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Beginning of the end of chauffeur service?

Beginning of the end of chauffeur service?

Old Jun 22, 2017, 6:56 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 984
Originally Posted by LostAntipod
What airlines provides limo's around the world for J class pax, apart from EK ?
  • airberlin on flights where AUH is the origin, stopover or destination
  • Oman Air
  • Qantas on flights between Australia, DXB and LHR
  • SriLankan Airlines at LHR
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Old Jun 23, 2017, 5:05 am
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by LostAntipod
What airlines provides limo's around the world for J class pax, apart from EK ?

Ironic isnt it. If passengers cant afford the minicab to the airport but want to fly premium... should we wonder why airlines keep cutting benefits....?

Good luck with your search. I've been travelling QR more often lately.

Spare a thought for the drivers, this will impact them. Some I know will be glad to have fewer obnoxious City bankers to put up with. Others will be worrying how to meet the repayments on the shiny new Audi A8 they bought off the back of this workload.
True that it is just EK who provide the chauffeur but for many of my flights the 08.00 flight I catch from Manchester relies on the chauffeur. If I need to add to the stress of the trip to the airport and hope and pray the "mini cab" arrives and pay the extra then Etihad loses its competitive advantage. I can easily reach Manchester for the Qatar lunch time departure but not for the morning Etihad departure. The chauffeur company used by Etihad in Manchester have been consistently reliable,friendly and have provided a truely excellent service.
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Old Jun 23, 2017, 8:11 am
  #18  
Zol
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Any news on how much they are going to charge for booking at outstations?
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Old Jun 23, 2017, 9:47 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by Zol
Any news on how much they are going to charge for booking at outstations?
In this era of Uber does it even matter?
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 3:55 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by Zol
Any news on how much they are going to charge for booking at outstations?
Interesting question and one no doubt they can not answer.

before the service was withdrawn I asked about cost of extra Klms from Bangkok and was told to contact the car hire company - interesting when previously I had asked for contact details from Etihad they would not provide them!
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 4:40 am
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by SeeBuyFly
Nothing that costs the business money can really be free to customers, and in principle, dropping this perk will allow them to reduce fares. OK, probably not noticeably, but the savings go into the mix in some way.
Umm yeah... Good luck with that.
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 6:42 am
  #22  
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
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Leaving etihad

This with this shocking news I received on thursday, Ive just burnt all my miles with EY and will leave them after my last flight at the end of this year.

This is the last nail in the coffin for me, as I've also noticed a drastic change in their service. Their cabin crew on my last flight to MAN were complaining how bad things are, and are not even given enough products on board, which is embarrassing. Chauffeur service for me was essential , and I don't have any reason to stay with them any more. The fares have also been hiked by 25%, the service is dropping drastically, I am struggling to find a reason to stay with them!

Ive just fired an email to EY explaining that they have lost a platinum member who's been loyal since 2006. Its a shame really as they started off really well....
Im looking at EK, AF or TK as an alternative but looks like I'm be going to EK for now.

Cheers everyone.
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 2:26 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by akalra1187
In this era of Uber does it even matter?
For someone who finds the taxis in the UAE dirty and dangerous, I'm surprised you brought this unreliable mess of a company up
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 2:29 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by amnicoll
Interesting question and one no doubt they can not answer.

before the service was withdrawn I asked about cost of extra Klms from Bangkok and was told to contact the car hire company - interesting when previously I had asked for contact details from Etihad they would not provide them!
Others may also remember that a couple of years ago they were offering a paid Chauffeur out of LHR direct via their website. It was 70 at the time which isn't cheap but is about par for a limo service

And of course we won't be seeing 140 coming off the price of the tickets, at last check they had gone even higher

The mentality I've always found in the ME is that if savings are needed then they must all be made immediately regardless of the impact on the wider business

So well done EY you can retrofit the 380s with some Y upstairs as that's all you're going to be good for pretty soon and I will wager they're the first to introduce the new eleven across 380 seating in Y as well
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 2:30 pm
  #25  
 
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Bets on a Global sale starting on the 4th of July !
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Old Jun 24, 2017, 4:28 pm
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Dogmatick
For someone who finds the taxis in the UAE dirty and dangerous, I'm surprised you brought this unreliable mess of a company up
Uber in Dubai is considerably better than a Dubai taxi. What's your point?
Not to mention I've had better cars and drivers in Ubers than local cabs in:

- Milan
- Taipei
- Bangkok
- HK
- Singapore

Equal to local cabs in:

- Tokyo
- Paris

There is no Uber in Abu Dhabi, so that may be relevant, but in Dubai the Ubers are vastly superior to Dubai taxis.

There aren't many Londoners for whom Uber hasn't become part of daily life, when you consider parking and congestion charge, whether or not you own a car, an Uber is still more sensible for a lot of journeys within town.

I guess 'oop narth' the petrol is cheap and the roads are clear, sadly in most urban areas this has become a fantasy for us.

Last edited by akalra1187; Jun 24, 2017 at 8:16 pm
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Old Jun 25, 2017, 5:26 am
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by den3aah
This with this shocking news I received on thursday, Ive just burnt all my miles with EY and will leave them after my last flight at the end of this year.

This is the last nail in the coffin for me, as I've also noticed a drastic change in their service. Their cabin crew on my last flight to MAN were complaining how bad things are, and are not even given enough products on board, which is embarrassing. Chauffeur service for me was essential , and I don't have any reason to stay with them any more. The fares have also been hiked by 25%, the service is dropping drastically, I am struggling to find a reason to stay with them!

Ive just fired an email to EY explaining that they have lost a platinum member who's been loyal since 2006. Its a shame really as they started off really well....
Im looking at EK, AF or TK as an alternative but looks like I'm be going to EK for now.

Cheers everyone.
I am 100% with you on this but have yet to fire off email (it is drafted) - Etihad have no understanding of the concept of loyalty and I was like you a strong supporter of the airline but have become disillusioned. I can live with things like the lack of amenity bag but things have gone too far.

What will happen is those of us like you and me for whom Etihad was the complete product will transfer (and like you I am looking at Emirates) and yield will fall, so Etihad will have to reduce the price further to fill up the cabin and soon they will be competing with the like of Turkish for the bargain basement
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Old Jun 25, 2017, 10:33 am
  #28  
 
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Its depressing the more I think about it. I genuinely liked EY and always tried to convince people to try it. Im not sure where this airline is heading at the moment. They clearly don't care if they provide a basic service, and don't think are interested in competing with QR and EK anymore.

this is the rubbish response I received from EY today:
"Thank you for letting us know about your disappointment with the current changes to the Etihad Complimentary Chauffeur Policy.

Please allow me to explain that Etihad Airways constantly reviews its service proposition and having evaluated our ground transportation option a replacement paid service is being added.

Customer research has indicated that the chauffeur service is important to only a small portion of our premium guests. As such keeping this feature separate from the core fare component will contribute to lower airline fares while still providing our guests the option of adding this service if required at an additional fee.

We do value your continued patronage and certainly appreciate your disappointment with these changes. I am very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you, once again for writing to us and please be assured that we do listen to our guests feedback. I hope that you continue to travel with us being mindful of the fact that Etihad Airways is trying very hard to ensure that we provide our guests with a consistently high level of service."

Ive just burnt all my miles with them and have cancelled my credit card. I very much doubt the fares will drop - and if so, by how much?

time will tell if this was a smart move ...

Cheers


Originally Posted by amnicoll
I am 100% with you on this but have yet to fire off email (it is drafted) - Etihad have no understanding of the concept of loyalty and I was like you a strong supporter of the airline but have become disillusioned. I can live with things like the lack of amenity bag but things have gone too far.

What will happen is those of us like you and me for whom Etihad was the complete product will transfer (and like you I am looking at Emirates) and yield will fall, so Etihad will have to reduce the price further to fill up the cabin and soon they will be competing with the like of Turkish for the bargain basement
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Old Jun 26, 2017, 6:24 am
  #29  
 
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Customer research has indicated that the chauffeur service is important to only a small portion of our premium guests

First one must ask about the methodology used and how representative the sample was and were the questions phrased in such a way as to avoid bias.

Second the wording is very careful as they say small portion of our premium guests which suggests the data is not weighted by frequency of use and this small proportion could actually represent a larger proportion of trips made in the Premium cabin if it is the frequent users who value it
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Old Jun 30, 2017, 2:45 am
  #30  
 
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redeeming a week in NYC with F Apartments in Aug-Sept to get the last likely benefit of a NYC transfer (which I valued highly)
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