Holiday ruined due to Etihad
 

To all our friends:
We booked to go on a 5 day holiday to Paris.we hoped to have a great time.
Etihad airlines made sure that the first 2 days were utterly ruined.

We flew Etihad on 10th September 2015, from Chennai to Abu Dhabi (EY 0269), and Abu Dhabi to Paris(EY0037).When we reached Paris we went to the baggage carousel to pick up our bags, when our names were announced on the PA system, and we were asked to report to a counter, where a lady informed us that our bags,( and those of all travellers from Chennai on EY0269) had not been loaded onto the Paris flight from Abu Dhabi.And that they would arrive only the next day.

She asked us to fill in a form, given a reference number and told us that the bags would come next morning (11th Sept) at 9 am from Abu Dhabi and would be delivered to our address.We were asked go to another counter to get a handsome compensation of 40 U.S.D each to buy clothes with!!

The next day forenoon(11th Sep) we were contacted on phone and told that the baggage had arrived at 9am in CDG and that the baggage would be picked up for delivery from CDG airport at 300 pm, and delivered that evening.
We requested that they make is urgent, as the baggage had been lying there at the airport since 9 AM and we had no clothes or warm clothing.They promised that it would be delivered between 8 and 11 PM. We stayed up till midnight on the 11th at the apartment, not going out as we were worried that the luggage may turn up , but there was no sign of the baggage delivery.

On the 12th morning our landlady( whose mobile number also we had given the airline) said that the baggage services had called her at 12 MN on the 11th, and told her that they had too many deliveries of lost baggage from Etihad, and would deliver in the morning. ( The Worldtracer website at this point - 12th morning had an entry on our file that the baggage had been delivered!!!).
I made at least 50 to 60 calls to the Etihad lost luggage number (0183802790), was on hold for over an hour ( my landlady also tried and was put on hold for over an hour!).I also tried the baggage handling number (0781636698) and was unsucessful.
I sometimes got through and was told that they were only a messaging service and could not really help us directly, only pass the message on.
Also tried the Etihad Airlines number on the lost baggage website(world tracer) 0148166673 and the number from which we got a SMS ( 0781636698). Also entered many messages on the Etihad airline baggage lost website- Webtracer.I also tried Etihad Airlines Paris (0147423000) and could not get through.

We were really lucky in that our landlady was very upset for us, and persisted with trying all these numbers again and again and eventually got through to some responsible person who said that the baggage service was SOS delivery services, and that their number was 08250255015.

Our landlady also got through to the baggage services and got their assurance that they would deliver as soon as possible.
Finally as we were walking out for lunch at 250 pm, I got a phone call saying that they would deliver within a few minutes upto the next 2 hours? I requested them to please give us a half hour for lunch and that we would be in the apartment soon. they said they would call before delivering.
At 530 pm, my landlady called me and said that they had called her and that they would be there in 2 minutes! I went down to the street in record time and the delivery man handed me the bags, asked me to sign and went away.
Thus ended our 48 hour ordeal
The lesson:
I know that baggage does get lost at times, and that's something we have to live with.However, whenever it has happened to us in the past in British Airways, American Airlines and Lufthansa; there was always a person contactable and giving us reliable information. Also the baggage was delivered by the same or latest, the next day.

The Etihad airlines and their agents did not do the responsible thing here, and ruined 2 of only 5 days that we had planned and saved for. Also they were not easily contactable, and unreliable in that they did not tell us when they would deliver, tying us down to our apartment.
And but for the efforts of a wonderful landlady, our ordeal may have been longer.

I know that nothing will come of my letter to them,perhaps not even an acknowledgement, but I wanted all my friends to know, so that
1) they will avoid Etihad at all cost
2) if they have no alternative they will take adequate clothes in their hand baggage when travelling by Etihad
3) they will have zero expectation of the Airline trying to help if they are in trouble- perhaps that's reserved for those who book the Residence- the suite in the sky.

While I understand your situation. Etihad has been more than kind to me and I've never really had this issue. My luggage was once delayed and was delivered to my door at the time I picked. Perhaps it depends station to station and ground handling agent as well.

You baggage was delayed for 1,5 days and you are in Paris. Buy some clothes, charge Etihad and/or your travel insurance and enjoy you vacation..... that's the sensible thing to do.

Flying BRU-YUL tomorrow, just finished packing a suitcase but have minimal clothing in handbag good for 48h or more, always expect a cup of coffee to land on my knees somewhere or my suitcase getting rerouted to to NY city....

Unfortunately, when bags are delayed, it is always a huge imposition on the passenger, but it is just normal business for everyone else involved.

Making 50 phonecalls to the airline is not going to expedite the delivery...no matter which airline is involved, it nearly always ends up being handled by a third party delivery company, and they will not be filled with the same urgency as the passenger would like - even if you ring them 50 times.

There really is no better advice than to sit tight and be patient.

It also helps if you pack at least a full change of clothes in your carry-on; and bring appropriate outerwear for your destination on-board with you, rather than packing it in your carry-on luggage.

You should always plan to be able to cope for a day or two at your destination without your carry-on. It will happen to everyone, eventually, that their luggage doesn't turn up.

And incidents like this are also another reason why it's better to stay in a hotel than to rent an apartment - you don't need to sit at home all day waiting for luggage to be delivered.

I realise that your first two days were "ruined", but unfortunately, the experience would likely have been almost identical no matter which airline had lost your luggage.


Like I said above, canny travellers do this always - regardless of airline, regardless of class of travel, regardless of status. "They" should do this every time they travel - regardless of which airline they are flying.

Bags can go missing. You should try to minimise the effects. Everything you will definitely need in the first 24-48 hours of your trip should be in your carry on. Items you will find difficult to replace (identity documents, valuables, etc) should ALWAYS be carried in your carry-on.

A 1.5 day delay in luggage is just a fact of life. It won't likely be better with any other carrier. Thus, your choices are whether you ever travel again or not.

Repeated calls will show down rather than speed up delivery. Whoever it is at some delivery service in Paris who handles these things likely gave up after the 3rd or 4th call. So make the calls worth it and otherwise sit back.

The US$40/day is not to purchase clothes, it is to purchase necessities such as shampoo and the like. You had a very generous carry-on allowance and it is presumed that passengers carry at least the first few days of clothing in the carry ons. To be frank, given just how generous the allowance is, I cannot imagine checking a bag on a 5-day trip at all. Just to much waiting around, even if it is on time.

The bottom line here is that if you really want to purchase expensive clothing, you will need to have in place the proper level of travel insurance. Understand that even if the entire bag was destroyed with all its contents, the maximum liability for an air carrier on an international journey is approx. US$1,600.

I would go to Galleries Lafayette and splurge :D:D:D

Which you are free to do. I would not, however, expect more than the US$40 offered.

I thought Etihad was known to have poor ground handling/services?

Having a decent travel inconvenience insurance is a must (e.g. mine provides 800 euros after an 8 hour baggage delay). Booking a hotel instead of an apartment is another convenience, as the suitcase can be delivered at any time while you do not have to adjust your schedule.

That doesn't make it ok.. just because they're 'known for it'

why was the luggage delayed - was it a short connection? If it was then they need to look at this.- solve the cause not the result.
having to deal with the airline and insurance company is just double the trouble. The airline should be more responsible- but its Etihad after all.

Which insurance gives 800 euros after 8 hours?

2 days is an average time for this kind of issue. You need to remember that there is a big logistic behind this and the company may not be the one performing ground tasks and reroute your luggages to the next plane, and also they often use services of mailing companies for the delivery from airport to your hotel/home (which again can extend your issue)

My two similar cases were with lufthansa and airfrance

Lufthansa delivered the luggage the 30 hours after the flight to my home , as promised , and i was quite lucky cause i had another flight few hours later. AirFrance took 4 days to bring me back my luggage , this time they removed the locker , and when i checked some items were missing (shampoo and alcohol)

40 dollars per day is quite nice as a compensation, and as irishguy said , take everything important in your hand luggage , except forbidden items , and also some clothes for 2/3 days.

Amex