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Beginning of the end of chauffeur service?

Beginning of the end of chauffeur service?

Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:05 am
  #1  
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Beginning of the end of chauffeur service?

Just received this from Etihad:

We wanted to let you know about some changes we are making to our Etihad Chauffeur service.

Our free Chauffeur Service will continue to operate to and from anywhere in the UAE, for eligible First and Business Class guests.

From 3 July 2017, a paid airport transfer service will replace our Chauffeur Service at all other destinations . This new service will be available to our guests across all cabins, and includes a wide range of vehicle choices to suit individual requirements. Guests can also earn Etihad Guest Miles on every journey.

Guests travelling in The Residence on our A380 will continue to receive complimentary Chauffeur Services at all A380 destinations.

All First and Business Class tickets (with the exception of Business Saver tickets), booked before 3 July 2017, can still book and confirm the Etihad Chauffeur service worldwide. For any ticket issued on 3 July or after (including re-issued tickets), the new policy will apply.
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:07 am
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Got the same mail. Shows the financial difficulties EY is in... ...wouldn't be surprised if EK follows suit at some stage, at least with restricting further fare types...
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:10 am
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" For any ticket issued on 3 July or after (including re-issued tickets) " Re-issued is a bit crud

" Guests can also earn Etihad Guest Miles on every journey " Anyone give a damn about these few miles, anyone anyone, Bueller ?

I bet the prices go up to reflect the change
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:14 am
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And of course they didn't change the website first to reflect this, oh God there's going to be another five page thread on semantics
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:16 am
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The ME airlines are slowly going down the BA route who now live in Ryanair's backyard.
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:23 am
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To remove them for F passengers as well seems stupid unless it wasn't worth it for the Chauffeur company to have the stand etc to pickup a maximum of nine passengers off a 380


How I remember the days when a Y passenger with a guest gold card got free cars !
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 2:35 am
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Originally Posted by Dogmatick

How I remember the days when a Y passenger with a guest gold card got free cars !
Yes, the good old days. Also access to the old Business lounge in AUH, where you could spend 20 minutes walking around looking for a seat.
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 3:35 am
  #8  
 
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Originally Posted by UAuhoh
Just received this from Etihad:

We wanted to let you know about some changes we are making to our Etihad Chauffeur service.

Our free Chauffeur Service will continue to operate to and from anywhere in the UAE, for eligible First and Business Class guests.

From 3 July 2017, a paid airport transfer service will replace our Chauffeur Service at all other destinations . This new service will be available to our guests across all cabins, and includes a wide range of vehicle choices to suit individual requirements. Guests can also earn Etihad Guest Miles on every journey.

Guests travelling in The Residence on our A380 will continue to receive complimentary Chauffeur Services at all A380 destinations.

All First and Business Class tickets (with the exception of Business Saver tickets), booked before 3 July 2017, can still book and confirm the Etihad Chauffeur service worldwide. For any ticket issued on 3 July or after (including re-issued tickets), the new policy will apply.
Worth clicking on the link to the web that goes in the more detailed explanation which quite frankly is a load of b****cks!

Etihad Airways is introducing a series of changes designed to offer increased value and flexibility based on customer feedback

I wonder just how they think that to existing First and Business class passengers this offers increased value or indeed flexibility. As business class passenger I could chose whether or not to use the offered chauffeur service as part of the ticket and as such there would only be a cost to Etihad if I used it. So no change in flexibility so where will there be added value. No indication of cost of the drive and no indication of any reduction in prices so no value.

Mohammad Al Bulooki, Executive Vice President Commercial for Etihad Airways, says on the web: Etihad Airways is constantly looking at ways to improve its value proposition for guests, focusing on the service elements that are most important to them"

Some news for you sir the chauffeur is for the majority of my flights from Manchester is not important it is the decider as to whether I fly with Etihad so I will be looking at other airlines in future.

Sorry and I wonder how many more you will loose!
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 4:04 am
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Beginning of the end of chauffeur service?

Would it not be better to say Beginning of the end of Etihad?
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 5:04 am
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It was only a matter of time, it is a very competitive environment and there is a lot of political pressure as well to be absolutely sure there is not state subsidy.

While it is a distinguishing feature, it just cannot be sustainable
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 5:26 am
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Originally Posted by amnicoll
...

Some news for you sir the chauffeur is for the majority of my flights from Manchester is not important it is the decider as to whether I fly with Etihad so I will be looking at other airlines in future.

Sorry and I wonder how many more you will loose!
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.
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 5:38 am
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It's good that I now have increased flexibility when I fly to MAN. I can get a taxi, take the train or get a bus to my final destination. If I'm lucky, it might even be a double-decker bus!
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 12:43 pm
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Since (as already noted above) few other airlines offer limo service in J, it is not reasonable to be angry at EY for dropping this unusual perk. (I realize that FT is a home for obsession over trivia, e.g. all the angst across FT over what free champagne you will get on board when you could just buy whatever champagne you want and drink it at home. If you're flying J or F, you're not poor.)

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.

Now whether they should attempt to describe this change as an improvement "based on customer feedback" and so forth is a different matter. It is never a good idea to insult the intelligence of your customers.

Last edited by SeeBuyFly; Jun 22, 2017 at 12:57 pm
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 1:02 pm
  #14  
 
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I'm fine with them changing it for future bookings or if I make a modification to my travel plans. However, if my ticket get's re-issued due to EY having a schedule change and they won't honor the existing chauffeur booking as a result, that won't fly (no pun intended) with me.

I have a trips booked through September where I purposely booked EY and paid for a more expensive J ticket to include the service and if they don't honor it due to a schedule change on their part, that's not right. Hopefully they would offer a refund (haha) as one would not be getting a service they paid for when initially purchasing a ticket.

Last edited by umaa83; Jun 22, 2017 at 1:11 pm
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Old Jun 22, 2017, 1:34 pm
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Originally Posted by LostAntipod
What airlines provides limo's around the world for J class pax, apart from EK ?....
Why fly EY at all, with a change of aircraft (usually involving remote parking), no EQM in any major alliance, F&B standards already much lower than before with more cuts to come? The free limo was one of the few perks one could have which other carriers did not offer - when that is gone, why bother flying EY?
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