Etihad worst airline?
Dec 10, 2017, 2:55 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 1
Etihad worst airline?
My partner and I travelled from Abu Dhabi to London heathrow on the 10th December. On 3 separate occasions (on the ground) we were abruptly told that we cannot upgrade our seats to business class with no justified reason aside from you are unable to upgrade your ticket which was followed by being shunned on so they can speak to the next customer, one of the representatives was bearly able to speak English which wasn't helpful in the slightest. On board the flight after speaking with the cabin manager Esther she was appalled at the service we'd received and offered us the opportunity to purchase an upgrade at the extortionate cost of £1200 per seat. We had friends who upgraded to the apartment cabin for £600 on the same flight. This is the first time we have flown with etihaad and it is a shame to say that it will also be the last. This is a typical case of racism and preference of Arabic speaking clients and extemely poor customer service. I will do what's necessary to avoid flying with you again.
Dec 10, 2017, 5:49 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 335
Apartment is F, Business is J - your friends did not upgrade from Y to F for £600.
No, Etihad is not the "worst airline".
If you book a seat in Y, you can't be outraged that you can't upgrade later, unless your fare allowed it AND there was availability.
Hyperbole.
EDIT: I will change my tone a little on the basis you are new around these blocks. Everything I say above still stands, just as @NWIFlyer suggests, provide more facts rather than complaints; there must have been different circumstances for your friends and/or a mistake for their tickets.
No, Etihad is not the "worst airline".
If you book a seat in Y, you can't be outraged that you can't upgrade later, unless your fare allowed it AND there was availability.
Hyperbole.
EDIT: I will change my tone a little on the basis you are new around these blocks. Everything I say above still stands, just as @NWIFlyer suggests, provide more facts rather than complaints; there must have been different circumstances for your friends and/or a mistake for their tickets.
Last edited by Recondite; Dec 10, 2017 at 6:14 am
Dec 10, 2017, 6:01 am
#3
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Etihad Guest Platinum
Posts: 289
I flew EY12 LHR-AUH on 8th Dec and I too asked about upgrades at the airport. My company had booked my ticket and as it was T Fare Class (Breaking Deal) it wasn't upgradable at all - maybe that was your ticket type too and the check in staff should have explained that part to you more fully... Whilst in the lounge I enquired again about an Instant upgrade to business, if at all possible, and was quoted £1350 in the lounge. Safe to say I didn't take them up on the offer!!
Etihad are certainly not the "Worst Airline", yes they are getting things wrong at the moment regarding customer service and cut backs but they are certainly nowhere near the bottom ... yet. Have you flown with Ryanair or Thomas Cook?? In comparison I would choose Etihad every time and twice on a Sunday over BA or Emirates.
Dec 10, 2017, 6:06 am
#4
Community Director
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
Programs: A3*G, BA Gold, BD Gold (in memoriam), IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 8,476
Nnasir, firstly welcome to FT. We have some wonderful resources here and a great number of very knowledgeable people who will help you enjoy a better flying experience in the future, whether on Etihad or other airlines.
Now to understand what’s happened here we’re going to need some more details - this is highly, highly unlikely to be racism but purely commercial, because airlines do not generally turn down revenue for no reason, but that revenue still has a price which will be designed to protect the integrity of the cabin.
What fare class were you ticketed under?
Did the ticket conditions allow you to upgrade?
How was the £1200 made up - change fee plus fare difference, perhaps?
You also can’t simply assume because your friends upgraded for £600 your offer would be the same. They may have been booked in a different fare class, or have paid more for their tickets, which would quite likely lead to a lower upgrade cost. The availability when they asked may have been different to when you asked - it changes all the time as people fail to show or miss connections, so it might be that there was no availability at check-in but by the time you got on the plane seats had been freed up. Maybe if your friends really did take an upgrade to F that cleared some space in J for you, because they certainly wouldn’t have got a Y to F offer of £600 from any airline in the world - period.
So please do come back with some facts and I’m sure the community will be better placed to help you.
Now to understand what’s happened here we’re going to need some more details - this is highly, highly unlikely to be racism but purely commercial, because airlines do not generally turn down revenue for no reason, but that revenue still has a price which will be designed to protect the integrity of the cabin.
What fare class were you ticketed under?
Did the ticket conditions allow you to upgrade?
How was the £1200 made up - change fee plus fare difference, perhaps?
You also can’t simply assume because your friends upgraded for £600 your offer would be the same. They may have been booked in a different fare class, or have paid more for their tickets, which would quite likely lead to a lower upgrade cost. The availability when they asked may have been different to when you asked - it changes all the time as people fail to show or miss connections, so it might be that there was no availability at check-in but by the time you got on the plane seats had been freed up. Maybe if your friends really did take an upgrade to F that cleared some space in J for you, because they certainly wouldn’t have got a Y to F offer of £600 from any airline in the world - period.
So please do come back with some facts and I’m sure the community will be better placed to help you.
