"Bad customer services"

Last time we booked Etihad Airways flights with 2 days stopover in Abu Dhabi in March, apart from finding out that our first night hotel got cancelled by the airline everything else was great.

We booked the hotel through Etihad stopover program, got booking confirmation emails for both nights. However, when we arrived at the hotel, the hotel staff told us that the first night booking got cancelled by the airline, we stayed in that hotel for the night and had to pay extra £200 for the hotel, it would have been nice to know in advance that the booking got cancelled.

Last month we booked deluxe tickets with Etihad again with 2 nights stopover option in Abu Dhabi, we selected the same hotel we stayed last time as we liked the place so much, however, we are still waiting for the hotel booking confirmation. We called Etihad about this for 6-7 times already and still doesn’t get the hotel booking confirmation, it has already been 33 days.
Every time we called, the staff said “You will get confirmation email within 24 hours” or “Someone will contact you back in 24 hours” and there was nothing, can someone let us know if we are getting to stay in the hotel we chose or do we have to look for somewhere else to stay by ourselves or should we cancel the booking and book with other airlines??

It was such a shame, we really like the in-flight service we got last time, we had a great time in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and was hoping to fly with Etihad every time from now on but I’m not so sure now

"Bad service"

Bad service, even on business class! Got charged more for my ticket than what was told verbally at gate. I made 2 inquiries to their support, 1 hasn't been answered for more than two months and counting, the other got a lackluster response after a few weeks.

"Ich fliege mehrmals im Jahr "

Ich fliege mehrmals im Jahr von Wien nach Bangkok. Bisher absolut nur gute Erfahrungen. Buchung über die App sowie auch der online Check In absolut problemlos. Die Crews waren alle immer sehr freundlich, Service und Bordverpflegung OK.

"Flug okay, Kundenservice Katastrophe"

Wir sind im Oktober 2024 mit Etihad von Frankfurt nach Male geflogen, mit Zwischenlandung auf dem Hin- und Rückflug in Abu Dhabi. Von einer kleinen Verspätung beim Abflug in Frankfurt (ca. 1 Stunde) abgesehen, verlief der Hinflug inkl. Zwischenstopp problemlos. Sitzreservierungen und Vorbestellung von vegetarischen Essen haben gut geklappt, der Service an Bord war nicht herausragend, aber okay, das Bordprogramm gut. Sehr unbefriedigend verlief der Rückflug: das Boarding in Male sollte eigentlich schon starten, als plötzlich eine Verzögerung wegen technischer Probleme an der Maschine angekündigt wurde. Nach zwei Stunden Wartezeit wurden Verzehrgutscheine verteilt, weil die Verzögerung noch immer anhielt - ohne weitere Erläuterung. Kurz nach Mitternacht, 5 Stunden nach der geplanten Startzeit hieß es, das Boarding kann jetzt beginnen. Bis zum Abflug verging nochmal rund eine Dreiviertelstunde. Die Maschine war dann auch von allen vier auf dieser Reise genutzten die am engsten bestuhlte, Beinfreiheit gleich null (wir sind mit 1,72m nicht die Allergrößten). Nach der Landung in Abu Dhabi wurden wir von - sehr freundlichem - Bodenpersonal empfangen und erhielten die Mitteilung, dass alle Anschlussflüge nach Europa weg sind und Hotelzimmer inkl. Verpflegung für den nächsten Tag in Abu Dhabi gebucht sind. Weiterflug in der nächsten Nacht um 02.30 mit der planmäßigen Maschine nach Frankfurt. Der Transfer, die Unterbringung und die Verpflegung waren komplett in Ordnung. Trotzdem haben wir nach und vor einer fast komplett schlaflosen Nacht von diesem Tag wenig gehabt. Wir hatten nur Handgepäck, die Koffer waren am Flughafen. Der Flug von Abu Dhabi nach Frankfurt in der Nacht darauf verlief planmäßig und war in Ordnung. Ärgerlich finden wir, dass es im Nachhinein nahezu unmöglich gemacht wird, Kontakt zu Etihad aufzunehmen. Weder unser Reisebüro noch wir haben eine Möglichkeit zur Kontaktaufnahme gefunden, um bzgl. einer zumindest kleinen, symbolischen Rückerstattung anzufragen. Keine E-Mail-Adresse zu finden, über die Nummer der Service-Hotline niemand erreichbar, über das Buchungsportal kein Formular, um einen Anspruch zu formulieren. Als wir die Etihad-E-Mail mit der Bitte um Feedback zum Flug nutzen wollten, war der Link abgelaufen. Unsere Schlussfolgerung: künftig nur noch Direktflug, möglichst mit einer europäischen Airline.

"Waiting for compensation since June"

Still waiting for compensation on my flights since June 2024, only to be told to wait 48 hours every time I get in touch with them. I’ve contacted them on numerous occasions repeating the same process each time. It’s been more than 50 days since I submitted my compensation claim. I was informed my case was closed as I did not reply to an email which was sent in August, which is a blatant lie. Please do not waste your money on this disgusting company! Avoid at all cost otherwise you’ll be waiting months - years for a reply from them and to be lied to again. Absolutely appalling service! They should be black listed.

"I booked a ticket for 2 adults and an…"

I booked a ticket for 2 adults and an infant under 2. Our names are long. So your website didn’t allow me to carry on. It said truncate the names and call us which I did. I spoke to your staff called Said or Syed. He said i made a mistake and i shouldn’t have truncated the names and i should pay extra to amend the names. The guidance on longer names is not clear and therefore it should be understandable. My only option is that I will have to get a refund and book it with Sri Lankan airlines.

I suffer with anxiety and depression and this is causing me stress.


Update:

Caused me so much stress so i paid extra £77 to add the truncated names via phone with their supervisor.

"AVOID Flying with them - Terrible airline. "

I had a flight to Tokyo via Abu Dhabi (Oct 2024). On my flight from London to Abu-Dhabi I had the worse experience on any commercial airline.

The check in process was extremely challenging. I arrived 74mins before the flight departed. I was told that I could not check in as the check in for economy at Heathrow closes 75mins before the flight leaves and although my i-phone shows I am 1 min before closing time, according to their computer it is 75 mins so I cannot fly. I was told if I was flying business then it wouldn’t be a problem. I complained about this showing my phone and eventually the check-in manager allowed me to have a boarding card. Stress at the start of a long journey. Great way to start with the check in staff treating you like garbage.

On the flight, I did not have the entertainment system working and reported it to staff and I was told there was nothing that could be done as there were no spare seats other than in the normal leg room (which I had not booked (I had paid for extra leg room). I was told to send an email and complain when I landed. I was not given food (main meal) as I was asleep when food was being served (I was not woken by the crew), and then told I was asleep and missed my opportunity. I could only have something to drink on the flight. Finally, the cabin crew member spilled orange juice on my trousers which was not apologised for nor was I offered any napkins to clean it up. I had to buy new trousers at the airport and change when in transit. Finally, when I arrived at Abu Dhabi airport I was informed that there was no one from customer service that I could talk to about what had happened and I would just have to write and complain - basically I was fobbed off. I was told, that at the airline main hub there was no one I could talk to us unless I was flying business or first. Economy passengers have no access to speak to anyone.

The service is very poor and I was disgusted by this and the way that customers are treated. There is no notion of customer service or making the customer feel at ease and to know the issues are being dealt with. The cabin crew seem tired and fed up, are poorly trained and the similarly with the some of the ground staff at the various lounges - very rude. I was polite the whole time and yet was constantly met with rudeness. Your airline is very far behind airlines on all fronts - fly Qatar, Emirates and Turkish which I fly regularly on and are a million times better…even the budget airlines are so much better. This is probably the worse experience I have had in 30 years of travelling.

I did send the airline an email which was typically ignored.

Avoid them and don’t fly with them - they are anything but premier and anything but customer service orientated.

"I want to share my frustrating…"

I want to share my frustrating experience with Etihad Airways, hoping to hear your thoughts. On the night of October 7, I booked a flight with a 2-night stopover in Abu Dhabi. However, I was unable to proceed with the stopover booking on the website as it kept malfunctioning. I spent the whole day trying to resolve the issue, but nothing worked. I eventually contacted their help chat, where the agent sent me a link to select three hotel options, but that link wouldn’t even open.
Since I was at work, I couldn’t spend more time on the chat at that moment, but I tried again after returning home, only to face the same issue. The agent assured me that I was still within the 24-hour window for a free cancellation and that I could cancel the ticket. However, as they were processing the cancellation, the amount they quoted didn’t match what I paid, so we kept verifying the issue. Suddenly, the agent informed me that the 24-hour window had passed, and I was no longer eligible for a free cancellation. This is completely unfair.
I escalated the issue and spoke to a supervisor, who told me it would take 24 hours to process my case. The next day, they told me it would take another 24 hours. After all this waiting, the final answer was that the free cancellation was no longer possible. I don’t think this is acceptable at all. The website still doesn’t display my booking, and the stopover hotel booking hasn't been completed.
I was extremely frustrated when Etihad rejected my stopover booking request, but I still tried to proceed with it. I even called the call center multiple times. Somehow, I managed to click through, and they told me that it was "processing." However, I haven’t received any confirmation email yet, which makes me very anxious. When I searched on Google, I found many similar complaints on Reddit from people who had issues with stopover hotel bookings, with some being overlooked or unable to book at all.
I also find it unfair that Etihad refused to refund me, claiming the 24-hour window had passed, even though the delay wasn’t my fault. The whole process has been incredibly slow and frustrating. Is it really justified to deny a refund just because the 24-hour period had exceeded due to delays caused by Etihad?

"La peor compañía del mundo. Soberbia. Incompetencia…"

Compro tres billetes y los cargan 2 veces en mi tarjeta, 5 mil euros. Se lo comunico y, tras un par de semanas, se regulariza la situación. Cuando voy a volar en Agosto, al hacer el check in me dicen que hay un problema con mi pago y que el billete está "suspendido". Billetes cobrados hace dos meses pero nos quedamos en tierra. El personal de tierra sumamente desagradable, llega a decir que cómo pretendemos volar si no he pagado los billetes (los había pagado 2 veces!!). Me hace que hable con una incompetente situada en Emiratos durante 1 hora, hasta que el avión sale sin nosotros. No se hacen cargo de los gastos incurridos por reservas de hoteles, entradas ya adquiridas. Ni contestan. Una auténtica vergüenza.

"What a nightmare "

Today was a really bad day with Etihad, the two of us traveled with the same ticket, at Dammam check-in they messed with the system, one found it and the other didn't, we had to make a stopover in Abu Dabi and then go to Doha, they made us the boarding passes only for the first route after an hour, we entered the control everything was ok, we arrived in Abu Dhabi, we had to go out to do the other check in, another hour of casino, then boarding passes ready, I check everything ok, at the gate at the last moment for me everything is fine, my colleague blocked, They made us miss the flight, after hours of discussion they made us two new tickets for 2:30 at night, and they gave us a voucher that we just managed to get a sandwich at Burger King, when they told us that it was unlimited except for alcohol, moral of the story, we left at 16:45 from Dammam and we are still here waiting for the 2:30. First and last time I take Etihad. In addition, the problem is due to some cybersecurity problems in their systems!! Never again!