna take a big step once again. And without telling me any reason they sent me off back to my country in the money cancelling my ticket to us. This is insane. If I dont get any solid reason or my money back. I'm going to file a case on this.

I made a booking on your website for two passengers but was only issued one ticket with PNR number RXZCAK.

The booking was for both me and my wife and upon checking the ticket only one was issued for my wife and not me.Etihad refunded the money for my ticket back to my Credit card without informing me.

My PNR number is S3PPN4.

Now the price for the same ticket has increased significantly and I do not wish to pay this and need to have the original price agreed and paid.

My Visa was returned for modification, but when I was about to do the modification the website was showing error "There is no Visa matching the search information entered". This visa has already been paid! and there was no way I can modify my case?! I have been trying endlessly to call the number and emailed [protected]@etihad.ae and [protected]@etihad.ae but no response has been received both on calls and emails! How is one of the biggest company in the region are this worst in customer service and have an extremely poor website service! The visa is already paid and if it cannot even be modified then this transaction is just purely a SCAM!

I booked my flight on 24th August 2023 from BLR to CWL by paying 67,464 through UPI in Etihad Airways. The page showed error after my payment was made. But the amount was debited and I have the proof for the same.

I have not received any confirmation on my payment/booking. Later when I texted the agent, explaining my situation, they retrieved my booking reference number(Q6EKOY and Q9KPQE) and asked me to wait for the confirmation. But I did not received any mails or SMS regarding my booking. I could not access my booking till now and it is only them who can do so.

Later when I checked they told me that my booking was not confirmed, hence it was cancelled and also they mentioned that the amount was not reflected in their page, and will be back to my account in 7-15 days, when I asked for a proof, they refused to share me an mail or a SMS. Whenever I query, they say that they have initiated the refund but later they say they have not received the amount, conclude it as a soft charge. They have been giving me different answers and ask me to wait for 15-30 days, if not dispute with the bank. As they said, I checked with my bank and they made it clear that the amount has been debited from my account and has been received by the airline, the refund can only be initiated by the airline, only then it can be processed.

Now its been more than 15 days, I have not received any proof for the refund nor my cancelled booking, also they are not responding properly and blindly they ask me to wait for days.