Moved from EY12 to EY18?

Old Sep 16, 2017, 6:02 am
  #1  
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Moved from EY12 to EY18?

I've just had a nightmare talking with their customer services team to try to understand why they've moved me from EY12 (day flight leaving at 9am) to EY18 (an overnight flight leaving at 8pm.

According to their website I can still book myself on the EY12 as a new passenger. But their customer services team won't move me back to that flight and tell me the EY18 is not scheduled to fly on the particular date anymore - despite it still being bookable online.

Posting here to ask (a) whether anyone knows if it's likely to the be case that the EY12 is cancelled (even though still bookable) or whether I'm being messed around; (b) anyone knows what may options are - I think I'm entitled to a refund but not 100% sure (if so they've lost my business as out of principle I'd rather give emirates or qatar a chance to show me better customer service).

Flight date is 26 December Lon to Adu Dhabi....
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Old Sep 16, 2017, 8:15 am
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Under Euro rules, as they're departing the UK and have bumped you, you can demand a full refund and potentially compensation.

There is no chance at all the flight is cancelled just might have bumped a 380 off and need to find a couple of hundred seats!
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Old Sep 16, 2017, 8:52 am
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Thanks -

But pretty frustrating of Ethiad to want to treat a customer that way, as I simply want to be put back on the EY12. I won't be giving them a second chance of any bookings in future. I doubt they'll care. Well in fact they clearly don't!
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Old Sep 16, 2017, 11:47 am
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Are you flying next week by any chance? Im flying next week on Ey12 and the load is very low about 45% so I can assume it's aircraft downsizing from A380 to A340 or A330.
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Old Sep 16, 2017, 11:49 am
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Sorry just saw your flight dates. Anyway you should claim under EC261.
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Old Sep 16, 2017, 9:10 pm
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This has been happening for quite a while.. there have been a number of posts over the past couple years (I believe in AA's thread for EY redemptions) of people getting shifted from one JFK flight to another. In some of those cases I think AA may have been able to liaise and figure out a solution, but if you've booked directly with EY there may be no option than to go along with it and try to make a claim.
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Old Sep 18, 2017, 12:57 pm
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Originally Posted by Splotly
tell me the EY18 is not scheduled to fly on the particular date anymore - despite it still being bookable online.

..
why did they tell you EY18 is not scheduled to fly, if they removed you to that flight?
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Old Sep 21, 2017, 6:00 am
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Sorry, good spot/question. It's a typo - what I meant was they said that EY12 (my original flight) was no longer scheduled to fly so I couldn't be put back onto that flight...
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Old Sep 26, 2017, 5:42 am
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Slightly interesting update as follows,

I take back my comment about their customer service being poor. I just called them again and got through to an extremely pleasant and helpful person there. Explained the situation and she immediately offered either a refund or (amazingly) to be put back onto the original flight. I explained I'd already called them a week ago to ask to be put back onto the original flight but was told that wasn't possible as it was no longer scheduled to fly even though I'd told the original person I spoke to that I was still able to use their website to book a seat on the original flight. That extra info promoted her to need to speak to her supervisor and listen to the tape of the call. She called me back 10 minutes later as promised (that alone is rare nowadays - for any customer service!) and said she would process the refund straight away (but for my interest their normal policy would not have been to give a refund, but instead to reinstate me on the original flight, but they could see that wasn't appropriate in this case as I'd been miss-advised on the first call to them).

Massive shame for all concerned. They were clearly still happy and able to fly me out there on the flight that had worked for me. I was happy to try economy class out at a fantastic price of just the 450 I paid originally. But I'd already deemed them poor and unable to help based on the first call to them and booked tickets with Emirates at 3k each instead (biz class instead so not a fair price comparison but the economy Ines were about 1000 I think).

Despite the better subsequent experience with them, I can't see me giving them a second chance booking with them again - seems too much down to luck whether it's good or poor with them.
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Old Sep 26, 2017, 10:37 am
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Simply unless you get the Manchester or Australia call centres, just hang up and redial.
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Old Oct 11, 2017, 12:52 pm
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Originally Posted by Dogmatick
Simply unless you get the Manchester or Australia call centres, just hang up and redial.
There is no contact centre in Australia. But you're right, unless you get through to Manchester you have a very small chance of being successful in anything.

A friend had a similar experience where the Manchester team listened to the recording of a previous call handled in one of the UAE contact centres only to find they'd been completely misinformed.
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Old Oct 11, 2017, 2:35 pm
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Originally Posted by Speedbird676
A friend had a similar experience where the Manchester team listened to the recording of a previous call handled in one of the UAE contact centres only to find they'd been completely misinformed.
I'm having difficulty accepting that Etihad's rulebook was written in Manchester and not in the UAE.

I've found most of Etihad's call agents very good... particularly compared to other airlines like Lufthansa, Swiss, Alitalia. Oddly, BA are pretty good on the phone I must say, actually with all the bashing BA gets, and yes I too hate their onboard product, their customer service is actually very good.

Emirates has long hold times, something I've never had to endure with Etihad, and most of the phone agents are pretty unhelpful at EK.

Its actually interesting how the airlines address customer service so differently, in my experience

1. Lufthansa - Unhelpful and quite often misinformed, will often tell you the most banal thing - try at the airport.

2. Swiss - Even worst than LH, on top of being unhelpful and misinformed, they are also ok with being rude to you. When I called back because one agent was not able to deal with my request, the agent had no qualm in telling me she had heard my previous conversation with her colleague and could not help, then put the phone down. Hello? Its none of your business if I call back.

Both don't think much of long hold times either.

3. BA - Wow, even seemingly trivial requests are dealt with, polite and decent. Shame the airline onboard operates totally differently. Also, when it comes to complaints it seems this is the only airline left that abides to treating the customer as key. Whether right or wrong they will pay out compensation when valid and not try to get out on technicalities or worse lies (I'm looking at you SWISS), and further once I wrote in about a flight delay, although not eligible for statutory EU delay comp. they offered to pay the cost of the taxi home because I stated that due to the delayed arrival the person who was to pick me up was now not able to. Cheque came in days.

4. Etihad, trust me we have it good. Little to no hold times, and if at first they refuse your request, try standing your ground, more often than not they find a solution. I did get one person who said no to everything (seemingly without checking) but I hung up and retried, no issue.

5. Emirates, surprisingly bad considering their airport admin staff are if anything over trained and super efficient. The call centre staff know much less and the hold times are ridiculous.

6. Alitalia - Oh sorry, did I wake you up or did I interrupt your chat with your colleagues?! Luckily, I haven't had any issues with Alitalia, so the call wasn't changing much, but I can only imagine if I did. I was calling to check my benefits as an EY Guest Gold on AZ.

7. Vistara - really helpful, changed a business seat DEL-BOM 3 times, pushing it one hour forward each time with such simplicity.

They're not the only airlines I've flown, but I've not had to call SQ, BR, NH, CX, 9W, UA, AI, TK, AF, IB, SK, TG, GF, OS, AK, FR, U2, PG, KQ, KL, or AA.
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Old Oct 12, 2017, 9:32 am
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It's not that they wrote it there, it is that there are staff who give a damn working there and who understand what your getting at. The Al Ain crew just aren't bothered and is staffed mostly by people who haven't been given much choice but to take that job.

"You got a problem - then why you calling me, it's YOUR problem"
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Old Oct 18, 2017, 9:09 am
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Originally Posted by akalra1187
I did get one person who said no to everything (seemingly without checking) but I hung up and retried, no issue.
You probably hung up and then got through to Manchester
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Old Oct 18, 2017, 9:10 am
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Originally Posted by Dogmatick
It's not that they wrote it there, it is that there are staff who give a damn working there and who understand what your getting at. The Al Ain crew just aren't bothered and is staffed mostly by people who haven't been given much choice but to take that job.

"You got a problem - then why you calling me, it's YOUR problem"
It's a cultural thing.
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