I am starting this discussion to try and get the opinion of fellow Gold Elite members with regard to cabin crew recognition of such passengers.

This is the beginning of my second year as a Gold Elite member. I travel reasonably often and usually in business class. A few months ago I flew Washington to Abu Dhabi and was upgraded from Business to First. During the flight, the cabin crew manager came to my seat and asked me if I would like to join the Etihad Guest programme. I showed him my boarding pass and indicated to him that I was already a Gold Elite member. He looked embarrassed and apologised profusely.

Last month I flew from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi in Business. In the galley shortly after take off, I glanced at the piece of paper which the cabin crew fill out with regards to passenger requests, namely beverages, meals and seat numbers. On this piece of paper, I also noticed a small box in which the passengers' Etihad Guest status should be recorded. However, this was blank for all passengers. During both post take off drinks and meal service, it didn't seem to matter whether you were at the front, in the middle or at the back of the cabin with regards to who got served first. It seemed a bit of a lottery. When I eventually got served my meal, I asked the cabin crew staff how come as a Gold Elite member I was last to be served with both my post take off drink and meal. He explained that they did not have a record on the passenger manifest of members' guest status. I found this hard to believe and politely told him so. I told him that on one occasion as a Gold member I flew to and from Muscat in economy and I got the fast-track immigration card when flying back to Abu Dhabi because the crew obviously knew of my status.

These are just a couple of recent examples of my slight dissatisfaction with lack of acknowledgement / recognition of my Gold Elite status by cabin crew members. Once or twice is understandable, but when it happens frequently then this is a different story.

Do any fellow Gold Elite members have any similar experiences?