Etihad Airways
reviews and complaints

It's extremely disappointing the way flight was handled. Once we got into the plane and we waiting for the take of, suddenly we got informed that the there is some technical issues and they have to switch off the power. All of us had to sit with no a/c under +30 digress temperature in plane. It lasted for almost 3 hours, and they were switching on and off the electricity. Some of the people had to ask for medical assistance as it extremely hard to sit with no oxygen.
Later on, we got informed that we need to step out from the flight ( on the same time no one confirm the cancellation of the flight).
We had to wait in the airport terminal for 6 hours more to get the final decision that the flight is cancelled.
Keeping us waiting we got served with chocolates and water which was already ridiculous, and after all we got COLD food from the plane itself.
The person who was handling the complaint, first of all, was not the direct representative from the Etihad airways and was closing his name tag, as some people tried to take a picture of his name. Looking into the brand and trust wise to the airways, this is not acceptable from such a brand.
So waiting I have missed the important meeting due to the flight cancellation and it lead me to a lot of troubles next. I hope the Etihad airways could make sure that the flights are working and in good condition before they let people to get into the flight. However, i wouldn't recommend taking Etihad any longer

On the 30th of May I was going to fly with Etihad from Moscow (EY68) to Sydney with a stopover in Abu Dhabi. After 8 hours delay the flight was cancelled. I have missed my connecting flight and had to purchase another ticket with another company at the last moment with a significant extra charge for the last minute booking. I am highly unsatisfied with how the situation was handled. Passengers boarded the plane and had to wait inside for 4 hours with no air-conditioning or ventilation with a 30 degree heat outside. Because of the heat some passengers requested medical help. I was carrying personal use medication worth of 6000$ on board that has to be refrigerated (fridge was not provided on board), the crew only offered one bag of dry ice which did not help much. After waiting inside the plane passengers were asked to leave the plane and wait more in the airport. The crew did no provide any information on how long we would have to wait, we did not even receive a food voucher, all we got offered were some candies and water! Are you kidding me, we were stuck in he plane for hours and you didn't even offer food?
I had to claim a refund through the Etihad contact centre (in UAE) but had to call three times in order to get help, seems like some operators don't know how to handle refunds. In the end after my refund was confirmed over the phone talk I have asked to send me a confirmation over email, but I have not received any confirming email. I was also not offered any compensation for a lost day of my life.

Hello,
My name is Irina and I was flying with my daughter and husband from Moscow to Melbourne on 30 May 2019 flight EY68 Etihad airways. We were supposed to depart at 12:40 PM, but the flight was cancelled and our tickets were replaced by Emirates with departure at 11:50 PM. So, the resulting delay was almost 12 hours.

We boarded to an aircraft, had been sitting there for 3 hours and after that were asked to leave the plain. No information was given, we were asked to wait at the gate until further instructions.

There was only one person to work with all the passengers. We all had to wait at the gate until 8 PM. We were not offered any hotel stay or lounge zone for that period, nor they gave us hot food. We were only offered chocolate bars and, after 5 hours, cold meals. We were travelling with our 3 year old daughter and it was a big stress for her.

Finally, at 8 PM that day they told us to go and grab our baggage, meet at the Emirates gate. We were given new tickets. We were so tired that we didn't check the seats and it appeared that all 3 seats were separate (not side-by-side), even for a 3yo child.

We were supposed to arrive to Melbourne at 5:45 PM Friday 31 May but instead we arrived at 5:35 AM Saturday 1 June. Again, almost 12 hours delay.

We are members of the loyalty program, used Etihad a lot in the past and recommended this company to our friends and family. I guess it's not the case anymore. It was our 7th travel with Etihad and all the previous times service was really great but this time we were very disappointed. We want a compensation for our sufferings.

Irina Burmistrova
+[protected]
[protected]@gmail.com

Unaccompanied Minor Booking Ref: nqfett
IAD-HYD.

Unaccompanied minors travelling from IAD to HYD. We called to confirm tickets for window seat 30 hours before boarding and asked for window seats as kids 7 and 10 were travelling. Seats were assigned at the back of the flight as we were informed those were the only window seats available. Day of Travel, kids were not given window seats when they boarded. I was so confident I took care of it over the phone that I never asked at the gate if they were window seats. Kids told me they were made to sit in aisle seats on a 13 hours journey. To top it off the entertainment system was broke. Please imagine little kids with no window and no TV on a 13 hours flight. They don't want to come back on Etihad. Kids Food review: Kids said it was crap. Now Etihad please rate yourself. This is the kids 3rd time travelling as UM and last time we had issues like Etihad ground staff asking minor the destination address when they access to forms provided by parents in their system and copies provided by parents. They were very reluctant to go on Etihad but we convinced them that connectivity wise its quicker and no long layovers. Next time they want to travel Emirates even thou there is a 7 hours layover. And please don't say 'we understand and sorry' because you are not, please go on a 13 hours flight with no TV and then talk.

My name is Varekat Raphel Sheela, and on Thursday may 23rd, 2019 I travelled in EY684from cairo to Abu Dhabi and EY280from Abu Dhabi to cochin.i felt discomfort in my travel due to the improper functioning of AC in flight.t The staff could not offer any better solution and tried to avoid the situation . I flew with Etihad airways for the first time for a 7 hours flight expecting better service from the reputed airline. Your negligence has created physical and mental agony to me .therefore you are liable for all costs and consequences.it may be noted that 33 people together in my group faced similar problem.

email id: [protected]@yahoo.co.in
Mob: +[protected]

My self t Burke ey [protected]
And my guest Grayson. K etkt [protected]
Boarded plane bkk flight to Abu Dhabi. Flew over India. Then had to turn back and land at mumbai airport. Captain said technical problem we'll be here an hour. Then an extra 30 minutes added. Then again. Then again. Actually held hostage in the plane for 4 and a half hrs on the tarmac. I was told no one was allowed off. but if I really wanted the captain said I could he would get my bag off and leave me in Mumbai, when the plane was fixed... I'm guessing he was under stress?. Been sat on the plane for that long was very stressful for the passenger's as well. I'm sure some form of compensation is required.
Also my self and my guest had pre booked train tickets from Manchester airport to Leeds. Which we were not going to use as by the time we now arrive at Manchester the train would have gone. So having to purchase new tickets at an extra cost of £54.

I am a travel agent and i belong to India. I apply visas on etihad airways on daily basis. But the visa department of Etihad airways is full of dumb and unprofessional workers. They make an application unsuccessful without any reason. I'd applied 9 visas out of which i'd received 0 visas till now. They make the application status returned from system admin. I want you to take strict action against all the workers in visa department due to their unprofessional-ism.
E-mail:[protected]@gmail.com

We paid good money to select our seating on Ethiad Flight no. EYO485 6.5.19, EYO083 7.5.19, EYO032 24 5.19 and EYO484 24.5 19 in February as we wanted a little legroom. On all flights the seating configuration is completely different to what we selected online. The seats we had were extremely tight - we may as well not have bothered. Because of this we feel that we should be reimbursed the money paid or our seats upgraded for our 2 flights home tomorrow. We were also disappointed at the lack of water offered during the flight and found ourselves extremely dehydrated. Your quick response would be appreciated.

Chris Willis & Christine Wilson-Willis

I have booked flight for my parents, they are travelling for the first time and they are vegetarian, i requested vegetarian mean option, before their flight i check and called Etihad airways 2 times just to confirm meal option. they confirm with me hindu veg and 2nd time hindu vegan option. i was relieved for my parent's meal but they got non-vegetarian food (Chicken). they had a very long flight from Ahmedabad to Chicago total 24 hours long. They had no meal duriung their journey at all, they ask for fruits and even they didn't get fruits. That is a very bad approach from your side. i have called again and they said Chicken is Vegan food. That is really not tolerable.

My husband bought 2 gold ring out of which 1 is missing when he was travelling from abu dhabi to delhi on 16th may. Attached is the picture of the baggage details. Kindly check your record and let us know as it was the ring for our marriage and we are very sad about the situation. If you can check your luggage scanning machine also. Never thought a brand like Etihad will give us such bitter experience on our big day. We feel helpless reading so many stealing issues from etihad airline.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung&ei=ewTjXNeKC9-4vgSf0bDwCQ&q=item+stolen+from+etihad&oq=item+stolen+from+etihad&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-serp.12...0.0..4535...0.0..0.0.0...0.xkHpRJYOSxk
You can reach us by email or call. We are eagerly waiting for your reply.

Hi, the 16th of May 2019 on the flight EY 462 from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne, I bought a Swiss army watch (182$)and a Paul Hewitt bracelet (59$) total 241 $.
I just received the debit on my account of 346$ why the difference is so big? I think I have been charged a bit too much! Can you give me an explanation for these extra charges? Thanks. Patrick Voreaux.

This is in reference to my e Ticket Receipt (S): [protected], 01 NOV 2018 12 NOV 2018 Stop(s): Stop(s): Stop(s): TRIP TO PHUKET AIRPORT, PHUKET, THAILAND from LHE ALLAMA IQBAL AIRPORT, LAHORE.
1. It is submitted that I could not reach Lahore Airport on the date mentioned above due to road blockade. I was on my way to Lahore from Peshawar but was forcibly stopped at Sheikhopora due to violent demonstration on the road and on highways and motorway. Hence, I missed my flight for which I was not responsible.
2. It was my first flight and neither did I not know how to contact the airline nor I had the opportunity and resources to do the same.
3. Consequently, I was penalized.
4. I is now requested to that my fines and penalty may kindly be remitted and set aside and I may be compensated through a new ticket. I will pay the difference of money on a new ticket.
Mr. Muhammad Arshad Jan

Reservation code IWMECL under the names Emma Burgess and David Fisk.

My husband and I booked our flights on 12th May 2019 from Sydney to London in July.
On 13th May the charge for the flights came out of my account (in two transactions, 1 of $1, 942.20 for each passenger, myself and my husband).
On 14th May you have charged me a again for the full cost of the booking $3, 884.40 and made me massively overdrawn on my bank account.
I have tried several times to call the Australian call center help line, but I only get an automated menu and none of the options would take me through to talking to a human being, they all said "check our website". Now when I try to call again it says that I've exceeded my attempts to call and it hangs up on me.

I need a full refund of this overcharge and any overdrawn fees that I am to get from my bank as a result of your error. Please note that this error and the experience to try to resolve it has caused stress and inconvenience.

I have attached a screenshot of my bank statement highlighting your charges and also the email receipt we received for both passengers which we should have only been charged once for.

I flew with etihad for the 1st time for a 15 hrs flight expecting a service better service coming from a reputed airline and long flight distance!
Unfortunately, from my experience, I was shocked with the type of aircraft, the size of the seat 29a, i'm sure behind were worse! Thank god I have purchased this front seat for both trips or I would be squeezed as a sardine can!

I consider myself an average normal size women height 169cm weight 65kg! But with the seat size on this airplane, I thought I was in tiny land! I barely had a space to squeeze my mobile next to me, side way! To make it clear the seat was too tight, bearing in mind with other airlines I have flew with, this types of aircrafts, with uncomfortable tight seats, they use it for flights not more than 3 or 4 hours, not 15 hours to canada.

I hope etihad understand that those economy seats wasn't granted for us free.. We pay for them and my ticket reached over dhs 7k for such a horrible flight. I had this bad experience with both flights going and return 0141 &0140 (auh/yyz/auh). Not mentioning the 2 (one & only) meals we had been serviced were below standard (poor) no coffee, water or tea served during the flight! We need to call the attendant to get us water!
I do understand low budget airlines announce to their pax to purchase meals and I totally agree with that if the fare of the ticket is reasonable, and I demand to be informed ahead!
*to be fare, I wish to thank etihad for the bus service, it was efficient & worth getting the bus from auh back to dubai. Seats for such a short one hour trip was wider, bigger & more comfortable than the aircraft seats for 15 hours flight!*

It makes me sad to express my disappointment to my first time flying with etihad, and will make sure not to repeat my experience and continue with other airline, specially for long distance flights.
Sir/madam,
When does airlines such etihad knows the fact pax travel on economy pay money too not diff than business or first. They deserve better, forget about meals, snacks or attendance makeup/uniform. A comfortable convenient seats would be more than enough, thank you.
Waiting to hear from you.
Enas soufan
[protected]
[protected]@mohdalhashimi.com

To whom it may concern. I am bejoe from abudhabi. I never got an opportunity to fly with ethihad as always my company is booking the ticket. But this time on my vacation (april 09 to may 08) I received the ticket to fly with etihad and I am so happy too. My problem started when I reach the abudhabi airport on 9 th april after getting my boarding pass staffs they call me back and informed flight is over loaded and asking me to travel on 10 th april as I have only 28 days leave a I dis agree. Then they allow me to travel through the flight flying after half an hour on the same day connecting bang lore having a waiting of 3 hrs in bang lore. And for the compensation they gave me 200 dollars gift voucher. When I reach bangalore another drama started I need to carry all my luggage my self and they are not allowing more than 25 kg. As I am having a ticket of 30 kg and 7 kg baggage. As u know we keralites used to buy liqueur from the duty paid. I also have 2 with me. But they did not allow me to take that also. As per them no liqueur is allowed. After crying a lot they allow me to take the luggage by dropping the 2 bottle of liqueur. It is whose fault mine? Or my company? Who booked a ticket through ethihad which offer 30 kg baggage and hand carry of 7 kg. And offer a 200 dollar gift voucher. What I will do with this I am not a business man who is flying every year. And on return I miss this flight too what a horrible vacation for me.. (flight ey 272 ahu - trv and ey273 trv - ahu) kindly tell me what I can do with this gift voucher. My contact details [protected] email [protected]@gmail.com

Regards
Bejoy

My name is Lewis Whitman and on Friday, May 11th I traveled on EY376 from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi and EY834 from Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong. The flights and onboard services were great. I upgraded my economy tickets to business class tickets on both flights and the value was excellent. I work for the US Department of Defense and I was on official US Government travel utilizing DOD PCS Orders (used for military and civilian personnel working for DOD) to my ultimate destination of Busan, South Korea with my last flight with your code share partner Cathay Dragon which I had no issues with at all.

Problem 1. When I checked my 2 bags at Bahrain airport both bags weighed 29kg and 21kg respectively.in economy class you are allowed 30kg and business class you are allowed 40kg. The customer service lady told me even though I upgraded to business class I did not qualify for the baggage weight upgrade to 40kg. Quote from her "I was only paying for the seat". So my bags were counted as 20kg over weight. I informed the lady I was traveling on DOD PCS Orders and I am allowed one bag per my DOD PCS Orders and the 30kg Etihad allows (which would have put me under 60kg and my bags should have been for free". Quote she told me my"DOD PCS Orders do not apply" and I would be charged for the 20kg Overweight. She charged me $500 US Dollars for the 20kg weight overage. Keep in mind I upgraded to business class on both of my Etihad flights and the total came to less than $500 US Dollars. I paid the excess baggage fee and traveled to Hong Kong to catch my Cathay Dragon flight to Busan, South Korea.

Problem 2. Once I arrived at the Hong Kong baggage claim my two bags did not arrive and were lost. I completed a Delayed Baggage Report with SATS HK to find my bags and caught my flight to Busan, South Korea. Once I checked into my hotel I started making calls to Etihad to find a point of contact for my lost baggage... NO ONE WOULD HELP VIA THE TELEPHONE. I finally emailed Ian at SATS HK and was told my bags would be on the flight into Busan, South Korea and I would have to make arrangements to pick up the lost bags from the airport. I explained to Ian how was it responsibility to pick up the bags when Etihad lost them. Ian and his lack of professionalism and compassion was outrageous. I finally contacted a person at the Busan airport and she was more helpful than anyone at Etihad or SATS HK and it was not her problem to solve but she was caring and professional enough to help me.

Solution: I would like to be refunded the $500 US Dollars I was charged for excess baggage weight. The US Government pays higher than normal rates to air carriers like Etihad to handle its personnel moving throughout the world and this contract allows for one bag per person on the DOD PCS Orders. I have traveled with Etihad as recently as December 2018 when I paid for a business class flight to Thailand. After this horrible experience and they way I was treated not only will I never use your airline again but I will tell anyone who will listen via the internet and I person the horrible service I received from Etihad. The only other service worse than this is Gulf And Delta Airlines. I expected more from your company and I truly received the bare minimum.

I can be reached at [protected]@yahoo.com and my mobile number is [protected].

Respectfully,

Lewis Whitman

My ticket references no tkzous/ey I had a flight from blr to dxb on 8/4/19 the airport staff requested to travel on 9/4/19 and they said they will give 10, 000 indian rupees as a refund after travelling back I contacted eithad customer care for refund but not even single staff of customer care were solving my problem the time I call customer care no they will say that we have updated ur request for refund in 15 days u will get ur cash in ur bank account after 15 days I did not receive any amount from eithad the time I use to call eithad airways the customer care are informing me to contact them after one hour again 1 hr I use to get the same reply from eithad plz solve my problem and regund the cash back..

Ref 701711
7 April 2019
file reference HKGEY10904

I was promised USD90 Indemnity by Manoel G., Baggage Claims and Denis Chance, Manager Baggage Claims. I had to fill out 2 forms. Now they ignore me after I asked for money. Worst fraudster airline in the world.

Etihad's fooling its customers! Never experienced such a case.

Thank you for writing to us.

I am sorry to learn that you discovered damage to your bag when you arrived in Hong Kong.
I reviewed the details of this claim logged as file reference HKGEY10904 and noted all the information given to us. It is never our intention to leave you unhappy with our services, so I wish to offer you an amount of USD 90 as requested by you to finalise this claim. Payment shall be arranged by bank transfer in a currency of your choice. Kindly complete the attached forms and send to us so I can initiate the process.

I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Manoel G.
Baggage Claims

Ref 701711
12 April 2019

Dear Mr Zettl,

Thank you for your response and acceptance of our offer.

I have approved your claim file and submitted to our finance team to process the fund transfer for an amount of EUR 80.
Whilst I shall follow this to closure may I request you to let me know, once this reflects in your bank account, which it should within a maximum of 14 business days.

Thank you for choosing Etihad Airways.

Yours sincerely,

Manoel G.
Baggage Claims

ETIHAD
Ref: BLFUJC
While booking the reservation, we choose the names as displayed in our passports, as in below

Example (Files attached:
Surname :
GivenName : Sumaiya xxxx

When we called Etihad customer care, we are told we need to use "FNU" instead of "LNU",
We have used Etihad multiple times in the past, the new policy of Etihad to use "FNU" in lieu of "LNU" is not shown anywhere at the time of booking hence we have no information as when the policy was changed and what needs to be used.

We request you kindly to make the name change and waive us the charges as a one time error.

This would encourage us to use Etihad more in future.

Thank You

Dear Sir or Madam,

As a flier to Abu Dhabi I always fly with the Etihad Airways and the service was always good until my last return trip from Abu Dhabi to Belgrade, when I dealt with rather unpleasant experience.
Namely, on May 2, 2019 I arrived early at the airport (06:00 am) for my flight JU 7484 from Abu Dhabi to Belgrade, scheduled at 08:05 am. After checking the passport and boarding pass, I was informed that the airplane was overweight with luggage, and that I should wait till 07:00 for further information. The waiting was till 07:20 at what time I was given a business class ticket and checked my luggage. As I followed the established procedure (passport and customs formalities) in such a short period it occurred that I could not board on time. It seems to me that your company staff failed to ensure some faster procedures which would help me to reach the gate. I am of the opinion that all could have been handled better.
I arrived to Belgrade on May 3, 2019 which should have been my first working day after the holidays. As I am employed with the Institute for lung disease and tuberculosis, at the position of a specialist in pulmonology, and I had scheduled visits for my patients and other daily business activities, which I missed to fulfill which resulted in many inconveniences for me.
I hope that you take my complaint into consideration and I expect to be compensated in the adequate amount .
I submit my tickets as attachment.

Awaiting for your reply,
Sincerely,

Dr Branislava Djordjevic, IM Pulmonology