Etihad Airways review: Duplicate booking charge with duplicate booking reference claimed as soft charge of £1,631

**Title: Formal Complaint – Duplicate Booking Reference, Unauthorised £1,631 Authorisation, Conflicting Responses and Failure to Provide Escalation Details**

I am filing this complaint after exhausting Etihad Airways' customer service channels without receiving a satisfactory resolution.

On **24 June 2026**, I made **one** legitimate booking directly through the official Etihad Airways website using my **HSBC UK Visa Debit Card**. The payment of **£1,631** was successfully completed in part payments (as attached in the following screenshots), and my confirmed booking reference is **78PH60**.

Subsequently, a **second booking reference (78KFI4)** was generated on 24th June 2026 but appeared on 26th June 2026. I did **not** create, authorise or request this booking reference, nor did I authorise any second payment or booking.

A **second authorisation for £1,631** then appeared on my HSBC account under **Etihad Mumbai, India**, resulting in my account entering an **unarranged overdraft** and leaving me without access to £1,631 of my own funds.

I have now spoken with **five different Etihad customer service representatives**, and every conversation has been recorded by Etihad.
During my interactions, Etihad representatives repeatedly informed me that the second booking reference related to a **duplicate booking** and that the associated transaction was a **duplicate booking charge/soft charge** which I had never created, authorised or requested. I relied on these explanations while attempting to resolve the issue.

I was advised that the duplicate authorisation would be released, initially within a short timeframe of 48 hours and later within **up to 14 working days** and then again up to 45 days!

These explanations are fundamentally inconsistent and have left me without any clear understanding of what has actually occurred.

Throughout this process I have fully cooperated with Etihad. I supplied screenshots of my HSBC account and transaction history to the email address provided by Etihad ([protected]@etihad.com, guest.[protected]@etihad.com, [protected]@etihad.com, ccdocs.ae) clearly showing both the completed payment and the duplicate pending authorisation. Receipt of these documents was acknowledged.

Despite receiving my evidence, Etihad has not provided me with:

* a technical explanation of why the duplicate booking reference was generated;
* an explanation of why a second authorisation request was sent to my bank;
* written confirmation identifying the origin of the duplicate authorisation; or
* a clear explanation reconciling the contradictory information I have received from different representatives.

I also wish to raise a separate concern regarding Etihad's published complaints process.

Etihad's published Rules and Notices state that the contact details of the relevant **Nodal Officer** and **Appellate Authority** are available on its website. I searched the website in an attempt to escalate my complaint through the appropriate internal grievance process. However, although the website states that these details are available, I have been unable to locate the name, email address, telephone number or postal address of either the Nodal Officer or the Appellate Authority.

This has prevented me from pursuing the escalation route described in Etihad's own published procedures.

At this stage, my requests are straightforward:

* A full investigation into the duplicate booking reference **78KFI4** and the associated £1,631 authorisation.
* A written explanation identifying how and why this duplicate booking reference and authorisation were generated.
* Confirmation that I will not be charged for any transaction that I did not authorise.
* Reimbursement of any overdraft charges, interest or other financial losses incurred as a direct consequence of this matter.
* A review of all recorded customer service calls to establish the facts and explain why materially inconsistent information was provided.
* The contact details of Etihad's Nodal Officer and Appellate Authority, as referred to in Etihad's published Rules and Notices.

If this matter is not resolved promptly and transparently, I intend to pursue all available remedies. These may include pursuing my rights through my card issuer, making complaints to the appropriate consumer and aviation authorities, and obtaining independent legal advice regarding recovery of my financial losses and any other remedies available to me.

I remain willing to resolve this matter directly with Etihad, but after repeated attempts and multiple contradictory explanations, I now require a formal investigation and a written resolution.

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