Services that we have lost so far

Old Aug 10, 2017, 2:57 am
  #91  
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
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Did anyone else get that worrying survey yesterday asking which Business Class services (amenity kits, drinks) we'd be willing to pay extra for if the base Business Class fare became "bare bones"?
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Old Aug 10, 2017, 7:29 am
  #92  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 134
Originally Posted by xobile
Couple more things that have disappeared:

The onboard entertainment guide

Eligibility of Gold members to use the Business Class lounge in AUH

Bonus baggage allowance for Abu Dhabi Government employees and additional baggage allowances based on tier level no longer stack

The onboard guide is still there, its not separate on its own any longer though. Its in their in flight magazine towards the back. Not as thorough as it used to be though.
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Old Aug 10, 2017, 9:14 am
  #93  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,624
Originally Posted by flying_fozzy
Tonight saw another one for the pile.

Refusal to provide a large bottle of water on an overnight sector!

All new lows here from EY with a CM who just shrugs his shoulders and says he’s following standards!
Sorry about the delayed question. I'm assuming you asked for one of those 2-liter(?) bottles of water that the FAs pour water from?

It's not normal standards on any airline to give those bottles to individual passengers, even in J. On BA in J, they refused to give me a second personal size water bottle after I had finished the first one.
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Old Aug 10, 2017, 10:22 am
  #94  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: BOU
Posts: 110
Originally Posted by SeeBuyFly
Sorry about the delayed question. I'm assuming you asked for one of those 2-liter(?) bottles of water that the FAs pour water from?

It's not normal standards on any airline to give those bottles to individual passengers, even in J. On BA in J, they refused to give me a second personal size water bottle after I had finished the first one.
On wide-body Business Class, you can drink as many 500ml bottles as you can handle.

On narrow body J, as they don't hold the 500ml bottles, they usually provide a 1.5l bottle if you ask nicely.

In Y, take what you can get!
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Old Aug 10, 2017, 12:25 pm
  #95  
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,624
Originally Posted by ID90_J
On wide-body Business Class, you can drink as many 500ml bottles as you can handle.

On narrow body J, as they don't hold the 500ml bottles, they usually provide a 1.5l bottle if you ask nicely.

In Y, take what you can get!
Yes, so why is it such a horrible crime and an affront to human decency that flying_fozzy was refused a 1.5 liter bottle in Y?
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Old Aug 11, 2017, 7:22 am
  #96  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: KYE
Posts: 4,156
Not sure if it's been mentioned before:
1- No chocolates offered whatsoever in F nor J.
2- Tea served in a small cup instead of a proper sized mug (anyone recalls those nice kettles that have enough for 2 cups - did not see them for a while).
3- In F, despite being the only couple served, took them 10 full minutes and 2 bell calls to get water refills during a meal.
4- Shampoo/body wash in the A380 shower went from a NY-based brand with good scent and quality bottles to a Hungarian brand with impossible to squeeze bottles and horrid perfume.
5- Hot towels prior to arrival no longer offered.
6- Tooth brush from Colgate to a no-brand with poor grip and small/soft bristles.
7- Removal of cotton towels on the 787 (or could it be I was unlucky on my last flight).

I flew AUH-BEY last week seated last row in J on the 787, by the time the appetizer was served those in row 10 had already finished their dessert! They were busy clearing trays in rows 5-7 when I called a FA and asked them about our mains. I kid you not, we managed to finish our meal when over the Red Sea, did not even order a hot drink. Totally unacceptable for such a short flight, burning almost 3 hours to get through lunch.

Add to that odd placement of the tray tables in the 787, way too high - forget about being able to work on a laptop comfortably. Whoever behind this design flaw did a great job - not.
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Old Aug 11, 2017, 7:43 am
  #97  
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Location: Netherlands
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Originally Posted by xobile
Eligibility of Gold members to use the Business Class lounge in AUH
if that was ever possible, it's going back a good 5 or 6 years at least! As long as I've known Etihad, their own lounges at AUH are only for Business/First pax [except for the very very top tier of their own elites]
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Old Aug 11, 2017, 10:43 am
  #98  
 
Join Date: May 2012
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Originally Posted by irishguy28
if that was ever possible, it's going back a good 5 or 6 years at least! As long as I've known Etihad, their own lounges at AUH are only for Business/First pax [except for the very very top tier of their own elites]
Yes, they used to offer the old business class lounges in AUH to Silver, Gold & Plat.
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Old Aug 11, 2017, 4:10 pm
  #99  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by csdf
Did anyone else get that worrying survey yesterday asking which Business Class services (amenity kits, drinks) we'd be willing to pay extra for if the base Business Class fare became "bare bones"?
yes. received the survey asking what would I pay for to optimize my trip. Dear Etihad, nothing really. But you lost me as a 6 years premium customer for tickling and dining everything. Seems like Etihad's goal now is to become a budget airline. Too bad.
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Old Aug 11, 2017, 7:05 pm
  #100  
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Originally Posted by mma518
for tickling and dining everything
One of the best cell phone auto corrects I've seen in a while

Yup got the survey and suggested that all they wanted to make an extra was a bare minimum

They indicate that they'd reduce the fare to then add all of this on - just like removing everything else was going to do, has anyone seen future fares drop for a lack of Chauffeur ? For me the prices are higher than before July 3rd

Can you imagine the carnage of business class passengers not receiving a meal because their travel department was cheap and forgot to inform them whilst the passenger alongside is tucking into a premium meal

Dear Skytrax, Etihad is desperately trying to undercut Mr Walsh in his race to make Ryan Air look classy and we feel that you need to downgrade their 5 stars to a regional brand best wishes symbol. Maybe a two sea shell or something .
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Old Aug 13, 2017, 10:28 pm
  #101  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Auckland / New Delhi
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Posts: 225
So glad that we read this post. Last June we stumped up almost full whack for 2 AKL LHR trips in F, $25K as a special 25th anniversary treat in July August. After reading this thread we cancelled and got the same trip on SQ in J, fantastic product, and spent the 10K balance on some nice hotels. The reason that we were attracted to Etihad was the full no compromise service, obviously no longer there.
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Old Aug 14, 2017, 9:56 am
  #102  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: NYC
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Originally Posted by flylonghaul
I have the return sectors coming up in about a 1.5 weeks time, so will share experiences from that trip also.
any feedback on AUH-ZRH? I have a flight coming up and wondering what to expect. Its been a 8 months since I last flew EY. Do we get amenity kits on this overnight flight?
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 6:43 am
  #103  
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 335
Originally Posted by csdf
Did anyone else get that worrying survey yesterday asking which Business Class services (amenity kits, drinks) we'd be willing to pay extra for if the base Business Class fare became "bare bones"?
Just filled this out by chance seeing it as an unread email.

Must admit I was quite concerned going through it; seems to me that they are trying to go for a bare-bones product with millions of add-ons (hello budget airlines). I don't fly budget airlines for this exact reason; I want a simple all-in-one product where I know exactly what I'm getting without having to check what is an extra add-on and what's already included.

Was going to be transferring 50k amex points over to Etihad; I'll be spending them elsewhere, now.
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 6:55 am
  #104  
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Posts: 485
I wish I could sit in on some of the meetings they had discussing these points. I would love to know the thought process that went in to these changes.

How to lose return custom & alienate frequent passengers!
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 4:02 pm
  #105  
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Belgium
Programs: Etihad Guest Silver
Posts: 18
Paying an additional fee to pre-select seating in certain areas of Y (so-called 'preferred seats', a different category from legroom seats).
Side note: EK gives this for free to elite Skywards members, EY does not exempt elite Guest members from this surcharge.
Jrunway is offline  

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