Dont book Etihad Business class

[Brigid Lou]

We recently booked a full fare business class Sydney London return for my mother. On the return leg we arrived at Heathrow to be told that her flight had been "canceled". As she needed to fly back sooner rather than later we had to rebook the entire flight in first class-not even an offer to upgrade and pay the difference. The staff were not helpful at all.On our return it appears that Etihad had retickted the flight with the wrong month on the return date so of course when we didn’t turn up they canceled my mother's flight and f course we were none the wiser. Mistakes happen but what is ocmeltly unacceptable is they have made no effort tor rectify the sutaion and refund the cost of the rebooked flight .They also failed to provide 2 taxi serviceas per their booking. It's now over a month and nothing has happened despite having all the receipts, original E ticket numbers etc. For a business fare that customer service is NOT acceptable. I expected that when the problem arose on the ground (as a premium fare) they would make some effort to deal with our concerns but they immediately went on the defensive and blamed the travel agent and insisted our only option was to rebook the flight in full. Having paid for a first class flight,the staff then told me I couldn’t accompany my mother to the lounge (I was on the same flight but in economy class) I pointed out to them with my mother in the wheelchair beside me that I merely wanted to ensure that she got there and had her boarding passes issued which they said they would do in the lounge. Clearly I was traveling with her so I don’t think it was an unreasonable request. I was not asking to stay in the lounge. Given we had just had a problem and then paid for a first class flight that is not good customer service. I will never fly with them again and I will certainly urge all my friends & colleagues to do the same

 

[anat0l]

Welcome Brigid Lou to AFF.

Note that if your flight from London Heathrow to Sydney had been cancelled, you may had been entitled to protections pursuant to EU Regulation 261/2004 (see this Wikipedia article: Regulation 261/2004 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). The protections may include the right to be rebooked on another flight - if they put you in First class then they may not demand extra payment. Also the protections include care provisions (meals or accommodation if your new flight was not straight away) and cash compensation.

There are a few conditions on that and I'm concerned that you put cancelled in quotation marks, and certainly it's a lot easier to deal with at the time than after the event. But it's worth keeping in mind if a similar situation happens next time.

I'm not sure why they said it's the travel agent's fault. Did you even use a travel agent? And if Etihad cancelled the flight, then how is that the agent's fault? I think we may need a bit more explanation of what's going on to get a good grip on what's going on.

I think Etihad lounge policies don't usually accommodate guests. Only members of Etihad's frequent flyer programme appear to have the rights to let in guests in addition to themselves into lounges. It would be nice for you to accompany your mother, but unfortunately you're up against the lounge access policies, especially since the staff could probably be trusted to at least have the boarding passes and so on prepared for her properly, so you would be the proverbial "fifth wheel", so to speak.

 

[trooper]

No show on the booked date. OP claims that was someone elses fault and points the finger at EY.. Not sure how OP determined EY was at fault with that mistake on the original booking.

In their defence I imagine the airport staff only have what was actually ticketed to go on. Pax claiming the booking was for a different date are probably a regular occurrence unfortunately.

 

[ftm]

Someone knew about the change before the day you turned up.

If you did use an agent to make the booking, check with them when the change (to the wrong month) happened and whether EY selected the new flight or someone else did.

If the booking was made directly with EY, then its all their responsibility. I've found the sales reps from EY very helpful, but that's from a trade perspective. Not sure what they are like when trying to sort something like this out directly with a passenger.

FTM

sent from a mobile device...

 

[Blinky]

No show on the booked date. OP claims that was someone elses fault and points the finger at EY.. Not sure how OP determined EY was at fault with that mistake on the original booking.

That was my initial thought. I wonder if the OP checked the "Manage your flight" or whatever it's called on Etihad's website and what it said? After making a silly mistake by booking a flight a day earlier than intended, I make sure I double check everything.

Perhaps I'm being uncharitable.....

 

[yohy?!]

a very unpleasant situation for sure but im not sure how Etihad could 'ticket the flight in the wrong month' without the OP seeing it on their e-ticket?

and that being said if you are at the airport with an e-ticket that states you are flying on that day not sure how they could not help you out?

 

[eastwest101]

I agree with the other posters - if the original poster could give some more details about exactly what and by whom was booked, ticketed and other itinerary info then some further helpful advice may be forthcoming.

 

[EtihadAirways]

Dear Brigid Lou,

Thank you for your post. We were sorry to hear that you faced an issue, and would like to help if possible.

In order to do so, we would require some additional details from you. If you could email [email protected], we can get our team to investigate further.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards

Etihad Helper.

 

[medhead]

I didn't realise there was a Etihad rep. Great to know.
Cheers

 

[Blinky]

I didn't realise there was a Etihad rep. Great to know.
Cheers

Ditto. I'm flying Etihad next year, I'll keep Etihad Helper in mind if I have any problems.

 

[mella2007]

Ditto. I'm flying Etihad next year, I'll keep Etihad Helper in mind if I have any problems.

As will I, I already have two J flights booked with them in July.

My guess is that OP will never be heard of again. Rant and leave. Blah.

 

[whatmeworry]

I tried reading the OP but got disinterested with the large font because it hurt my eyes!

 

[Ric]

Ditto. I'm flying Etihad next year, I'll keep Etihad Helper in mind if I have any problems.

Me too! Am trying them out next year.

 

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF Brigid Lou!

It is always to sad to read these types of situations. Hope everything is sorted for you and your mother soon.