transparent

New to Etihad... and got in on one of the sale fares over Christmas.

Now, won't be able to fly one of them. Just wondering if it's a lost cause, or if I can hope for a schedule change to cancel for free and get a refund?

I know it's common on U.S. carriers to allow this, but Etihad seems to follow a different set of rules.

SpiderFlyerTX

To piggyback off of this thread, I just received notification that my flight DFW-AUH (non-stop) no long exists on the day I am wishing to travel. As a result, they have pushed my departure back from Monday evening to Wednesday evening. Will Etihad allow me to schedule a connecting flight instead? (As reference, this was booked through Orbitz via the Christmas Day special).

Rusdude

FYI, we are discussing that here -- http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/milea...-rt-ai-95.html

P.S. Cancellation shouldn't be a problem, especially if dates are switched.

SpiderFlyerTX

Thanks Rusdude. I will look through this thread for some answers!

jjmiller69

It sounds like Ethiad is not willing to use partners because of the price we paid. My understanding is they cancelled going to 7 days a week and will continue to fly outbound on W, F, Sundays. I would think they should allow you to fly out Sunday. 2 reasons it's closer time wise to your original flight and you should have a choice of earlier or later departure. Good luck

dkfawme

How did it go, did any of you try?

I'd like to cancel my tickets altogether (for reasons having nothing to do with schedule). I had changes of 20 minutes and 25 minutes on two of my flights. It's probably not even worth attempting to cancel yet. Hoping that things change even more between now and October, when the flights are scheduled.

SpiderFlyerTX

I was able to get switched back to my original dates. Instead of the originally booked non-stop service from DFW-AUH (return), I now have DFW-CDG-AUH and AUH-JFK-DFW. It only took me about 3-4 hours (combined) on the phone with Orbitz to get everything settled.

Good Luck!

dkfawme

In case this helps anyone, I was able to cancel flights this week and get a full refund because of more significant changes in the Etihad schedule (something like 10 hours).

transparent

For reference, I was also able to cancel without penalty/fees and get a full refund due to schedule changes / flight changes. EY without my permission changed my itinerary to the direct flights (originally connecting through MAN/CDG), the timings changed by 12 hours. Fairly easy process on the EY side to get agreement on cancellation without penalty, but it took 3 calls and finally a 3-way call with my OTA (OneTravel) to finally get them to process the refund.

berkhawk

Looking to cancel as well...I thought they would be open to canceling given the super low prices on this Christmas Day price mistake but the first attempt resulted in the Etihad agent telling me to call Expedia. For those who cancelled, did you just call one of their call centers (any in particular)? I can't find an email address to offer to cancel my flight in return for a full refund (without any cancellation fees).

transparent

I just called the number listed on the Etihad website, when you enter your info under "manage my booking".

I have found that the agents vary quite a bit in terms of quality and willingness to help. The ones in the Manchester call center seem to be good.

Not sure they would be willing to let you cancel in return for a full refund... I had the same thought but luckily there was a significant schedule change. Please report back if you try.

berkhawk

Thanks - I checked and found a schedule change - 7 hours - called Etihad first (think I got the UK centre) who put a note on my file and agreed to the full refund then had me call Expedia.

TravellingMan

Thanks for all your comments. I was able to get a complete refund based on a schedule change that happened on the AUH-JNB leg. Since their tie up with SA, EY dropped one of their flights. Which lead to a lot longer layover than I wished for.

EtihadHelp

Dear TravellingMan,


We are glad to hear this was resolved for you. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you need further assistance.

Kind regards *GW

transparent

Be aware that EY's refund systems are not great. In reviewing my credit card statement, it turns out none of my approved refunds have actually been done. I've spent another frustrating round (2-3 hours) on the phone back and forth with EY and the OTA (each blaming the other) to get this resolved, and it's still in limbo.

Keep an eye on the refunds and make sure they hit your card, otherwise don't trust and wait too long or you might be out of card dispute time frame as well (which is what Amex has told me).

In this case, EY exchanged my ticket AFTER the refund/cancellation was approved, which meant my OTA could not use the waiver code provided, and then when the OTA asked EY about it (after I called), EY tells OTA that the ticket was flown??