Hello all,
Just wanted to say that after 10 months, I finally got a resolution from Etihad in the form an Etihad travel credit of $275, to cover the $100 I paid to Jetblue and $175 I paid to Emirates. They completely ignored my comments about the promised transportation to Abu Dhabi, but at this point I'll take what I can get. Initially I contacted Jetblue, who told me that the charge was correct and "You're not getting that money back." Emirates just told me to contact Etihad as they were just the carrier I was rerouted on to (at the minimum, at least they could have allowed me on the bus in Dubai). Etihad initially denied my claim when I finally got to them in June, over two months later (I should have pushed Etihad more initially, in hindsight. Etihad had told me to contact Jetblue and Emirates first and see what they say--I guess everyone wants to pass the buck). In the denial letter, Etihad said they would forward my details to Jetblue, as they were the operating carrier, as well as this gem:
"Turning to your concerns regarding the benefit of additional baggage allowance offered to our Etihad Gold Guests, please be advised that this feature is applicable on revenue tickets for Etihad Airways operated flights and our equity partners only. This information is published on the Etihad Guest website and can be viewed under keypoints section."
Spoiler: there was nothing on the website that makes any distinction between 'equity partners' and regular codeshare partners. I pointed to Etihad and Jetblue's own websites which say Jetblue follows Etihad's allowance--their argument seemed to be that this was true, but only for the base allowance (2 bags of 50 pounds for economy passengers)--any additional allowance based on status apparently didn't count. I then tried to give Jetblue the benefit of the doubt, and gave them 30 days to respond. They never bothered to contact me, and once 30 days were up, I made a dispute with my credit card company. Unfortunately, I started the dispute 124 days after the date of travel, and the bank said they could only handle disputes made within 120 days, per Visa rules. In any case, Jetblue still responded and sent the bank a copy of the boarding pass and receipt indicating my payment. Of course, I wasn't disputing that I made the payment, I was disputing being required to do so in the first place.
At that point I let it sit for a while, but in January enlisted the help of a consumer advocate that is well known here, Christopher Elliott, of elliott.org. They handled my inquiry, but Etihad initially still believed that the excess baggage allowance only applied on their own flights or on their equity partners, and only offered $100 as a 'goodwill' gesture:
Regarding the benefit of additional baggage allowance offered to our Etihad Gold Guests, this is applicable only on Etihad Airways operated flights and our equity partners. As you were travelling from Orlando on JetBlue, the additional baggage allowance was not applicable for your flight.
However, in this instance as a gesture of goodwill gesture, I would like to offer you a travel credit for the value of USD100.00, which you can use towards future flights or ancillary services provided by Etihad Airways.
I'm not quite sure what the advocate said to them after that, but they finally agreed that DOT Rule 399.87 was not followed. This rule requires that the baggage allowance of the marketing carrier of any flight originating from or arriving in the US be followed. In this case, my ticket was from Etihad and their entire rules (including premium allowances) should be followed:
Upon further review of your concerns, we agree that the baggage policy of the marketing carrier applies throughout the entire itinerary of your Etihad Airways ticket and as such you should not have been charged for the third piece of baggage on Jet Blue or when rerouted on Emirates.
Although this is not an Etihad Airways error, to support the resolution we will offer you a Travel credit for the value of USD275.00, and we will try to recover this from Jet Blue and Emirates as this was charged incorrectly.
Should you wish to accept this offer please let me know and I will create a travel bank account linked to your Etihad Guest account and the credits will be added to your Travel Bank account, which you can use towards future flights or ancillary services provided by Etihad Airways. You can refer to our website for further details on Etihad Travel Bank
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address your concerns and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
DOT Rule 399.87
§ 399.87 Baggage allowances and fees.
For passengers whose ultimate ticketed origin or destination is a U.S. point, U.S. and foreign carriers must apply the baggage allowances and fees that apply at the beginning of a passenger's itinerary throughout his or her entire itinerary. In the case of code-share flights that form part of an itinerary whose ultimate ticketed origin or destination is a U.S. point, U.S. and foreign carriers must apply the baggage allowances and fees of the marketing carrier throughout the itinerary to the extent that they differ from those of any operating carrier.
I think it should be noted that 399.87 came into force in 2012, and Etihad agents may still not be aware that this rule trumps IATA Rule 302 when it comes to flights to/from the US. With 399.87, the Marketing Carrier rules apply. My ticket was from Etihad, and therefore Etihad's allowances should apply.
I got a Twitter message assurance that I would be accommodated from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, but nothing in physical writing, so I didn't have much of a leg to stand on when it came to compensation for the 80 mile transport from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
Lesson: Keep records of everything, but beyond that, if you are on a code share, print out the luggage allowances from every applicable website (e.g. Etihad, the code share partner, and the DOT 399.87 page). Even if the phone agents say one thing, it's ultimately up to the counter check in agent whether to allow an additional bag in with or without a fee, despite your status with the marketing carrier. If you have an issue, send out complaints to all involved airlines initially, not just the one your ticket was on. If you are not receiving any positive results, file a dispute with your credit card company within 120 days. If you want to enlist the help of a consumer advocate they will require that you can show you've exhausted all possible routes of appeal. I did everything but file an official DOT complaint before I went to the advocate.
Overall, I'm ok with the result, but it should definitely not have taken me this long to get a positive response, and Etihad/Jetblue/Emirates should have known the rules all along, especially when we gave them the DOT rules that were violated. I reiterated that I hope this serves as a lesson to them that premium members on code share flights are entitled to an additional bag. They said they will look into that, but I've also made a formal complaint with the DOT regarding this (after I received my compensation). I mentioned that I was not looking for more reimbursement, but hoped that Etihad hearing from the DOT would make sure Etihad changed their rules and informed their code share partners. I am sure I am not the only person who's been affected by this, but perhaps I'm the only one who bothered to complain (DOT monthly report for Februrary says Etihad only received 3 complaints about baggage in February). I'm sure there are quite a number of premium members flying on code share partners connecting on to an Etihad flight, who may wish to take an additional bag. So hopefully these additional allowances will be hard wired into the system from now on (fingers crossed).
I will update this thread with any responses I receive from the DOT or Etihad.