Etihad Airways
Reviews and Complaints

Hi, my parents are travelling on October 25th from Cairo to Melbourne and connecting in Abu Dhabi. They have a 22-hour layover and meet the Etihad criteria.

to be eligible for a free stopover hotel. However, your booking tool shows no availability, and I tried to contact you via chat and phone multiple times, but no one was able to help. I requested to make my own booking at any of the approved partner hotels and then claim for it as my parents are old and cannot spend 22 hours at the airport or the lounge. and I found heaps of complaints about the same issue, which made me so frustrated with Etihad Airlines, as I never face this kind of problem with Emirates or Qatar Airlines.

Flight EY281 4th July 2023 COK -AUH

Ticket# [protected] & Tag# 607EY528941

Name: Rajamohanan Sivadasan

I am Canadian bought ticket online from Canada to travel from Cok to Auh On 4th July 2023.

On arrival my check in baggage was damaged beyond repair and made a compliant # AUHEY98362. Having checked the baggage at hotel, I noticed that my optical was missing as well.

Made a claim with all required invoice and other documents. The compensation for Samsonite bag provided is not satisfactory and also refused to provide any compensation for lost item. The total settlement offered is C$84. Though I raise a doubt about lost item, actually noticed only at Hotel when I had a detailed check for it for my use.

I am very much upset with this settlement and the way my claim is handled. Optical invoice & baggage purchase invoice already submitted.

To whom so ever it may concern

It is with at most, disappointment and annoyance that I am emailing you regarding a recent flight that me and my family had to take with Etihad.

I am expecting to get a reasonable reply other than an apology for the difficult situation that we had to deal with.

Me and Family which includes my husband, my daughter, and my son booked the tickets to fly to Kochi in April and the flight was scheduled on 05th July to Abu Dhabi and Kochi. We reached Kochi on the 6th. We did check in online and managed to get 2 seats together, which was manageable as me and my daughter got the seats together and my husband and my son got seats together. When we were due to fly back on the 27th of July, I woke up at 1 am Indian time to check online as it said the online check-in will open 16 hours prior. As we tried to check online most of the seats were blocked by the system and we didn’t get the seats together. So I rang the office and I was consoled by a lady that she will pass a message to Air Arabia (connection from Kochi to Abu Dhabi) and Etihad (Abu Dhabi to Dublin). My issue was that my 13-year-old son was given a seat far from our seat and my husband in a completely different area. We were initially given seats in 4 different areas and a kind person at the Abu Dhabi desk gave us two seats together. I kept on requesting everyone in the offices that I don’t feel comfortable leaving my child somewhere on the flight with no family member near him. As I got on the flight I requested the crew to check if there are two strangers sitting beside we could request a swap. The attitude of the staff was really upsetting and in our opinion, they didn’t try to solve the issue at all. I was worried as my son was not feeling well and I did explain this to the crew. The whole night my son had to stay beside a stranger and I was not able to check him frequently as I was in the middle seat and the guy beside me was sleeping and I didn’t want to disturb him throughout the night. The whole night I was awake and so my husband worrying about our son who is sitting with a stranger. My son was so upset about the whole issue

My question to Etihad is what if my son was sick during the night or if there was an emergency during the journey, who will take responsibility for this? I was asked by an office staff in Abu Dhabi to file a complaint. Is this the solution for this crisis? We as a family booked the ticket to travel together and I didn’t expect this at the last minute. Our friend and family who traveled together with us did check online and managed to get the seats together at the same time we checked online. I will be reluctant to book flights with Etihad if there is no proper explanation and reassurance provided. As we know that this is not a budget airline we expect minimum facilities like providing seats together for a family. Air Arabia crew told us not to do the online check-in in the future. Just need the proper advice just in case we decide to travel with you in the future. I as a mother of two children don’t expect my children to travel on their own unless we chose to do the same. To my knowledge, people choose to book flights and travel on their holiday to relax and not to build up stress. Ticket prices with airlines are gone up so high and even after paying this amount Etihad crew told me that if I purchase the seats with another 500 euros they will allocate the seats together. My query is how they get those seats and in my opinion, it is pure greediness. I need a proper explanation for the inconvenience that was caused. I can submit the booking reference on request

Kind regards

Diana Paul

[protected]@gmail.com

I have been trying to get help locating travel credit from a booking which was originally made in August of 2021 which had to be cancelled due to health issues.

I was told my fare would be put in a travel bank and I had until July 31st 2023 to use it.

When I looked into my new Etihad credit account it only showed $4,498.05 which reflects the value of my ticket and not the value for my wife and son.

I have been trying for weeks to get this resolved with Etihad customer service and I’ve been unable to resolve. I have been promised calls back while they investigate and no one calls back. I have spent hours on the phone with Eithad customer service and no resolution.

Today the credit expires and I am unable to book on the site.

I am EXTREMELY frustrated and there is nearly $10,000 of Etihad credit unaccounted for.

I am requesting this matter be escalated to someone who is able to resolve this issue.

I cancelled my supposed June 04, 2023/KW-MNL flight with ticket number [protected] and request for a refund on May 27, 2023 and was anticipating that Etihad Airways being its famous and world class services would also be very strict in refund time table. According to them the refund will take 7 days to a maximum of 45 days, but here I am in July 31,2023 writing this complaint.

I booked my family tickets 4 months advance (in June) to travel (in October). I read about stopover offer and booked with 2 nights (27 & 28 October) stopover option (which was expensive than normal ticket). I have been trying to book hotel from day one but there is no hotel availability on Etihad website. When I ask customer service then they say that all hotels are booked. What a joke all hotels are booked 4 months advance in October which is off season. When I checked those hotels on booking.com or other sites there are plenty of rooms available. Etihad Airways mentioned in their terms and conditions that the hotel can be booked only through their website. All bookings from other websites will not be accepted. This stopover on us looks like a scam to me.

I booked 3 seat to travel from JFK to DELHI on Sept15th Return Sept 30th. Our daughter is NOT able to travel with us due to personal reasons.

I reached out to my travel agent and Etihad Airways for help regarding my situation. I am not able to cancel my daughter's ticket as it is a non-refundable ticket. I would like to know if her seat can be designated as free space. I want to be sure no penalty or fees is charged to me for No Show Status. I am reaching out to you much in advance of the travel date.

Reference: 2Y37DY (Koshy & Elizabeth Thomas)

Reference: 4QZIU6 (Sheryl George)

It was the last time that I travelled with this terrible airline. I had several issues with this airline. I wish I paid a little more to buy a ticket but travel comfortable.

- They changed my seat from "extra leg room" to "normal seat in front of WC" during the boarding. They did not provide any explanation. They completely ignored me and my complaint.

- My first flight in Abu Dhabi was delayed. That made to miss my second flight. I let them know that what's happened to my second flight in JFK and also my luggage. They did not any answered. They took my boarding passes and asked me to get my updated boarding pass from ground staff when they landed. When we landed, they only provide gate number B6 with Jet Blue. That's the all information they provide. They asked me to see the signs to find the gate. They did not told me which terminal. They did not even print my boarding pass.

I asked the other staff in JFK about it and I just found that I had to change the terminal with train, doing check in again and asked the customer service to provide the boarding pass. It took one hour for me. Fortunately the second flight had been delayed for 4 hours and that's what I could travel with that flight.

Dear Etihad Customer Service,

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention the significant difficulties I have faced with my recent multi-city (one-way) flight booking with Etihad. Approximately two weeks ago, I booked a flight from Barcelona to Abu Dhabi and then from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok. Along with this reservation, I intended to avail the program that allows for 2 nights of complimentary hotel stay in Abu Dhabi.

Regrettably, since the time of booking, I have encountered persistent issues with my booking number, which consistently shows as "invalid PNR." Despite numerous attempts using the Etihad app, different browsers, and multiple calls to customer service, the problem remains unresolved. On more than ten occasions, I have reached out to your customer service representatives seeking assistance. Each time, I was assured that the matter would be forwarded to the relevant department for resolution, and I would receive a callback within 24 hours. However, none of the promised callbacks were received, leaving me deeply frustrated and disappointed.

In an attempt to find a solution, I was provided with various contact numbers and email addresses by your agents. The phone number provided, +971 [protected], informed me that they were indefinitely not taking calls and directed me to use the email address [protected]@etihad.ae. To my dismay, the email response informed me that my booking was eligible for the "Stopover on Us" program, not the "Transit Connect" program, as the transit time exceeded 24 hours. I was then directed to contact [protected]@etihad.com, which I promptly did.

However, another agent has since instructed me to reach out to the Etihad Holiday service at 800 2324 and +[protected] which have been unsuccessful. The latter is an Arabic-only phone number, the former rings a few times before the line cuts out, which has only added to my frustration. The same agent then directed me to the feedback page on the website which you either need to have completed the flight or be a lawyer or otherwise legal entity to file a complaint.

As a result of these ongoing difficulties, I have incurred significant costs due to numerous international calls and, more importantly, have wasted hours of my valuable time in search of a resolution. Despite my efforts, there is still no confirmation of hotel availability in Abu Dhabi.

I must emphasize that this experience has been entirely unacceptable. Etihad is renowned for its customer service, yet I have never encountered such a distressing situation in my previous customer service interactions. Therefore, I am kindly requesting that Etihad takes immediate action to rectify this matter:

Confirm the hotel availability and honour the "Stopover on Us" program for my booking.

Compensate me for the time, effort, and money I have invested in trying to resolve this issue.

I trust that Etihad will uphold its commitment to customer satisfaction and address this matter promptly. I sincerely hope for a swift and satisfactory resolution so that I can continue to have confidence in Etihad's services.

I look forward to your response within a reasonable timeframe.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Zane Sawatzky

Dear Sir/Madam,

This letter/email is with respect to the delay of flight with Flight No. EY8 and Flight No. EY208 which was scheduled on 2nd June 2023 and 3rd June 2023 respectively.

I along with my wife, two minor children (toddlers) and one adult checked in the aforesaid Flight EY8 departing from Frankfurt Airport. Our PNR & Ticket Numbers and Names are mentioned at the end of this letter respectively. We were made to sit inside the airplane and wait for an outrageous amount of time that exceeded more than two hours. Further adding to the restlessness and misery we were not provided with any food, snacks, refreshments, or water even for my two kids in this preposterous situation in the airplane.

Unfortunately to our great shock and dismay we were informed that Flight EY8 was cancelled by your Airlines. Adding to our pain and misery we had to wait for 3 more hours at the Frankfurt Airport in order to receive our Baggage back from the cancelled flight. We were harassed and put through such mental agony along with the physical misery which eventually had a great effect on the health of my two children.

Subsequently on the cancellation of the Flight EY8 we were neither provided with another Flight nor were we provided with any means of accommodation by your Airlines. Your Airlines had not made any provision to even provide help to us being the stranded passengers for any kind of accommodation or travel support to reach an alternate accommodation. We had to go through the difficult task of searching for a hotel and the transport to take us to the Hotel. I reiterate that all these events took place after the wait of over 5 hours due to delay/cancellation of Flight EY8.

The next day i.e., 3rd June 2023 your Airlines had not provided us with any kind of transport or assistance to reach the Frankfurt Airport. With great struggle we arrived at the Airport at our own personal cost and we were further harassed and made to wait in the line for Luggage check-in as the Online check-in of your flight had ceased to function.

Furthermore, the connecting Flight from Abu Dhabi on 3rd June 2023 which was scheduled for 9:25 a.m. was delayed due to the delay of Flight EY8.

The flight was delayed for almost 13 hours and I along with my family had to take up accommodation service from a third party. On account of accommodation, I have incurred a cost for to and fro transportation by third party from the Airport to the accommodation and back to the Airport, The expenses were incurred by me, as despite it being the responsibility of your airline company we were not provided for the same, which please note.

We had to go through this disastrous experience along with my two children which caused a great amount of mental pain and agony and eventually resulted in the downfall of the health of my two children.

I would therefore like to inform you that I am entitled to a Full refund including the cost of flight tickets, accommodation and to and fro transportation under the presiding law.

Therefore, through this letter I call upon you to pay an amount within 7 days from the receipt of this letter/email failing which I shall be constrained to take legal action against your company.

PNR: MKEY82

Name & Ticket No's

Mr. Prateek Anil Mittal: 607 [protected] – 60

Mrs. Radhika Mittal: 607 [protected] – 62

Miss. Ahaana Prateek Mittal (06 yrs): 607 [protected] – 66

Mst. Aariyan Mittal (03 yrs): 607 [protected] - 64

PNR: Q2E9DP

Mrs. Durga Khadka: 607 [protected] - 80

Kindly note if we don't get an response & refund within next 7 days,

Thanks & Regards,

Mr. Prateek A. Mittal

This female cabin crew from Singapore has uploaded my nude picture as her whatsapp profile picture causing me major distress and she has repeatedly asked me for money. To add on to that, she has also made away with my mother’s $4000 watch and has since cut all communication with leaving me to wonder what is going on. I am already in contact with Etihad Airways and an internal investigation is ongoing and i am posting this here to just let everyone be careful about this crew as she is capable of anything. I hope Etihad Airways will revert soon.

Hello, I booked two tickets # [protected], and # [protected].

I was issued travel bank credits for 2 years, as compensation.

However, it has been 1.5 years and I have never received such credits or even my travel bank account login details.

It is outright fraud by Etihad Airways, and I will be suing them in the UK, as per Consumer Rights Act.

I am optimistic for a cash refund in my bank, and not travel bank or credits.

I still hope for a solution amiably and do not wish to escalate issue to courts.

Regards,

Hamza Sana.

Hi , I am travelling to BKK and connecting in Abu Dhabi with 11 yr old daughter. we have a 10+ hour layover and meet your criteria to be eligible for a free stop over hotel. However, your booking tool shows no availability and I tried to contact via chat and phone multiple times and no one is able to help. I finally resorted to making my own booking at the Premier inn Abu Dhabi international (your approved partner hotel) as I am taking my child and cannot risk spending overnight at the Airport or the lounge and continue my journey to Bangkok. I am given to understand that there are only certain rooms available for transit passengers and sometimes they can be unavailable. This is a 10+ hour layover and one of the big incentive for etihad is the stop over program which encourages people to get out of airport and do shopping , learn about culture and contribute to local economy by means of shopping. You have a policy in place rightly to serve your customer and that is really good. Issue is, the hotels show availability, but you do not. my humble request is to refund me $85 which I paid directly (upon showing a receipt) for the hotel stay at premier Inn Abudhabi airport, your partner hotel. I followed the rules, so I believe it is only fair to refund the hotel charges for the transit stop over.

Morning

Once again I have been intouch with customer service as my friend who I was travelling with had received his voucher and pin no

I as yet are running round in circles and I’ve received nothing!

I don’t understand why I’ve not received mine as we been incontact with you with the same emails. we need to book another flight

I am owed 2430 dirhams in a etihad credit too ! Booking ref VGICGU

VGICGU

EMAIL [protected]@hotmail.co.uk

Dear sir,

I would like to share you my most bitter experience from ETIHAD and I need a solution!

I had reserved four tickets for me and my family on 25th April 2023 through ETIHAD ticket reservation service.my booking reference is M8CTAD and the travel was planned from KUWAIT KWI to COCHIN COK via ABU-DHABI and the payment was made through my debit card.due to some personal reasons i (GOKUL MURALEEDHARAN) had to cancel my ticket and the other three to travel. I tried for cancellation and refund through ETIHAD website on 7th JUNE. but from the website I couldn’t find a cash refund other than a voucher offer.so I chose online chat agent support for refund. The chat agent #1891486 agreed for a cash refund around 137 KWD as my original ticket price was 167kwd and I was informed it will take 7-45 days for the refund. i agreed and left the chat.later after 10 days I did a follow up with agent #1966225 regarding the progress of refund .the response form that end was shocking. this agent was telling there is no request made for refund. And he/she can raise the refund of 12KWD instead of 137KWD which I cannot accept. i am good if ETIHAD can provide me the voucher back .i cannot waste my time on this and I need a solution ASAP. Each and every day I am following up with your agent through face book messenger too .i am not receiving a convincing response from that end too .kindly consider this matter seriously and give me a fine solution on this matter which will not force me to move on to consumer court ,social media support and never to suggest or use ETIHAD ever in my life or my known’s as I lost all my trust on ETIHAD. I am also attaching you the chat transcripts for your reference.

i have paid extra Charges for 5 KG Baggage for 2 guests on 19 Feb'23 online on Etihad Airways website. it was through credit Card of India.

Today your team is saying we have not received the payment. i have the credit Card payment statement, which says clearly that i had made the payment.

Tomorrow i am flying back to India with my Mother, she is 80 Years Old and i am facing mental stress due to this, we need your immediate intervention on this.

I have paid 18% TAX on this transaction plus conversion charges

Etihad Airways Case Reference [protected] CRM:[protected]

Etihad Airways Case Reference [protected]

Please find the Pics attached for Pilferage open baggage at the airport.- MUMBAI AIRPORT PICS ATTACHED

March 29th, It was 230 am , Etihad employee advised us to call Customer care within 48hrs and report the incident.

Etihad Airways employee did not create a report as he said - Office is closed at 2am in the morning and he doesn't belong to case filing department .

ETIHAD EMPLOYEE - DINT NOT REPORT THE INCIDENT.

So we followed the steps directed by Etihad Employee.

Please call us on +[protected] for further clarifications.

We bought online tickets (Q738Q6) with stop over in Abudhabi package which offers free accomodation.

Now once the tickets were purchased, we tried to put our booking reference to book the hotel but the page dont work & takes you to etihad airways holidays page. Raised this issue to Etihad holidays customer support and they say send screenshot and later reply that its fixed check now, but it never gets fixed - nothing changes and the time is lost in emails with customer service.

Now as you get close to your travel date, you don't have a hotel booking and so you cannot apply for transit visa and so on...Now you need to cancel or reschedule your flights - of course they will charge lot of money to do that. If you buy other airline ticket the prices have gone up already. All your travel/holiday plans are lost.

Dear Etihad Airways Team,

I hope this email finds you well. I am writing to express my disappointment and to request compensation for the significant inconvenience and financial loss I experienced due to the delay of my flight from Abu Dhabi to Toronto, which had a major impact on my job commencement.

On January 23rd, I was scheduled to travel from India to Toronto via Abu Dhabi on Flight EY0141. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control, the connecting Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi to Toronto departed without me and several other passengers. As a result, I was provided accommodation and stayed at the airport for two days and one night, which caused immense inconvenience and additional expenses.

While I appreciate the accommodation provided during the extended delay, I must emphasize the significant impact this delay had on my professional commitments. I had accepted a job offer in Toronto, and the original plan was to arrive on January 23rd to allow sufficient time for settling in and preparing for my new role, which was scheduled to commence on January 24th. However, due to the flight delay, I was unable to join my new job as planned, causing me substantial stress and concern.

The delay in my arrival not only disrupted my settling-in process but also resulted in missed opportunities for orientation and training, as well as potential setbacks in establishing rapport with my colleagues and supervisors. Moreover, I had to reschedule important appointments related to housing, banking, and other essential matters, incurring additional expenses and creating unnecessary inconvenience.

I understand that flight delays can occur for various reasons, and I recognize the efforts made by your airline to provide accommodations. However, I believe it is the airline's responsibility to ensure that passengers not only receive suitable accommodations but also receive fair compensation for the inconveniences and losses incurred, particularly when it significantly impacts their professional obligations.

I kindly request that you review my case and consider providing compensation for the financial losses and professional setbacks I experienced due to this unfortunate incident. I have attached copies of the receipts and documents that verify the additional expenses I had to bear, as well as the correspondence related to my job offer and the impact of the flight delay on my job commencement.

I would appreciate a prompt and fair resolution to this matter. I value your airline's commitment to customer satisfaction and trust that you will take the necessary steps to rectify this situation, acknowledging the disruption caused to my professional commitments and the financial losses incurred.

I look forward to your understanding and a positive response from your airline. Please contact me at natasha.francis.[protected]@gmail.com/ (+[protected] to discuss this matter further.

Thank you for your attention to this issue. I remain hopeful for a satisfactory resolution.

Yours sincerely,

Natasha Francis Fernandes

Email: natasha.francis.[protected]@gmail.com

Phone: (+1)[protected]

I had to my calculations AED 3 851,73 left in my travel bank and when I enquired about it on the 30th May 2023, I was informed that it does not reflect in my account anymore, because I should have used this money before the 25th March 2023.

Now this is where the issue started, on 21st April 2022 I received an email from Etihad telling me I have AED 2313.66 which is due 20 June 2022 and my available balance is 12419,66 AED.

I then used the above money and then again on 25th December 2022 I received an email telling me that 5053.00 AED will expire on 25th March 2023, and my available balance is 8904.73 AED.

I then used the 5000 AED to buy an air ticket for my husband J A Bezuidenhoudt to Australia(his guest no is [protected])

Now my question is and my problem is that after the email dated above, I have not received any warning to tell me when the outstanding amount of 3 851,73 AED will expire.

I feel strongly that I should have received an email same as the other to confirm to me when the last monies will fall due or will expire and that has not been done, because clearly the email of the 25th December only refers to 5053 AED will expire on the 25th March 2023 and nothing about the rest that is still outstanding. I am a resident in Abu Dhabi