tangey

The carrier charge is supposed to be $100 for a single sector biz guestseat.

But the website is currently requesting 920 AED for a 1-way AUH-MLE in biz, which XE.com tells me is $250.



Update...I've checked AUH->LHR, and AUH->DUB, and they both are charging the correct figure of 370AED (around $100)

Economy seating on AUH->MLE is pricing wrong too, 370AED, which is $100, when it should be $50.
So it looks like the carrier charge for guestseats AUH->MLE is screwed.

svs-dhm

I don't know if its screwed, or they just don't price it anymore the way it was "supposed" to be when they made the changes last year.

I just booked two tickets AUH-DEL in biz, and the charge, per passenger, per segment, was AED 520, which is USD 141.

A couple of other recent awards I booked in economy were also well above the $50 amount, so who know what the actual rate really is......

tangey

You are confusing total taxes with carrier surcharge. The total taxes for a 1-way AUH-DEL in a biz guestseat is 520AED, 370AED of that is listed as the carrier surcharge, which is what it's supposed to be.

AUH-MLE is the only segment I've found that is charging the wrong carrier surcharge (AED920, which is about $250). The reverse segment charges the correct $100 figure

tangey

I PM'ed the official FT etihad userid on here (which appears to get any one of a number of people), telling them that the website was overcharging customers 2.5x for the carrier surcharge on guestseats on AUH-MLE (e.g. $250 instead of $100 in biz).

The reply was have I contacted [email protected], or did I want him/her to do so ?

really....that's it, no taking ownership of a problem, checking it out, and attempting to resolve what is a serious overcharge ? Just asking me do I want them to do anything about it ?? my actual response was:-

That was 4 days ago, there has been no further response.

koroleon

Interestingly, this doesn't happen for MLE-AUH: Guest seat co-pay is $126.40 vs $26.40 for business freedom.

I hope you can find someone to address this soon.

Edit: Sorry, I just noticed you had mentioned this already, I was just checking the reverse route because it's of interest to me.

irishguy28

Indeed, it's not. But if you followed the relevant thread you will see that is how they roll.

Take ownership of the problem - ring them. Some problems need a direct intervention, not back-and-forth messaging (particularly when the answer is always to send an email to [email protected] or some other such email)

tangey

It isn't a problem for me, I already have flights booked on that route ages ago. I check the route regularly as I'm looking to change the flight date by a day if possible, which is why I noticed the sudden change.

As I'm not actually looking to book the sector, I can't really force the issue. I've told the official rep on here, and also emailed the official guest assistance email address. It's sad if neither receipient can be bothered to do anything about it.

tangey

I made contact with an Etihad rep who had assisted me before with a query and asked for the issue to be escalated as appropriate. The response that came back from the pricing team is that it is not an error, but rather:-

A couple things. This has nothing to do with the fare, as the taxes and fees are correct when you buy a flight on that routing with cash. Interesting also that they consider adding $150 to the reward carrier surcharge as a "fare" adjustment.

Also, it would appear that they are operating outside their own t&c
http://www.etihadguest.com/en/terms-and-conditions/
Section 8.3.2.2 states
There is no provision in the t&c for changing the carrier surcharge based on the route. (Likely, there is probably some sort of "we can do anything we want" clause)

Finally, one wonders why change the carrier surcharge for guest seats on a single route ?

seychellesbound

I am having the same problem trying to book AUH-SEZ.... This is really frustrating. Any updates on a resolution?

tangey

Didn't realise that AUh-SEZ had also been changed. Etihad has confirmed that it isn't a glitch, it's a deliberate action of overcharging surcharge. It actually goes against their own T&C. But Etihad and customer service are not two things many here would say go hand in hand, so it appears they do what they like.

koroleon

I was looking for flights today and I noticed that Etihad 'enhanced' the charge the other way too: the surcharge for MLE-AUH is now $100 in economy and $250 in business. Awesome..

CalFlyer

It is a striking example of an airline ripping off customers, it seems. MLE and SZE are popular "mileage burn" destinations from AUH, so this is their way of making these routes profitable and breaking promises made when awarding frequent flier miles.

Probably easier for an airline from the UAE than for an airline from the EU.

gojko88

Not like airlines from the EU have had much difficulty doing the same thing in the past decade or so...