nevillek

So I had a flight all the way to Detroit via Abu Dhabi/Chicago at 9:35pm tomorrow. I arrived at the check-in counter at 8:35pm which was right in time, as their rules state check-in closes 60 mins before departure. My grandmother was admitted to the hospital in the evening because of which I got late.

And one of the staff members tells me check-in is closed and doesn't bother to answer anymore and walks away to chat with other staff members. Upon repeatedly trying to ask him, he says the staff has already left for the gate, etc. and I should speak to the supervisor. The supervisor acts equally cold and unbothered and tells me to dial Etihad Reservations number to speak to someone there. Obviously, the reservations guy doesn't give a s**t either and keeps me on hold forever and tells me that I should now try booking another flight paying fare differences of around $2000 and no-show/cancellation charges of $200. Then he says I need to speak to my agent who booked the flight.

Doing all this, it's already 935pm and I finally have to leave the airport and return back home.

I remember being in a similar situation with Air Canada once and the staff lady going out of her way to help me check in for the flight. I don't see why they would be so cold towards someone who had a 30 hour flight and not just a 3 hour flight at Abu Dhabi.

I even wonder if it would make any difference had I checked in online few hours prior or called the Airport office while on the way. I tried checking in online 20 hours prior but it asked me for a destination address in USA, which I was unable to enter, as my final destination was Canada (crossing the Detroit border).

Anyway, never flying this horrible airline again. Horrible people, horrible customer care.

cvision

For future reference, if you transit by car out of the country the same day just put in e.g. TRANSIT BY CAR TO CANADA.
This is afaik what you were asked to put in to those old customs forms.

On another note. It's probably going to be he said, she said, so easiest would probably be if you have paid by credit card and claim a refund through them.
If the story is true as you stated it (btw. EXACTLY 60 minutes is kinda... tight one might say and +/- 1min on the clock is... easy to accumulate, even on phones), I am not really surprised as it somewhat fits with my and the significant other's experience with EY and certain ME carriers.

If you had checked in online the only issue would be bag drop, as for calling them in advance - always a good idea if you risk running late. They may still act like a bag of ... but you gotta at least try.

Just to get some early info... booked class of service? Any FF program? Something?

m0hamed

You were late to check in. That's what the staff told you. I'm sure you would find this is precisely what would happen on other carriers. You were then directed to change your ticket.

The circumstances as to why you were late are irrelevant.

Take some responsibility and stop acting like a bull in a china shop blaming the airline for your mistake.

Often1

You say that you arrived at the check-in counter at T-60. Staff say that you did not. The reason for your late arrival is irrelevant. You just cut it too tight. The check-in deadline at BOM for EY for those flying in Y is T-60.

EY did not handle this any differently than most carriers and your use of obscenity won't change that.

Blaming EY for something which is 100% your fault is 180 degrees off.

nevillek

Lowest economy. First flight under Etihad Miles program.

They said they could only refund $125 of taxes out of the $671 fare ($533 tax, $138 base fare). I considered that laughable.

After 6 hours of struggling on the phone with Expedia, they booked another date for me with $95 in no show fees, $95 cancellation charges, and $200 fare difference.

skywardhunter

I sympathize with OP here. T-60 exactly is tight and the fact that it appears to be exactly 60 mins implies it is a little tight, however that doesn't excuse EY's behaviour. There's such a thing called customer service, which EY generally fail badly at. Furthermore if OP was able to change the flight before 9:35pm I'd wager no-show fee shouldn't have applied.

I would apportion blame equally here, to OP for cutting it too short and for EY for not being customer-centric. Even if a passenger is late some basic empathy and understanding and assisting to resolve the situation (perhaps by redirecting to the ticket office) should be the basic level of service provided.

In future just fly EK and save yourself the headache that EY is.

LondonElite

Not great customer service, but if you show up at or past the check-in time, expect to be treated according to the rules. To make an exception for the OP would, by extension, regularly delay flights and inconvenience other passengers who showed up in time.

mlqsko

This ^

irishguy28

Did you arrive 25 hours before departure?

LondonElite

And a lucky result with Expedia.

matrixwalker2012

And all this frustration could be saved if airlines would just have universal mobile app checkin with zero restrictions. I.E., have pax enter their own passport/visa info, move the document check to post security. Have a universal checked bag drop service where pax can get their own bag tags printed out, etc. I really hate dealing with checkin agents and would much rather not even see an airline's employees until I'm at the lounge or at the gate.

LondonElite

That wouldn't work for many clueless travellers, and it would lead to more frustration and delays.

irishguy28

That would mean granting access to the "secure" part of the airport to anyone - people with no ticket, or fake tickets; people with no ID, or fake IDs.

In this day and age - that is simply NOT going to happen. I know of no airport that allows unticketed passengers to pass through the security checks [perhaps some airports do, when parents see off a UM]

And even without looking or thinking of security implications - imagine how many passengers would end up airside at the wrong terminal, or in the wrong pier - and potentially so late in the process that their mistake cannot now be rectified - because no-one checked their ticket/destination until the very "end" of the airport process.

I don't see why any of this would "help" in any way - regardless of what order the security check and the passport/ticket check is performed, the baggage drop deadline is not going to be shortened by such a manoeuvre. If the baggage handling process requires that an airline sets 60 minutes as the cutoff time for checking a bag, then that won't in any way be affected by changes to the passenger handling process (unless you envisage passengers carrying their checked-in luggage to the plane with them).

brumbrum

this is simply the matter of being friendly or not friendly to the customers (or people generally). Some people like to make problems, some people not. My experience with EY is close to this, they sre simply not interested if the money are coming from the customers or their government.

are you sure? 60minutes checkin deadline is way too long in the 21st century.
well, there are of course people depending on the rules instead of common sense, that is why also I usually:
+1, machines are friendlier than the staff. Sad story...

irishguy28

Perhaps at some tiny 2-gate airport with only a handful of flights a day.

But in most larger airports, you have to allow some time for the behind-the-scenes magic to occur. A bag checked in at the desk cannot instantly be whisked to the aircraft it is due to depart on. It can take the passenger half an hour or more to get through security and find their way to the gate, and the bags too have to go through screening, and be sorted prior to being delivered to the aircraft. This all takes time, too.

If you are happy to have higher instances of delayed baggage, then by all means, reduce the baggage drop deadlines.