Etihad Airways Reviews 

@Etihad Airways – Real Customer Experience ✈️

I am sharing our experience here, transparently.

➡️ Return flight Bangkok → Brussels cancelled on Feb 28th ❌
➡️ 4 consecutive cancellations 🔁
➡️ 17 days stranded without a solution ⏳
➡️ Assistance stopped after 2 days while we were still stuck abroad 🛑

In the end, we were only rerouted to London after so many hours chassing them for a solution 🇬🇧, and had to make our own way back to Belgium at our own expense 💸.

For one of the passengers, the return journey had to be arranged via another airline, entirely at our own cost ✈️💸.

📅 As of today (April 29):

no refund for the cancelled flight ❌
no reimbursement for the alternative ticket ❌
no coverage of additional costs (hotel, transfers, etc.) 🏨🚕❌
no respect for Montreal convention
no response to our complaint 📭

👉 The most difficult part is not the initial cancellation, but the complete lack of follow-up and the extremely bad customer service:

no replies ⏰
conversations repeatedly interrupted 📵
customer service not providing any solution 🚫
repeated requests to move to private messages… with no outcome 💬❌

✈️ We did everything possible on our side:

accepted flexible destinations 🌍
agreed to be split into groups 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦
asked for alternative routes via other airlines 🔄

I want to stress that all of this is fully documented 📄.

Today, we are simply asking for:
✔ proper handling of our case
✔ reimbursement of the expenses incurred 💰
✔ a clear and concrete response

@Etihad Airways
Please handle this case properly instead of systematically redirecting to private messages without follow-up.
Do not ask me to send you info, just click on my name and you will have it all!!!! 🤬

#EtihadAirways #CustomerService #TravelExperience #FlightCancelled #PassengerRights #TravelIssues

My parents had an extremely distressing experience with Etihad Airways while travelling from London Heathrow to Bengaluru via Abu Dhabi on 27 April 2026.

Their original flight on 26 April was cancelled and rebooked, which had already caused stress and disruption. During transit at Abu Dhabi, they struggled to find the correct boarding gate. One of the passengers is a heart patient and another has screws in his leg, so walking quickly through the airport was extremely difficult and painful for them.

They reached the gate just 3 minutes late. There was no clear missing passenger announcement, no proper support for them as connecting passengers, and no assistance considering their medical conditions.

The aircraft was still docked, connected to the ramp, and the door was still open. They had even entered the glass ramp area, but the boarding staff pulled them back and refused to let them board. The staff were rude, dismissive, and showed no compassion despite seeing their distress.

What makes this even worse is that their baggage was removed from the aircraft in front of them, but they were still not allowed to board. If there was enough time to locate and remove the baggage, it is very difficult to understand why there was no effort to help medically vulnerable passengers board a flight that was still visibly there.

They were then left waiting around 6 hours at Abu Dhabi Airport with no proper care, guidance, or humane assistance. They had to book new tickets themselves, paying AED 6,345 including AED 762 for baggage because staff said the bags would not be transferred without extra payment.

Etihad staff then promised that the baggage would be transferred to the new flight and gave an acknowledgement. However, after arriving in Bengaluru, the baggage did not arrive. My parents had to wait another 3 hours at Bengaluru Airport, exhausted, unwell, and without their bags.

This was not just poor service. It was inhumane treatment of medically vulnerable passengers, followed by failed baggage handling and no accountability.

We are asking Etihad Airways for:
A full refund of the newly booked tickets for all 3 passengers
A refund of the baggage charges paid
Immediate tracking and delivery of all missing baggage
Compensation for the distress, medical discomfort, delay, and financial loss caused
A formal apology and written explanation

Complaint reference: 2604285817147.

Etihad Airways should take responsibility for what happened and resolve this urgently.

This is the first time in my life I feel the need to write such a detailed airline review. Unfortunately, my experience with Etihad Airways was far below any acceptable standard.

Our journey included a connection in Istanbul, and we experienced serious issues on both the outbound and return flights.

⸻

✈️ OUTBOUND FLIGHT (Istanbul Transfer)

* The passengers arrived in Istanbul at around 03:30 AM.
* There was no Etihad staff, no guidance, and no assistance available.
* Despite being transfer passengers, the entire process had to be managed independently.

Most importantly:

* One of the passengers has reduced mobility and uses a prosthetic leg.
* Despite this, no proactive assistance was provided.
* We were forced to navigate the airport entirely on our own for several hours.

⸻

💺 Upgrade & Check-in Issue

* A Business Class upgrade was purchased
* However, it was not properly reflected during online check-in
* The system allowed check-in under Economy

This clearly shows:

❗ a serious disconnect between the system and the actual service delivered

⸻

🛋️ Lounge Access Issue

* Despite being Business Class passengers,
* no proper lounge access was facilitated

In fact:

* we were only able to access the lounge
* thanks to the help of a random person we met at the airport

⸻

🔁 RETURN FLIGHT

The return journey was even more disorganized:

🧳 Baggage Issue

* On the outbound flight, baggage was checked through to the final destination
* On the return flight,
* we were forced to collect our baggage in Istanbul and re-check it again

This reflects:

❗ clear inconsistency and poor coordination

⸻

♿ Wheelchair Assistance Issue

* Wheelchair assistance had been requested
* However, the staff arrived
* without any proper equipment

Even more concerning:

* we were expected to use our own wheelchair
* which shows a complete lack of planning and professionalism

⸻

📩 Communication with Etihad

After the journey, we contacted Etihad Airways.

However:

* their responses did not reflect the actual events
* several statements were contradictory
* initially, customer service claimed “we tried to call you but could not reach you”
* this was not true, and once evidence was provided, they changed their explanation

In short:

❗ instead of acknowledging the issues, they attempted to justify them

⸻

❗ OVERALL ASSESSMENT

* Transfer experience → ❌ poor
* Assistance for disabled passenger → ❌ inadequate
* Coordination → ❌ weak
* Customer communication → ❌ defensive

⸻

💬 FINAL WORD

If I had to summarize Etihad in one word:

❗ “chaos”

Etihad may have strong branding and marketing, but based on this experience:

❗ the actual service quality falls far below expectations

Leaving Business Class passengers — especially a disabled individual — to manage everything on their own is simply unacceptable.

⸻

❌ FINAL DECISION

❗ Etihad again? Never.

Subject: FORMAL COMPLAINT – Denied Check-in Despite Valid Etihad Ticket

Dear Etihad Airways,

I am submitting a formal complaint regarding my missed flight due to serious failure in handling at Abu Dhabi Airport.

I was present at the airport on time and attempted to check in. However, the Etihad counter attendant redirected me to the Ethiopian Airlines counter, claiming that my booking could not be found in their system, which caused delay and prevented me from completing check-in.

At Ethiopian Airlines, my booking could not be located, and I was left moving between counters without proper guidance or resolution.

I later visited the Etihad office in Abu Dhabi, where my ticket was successfully located and confirmed as valid in your system.

Ticket details:
Passenger Name: Ivan Mulema
PNR: XZU9HF
Ticket Number: 607-5841774923
Flights: EY 6337 / EY 6442
Route: Abu Dhabi to Entebbe
Date: 19 April

Despite this confirmation, Etihad airport customer service staff, including the supervisor and manager, failed to provide proper assistance and continued to redirect me instead of resolving the issue. This clearly demonstrates a serious failure in internal coordination and passenger handling.

As a direct result:

- I was denied the opportunity to check in
- I missed my flight despite being on time
- I have suffered financial loss and significant inconvenience

This situation was not caused by any negligence on my part. I followed all instructions given at the airport and acted in good faith.

I therefore formally demand:

- A full investigation into this incident
- A written explanation of why I was denied check-in despite having a valid Etihad ticket
- Immediate assistance with rebooking under fair conditions
- Full compensation for the financial loss and inconvenience caused

If this matter is not resolved promptly, I will escalate this complaint to the relevant consumer protection authorities and pursue further legal action.

Kind regards,
Ivan Mulema

Our big yearly family trip was cancelled on account of the war only days before the flight. Eithihad promised a refund to our credit card which would take 3 weeks to process. This is well documented on our online portal under our claim. On this promise, we booked another trip. Upon our return, we were advised a credit voucher was issued instead of a refund and there was nothing they could do to reverse this. Start 3 weeks of hell trying to get through and speaking to different call centre agents and repeating our story over and over again while "investigations are underway." Eithihad has now closed the file and told us they can't reverse the credit with the assertion that we must have changed our initial request and wanted the voucher (without providing any such evidence). Now we have over 16k tied up in a voucher that we never wanted and can't easily use. In addition, against our local laws, the voucher expires in 1 year. We feel so stuck with so much of our money tied up. Feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, financially strained and exceptionally stuck. We have launched a claim with our credit card company and also with the national authorities due to their breeches, however this may take months to resolve. In the meantime, our money is tied up.
The lack of ethics and due process here is astounding and very disappointing.

Injoignables

I had a business class round trip ticket (YYZ -->AUH--> COK -->AUH --> YYZ, 12/7/25 start, 3/9/26 return) for which YYZ-COK was completed with out any issue. But for my return on 3/9/26, it was a nightmare; ~ 5 days prior to departure they cancelled the flight from COK to AUH and they did not anything about it. I understand that the middle east war situation, and there were all kind of issues. But they could have offered a new booking. They just left you ! The AUH --> YYZ on time on 3/10/26 so I thought I will book a ticket to AUH with my own money and catch that flight EY21 flight on 3/10. So I booked a flight to AUH by Air Arabia to reach AUH on 3/10 ~ 1 am so that I can catch it and emailed them to this effect. Alas, they preponed my flight to 3/9!! Well I changed my Air Arbia flight to 3/9. Guess what, they changed my flight back to 3/10 now!! Finally I got fed up and tried contact them by phone, email, chat none of them worked. Finally, I got a number (US) called and I talked to a guy (reservations@airlineswebsales?!!). The person offered to help to get a new ticket but you have to pay 4 or 5X the price; I heard that my ticket was worth 15K$ and somehow they want to bump me out (in my opinion). I got the feeling they were doing price gouging. I had good business class experience with Etihad but never expected this treatment! I was frustrated and finally asked for the refund which I eventually got.
The Etihad customer service experience was the worst for an airline... and hope they will come out better one day!

Strong business class experience with Etihad Airways. Comfort, service and catering were all at a high level and well organized. The cabin crew was professional and attentive throughout the flight. I was seated in 10A (window seat), which was comfortable, although seat privacy could be improved.
Another point for improvement is flexibility during transfers in case of delays.
Overall a very positive experience and an airline that delivers quality, with room for further refinement.

Etihad crew , specially Swapnali, bombay desk( travelled on 22nd March) ( Mumbai to Dublin) helped me to get all my stuff sorted, she was very kind and helpful towards me..she is an amazing person.

From Elvis Gracias

Never ever choose the voucher option for refund ! Its a scam, they say you Will get it instantly but its not True ! I got Nothing and cant get a hold of the customer service … really disapointed. Go Qatar Airways instead

I understand that this is a very unprecedented situation with the war in the Middle East but there is NO communication from Etihad at all. I read hundreds of posts from people who are stuck without any help. The rest of us with upcoming holidays are stuck and unable to request a refund. Today is 13th March and Etihad are only offering refunds up until 21st March everyone else is left living in limbo unable to plan or rebook anything else. No update and not even an idea of when you might update us. Sort it out! I don't recommend flying with this company, Emirates, BA Virgin all offering refunds past 31st March!

They are a joke.
Old, no bar service even on intercontinental flights.

Book Qatar or Emirates in this region, Etihad is a budget airline bloody joke

Do not trust Etihad Airways. When things go wrong, their true colors show. On Feb 28, flight EY102 departed Madrid but was forced to divert right back to the origin. Did Etihad step up to manage the crisis? No. We landed to find abandoned counters. Their ground staff literally hid and vanished to avoid dealing with stranded passengers.
​Is this the "premium" global airline experience they constantly advertise?
​They only crawled out of hiding 5 hours later because they had to dispatch a different flight. We were given absolutely nothing. No hotel accommodation. No food vouchers. Not even a bottle of water. Instead, their staff desperately handed out empty promises of a "100% immediate refund" just to pacify the crowd and clear the terminal.
​It was a lie. I am still waiting for my money. You failed to fulfill the carriage, you abandoned us at the airport, and now you are holding our funds hostage.
​PNR: ®®®®. Have a corporate escalation manager contact me immediately, or my next step is a formal EU261 compensation claim with the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency (AESA) for severe regulatory violations.

After trying 2 times to book stopover program, they both times said Hotel is not eligible for this trip, and every time it was non valid reason for it. After trying to clear with their customer service, i literally spend TWO days trying to reach them on call and online chat. On chat always says your number is higher than 12, not saying if im 13. or 150. in line. And that was without any update for hours and hours (only update on chat was sometimes "if you are still here click yes"). Hotels are not that expensive there, but its about technicalities, misleading and false principle from their side. Now i know why so much people complain (hidden blackout dates, counting full day when making stop only 2 hours because it says you will come to abu dhabi 23:55 and your plane leave 02:10 etc etc)

Dear Etihad Airways Customer Relations Team,

Flight Details: Manchester to Abu Dhabi 30th November 2025 EY74 and Abu Dhabi to Ahmedabad 1st December 2025 EY244

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction with the level of service I experienced during my recent journey with Etihad Airways. As a senior passenger, I found several aspects of the flight to be unacceptable and far below the standards expected from an international airline of Etihad’s reputation.

1. Baggage Handling and Allowance Issues

Our baggage allowance was clearly stated as 30kg in total. However, despite being within the total permitted weight, we were refused the option to check in two bags. As senior passengers, we were forced to lift and handle heavy baggage one piece at a time, which was physically difficult and extremely inconvenient. This lack of consideration for elderly passengers is unacceptable.

2. Inadequate Food Portions

The meals served were presented on what appeared to be a 5inch by 2 inch plate, with portions more suitable for a child than for an adult. The quantity was insufficient and did not meet basic expectations for a long-haul international flight.

3. No Meal Choice Before Landing in Abu Dhabi

Before landing in Abu Dhabi, passengers were handed a box of pizza with no alternative options offered. I do not eat pizza, and therefore had no suitable food available. It is unreasonable for an airline to provide only one food option without considering dietary preferences or restrictions.

4. Poor Quality Spirit Selection

The only whisky offered was Red Label Johnnie Walker, which is widely known as a very basic and inexpensive option. For a premium airline such as Etihad, this is disappointing. Better-quality and widely respected options such as Famous Grouse or Jameson should be offered to passengers.

5. Extremely Uncomfortable Seating

The seats were hard, narrow, and highly uncomfortable, making the long flight very unpleasant. Seat comfort is a fundamental aspect of passenger experience, especially on extended journeys, and this fell far short of acceptable standards.

Overall, this experience was disappointing and not in line with the image Etihad Airways promotes. I sincerely hope this feedback is taken seriously and used to improve services, particularly for senior passengers. I also expect a response explaining how Etihad plans to address these concerns.

I look forward to your prompt reply.

Sincerely,

Surendra K Vaidya

Extremely disappointing experience with Etihad Airways.

Our booking (LHR–Jakarta return, February/March 2026) was subject to a significant airline-initiated schedule change of more than eight hours. While we understand that operational changes can occur, what followed has been genuinely shocking.

We have received complete silence from Etihad since 25 January despite multiple emails. Not even an acknowledgement of receipt.

When attempting to raise a formal complaint via their online customer service, we were repeatedly redirected to a “feedback” form that only allows complaints after travel has been completed. We were explicitly told that complaints cannot be raised prior to the flight taking place — which makes absolutely no sense when the issue concerns a pre-departure schedule disruption.

It is astonishing that an airline of this size does not appear to have a functioning complaint channel for upcoming travel. The live chat agents repeatedly ignored the actual question being asked and redirected us to irrelevant links.

A premium airline should offer premium customer care. Unfortunately, this experience has been the opposite — dismissive, unhelpful and unresponsive.

Until this is resolved properly, I cannot recommend Etihad based on the customer service standards demonstrated so far.

I am extremely disappointed with my experience with Etihad after attempting to book flights directly through their website.

After completing the booking process online, my payment was successfully authorized and blocked on my card, yet no ticket was issued and no confirmation email was received. Shortly after, I received a phone call from a number in Abu Dhabi, with the caller claiming to be from Etihad and immediately requesting sensitive credit card details.

Given the seriousness of the request, I asked for basic verification: an official email, a notification through the Etihad app, or any written confirmation proving the call was legitimate. The caller was unable to provide any verification and continued insisting on card details over the phone. This raised obvious security concerns, and I refused to proceed.

To protect myself, I suggested calling Etihad directly through their official customer service number, which I did. At that point, despite the fact that the same fare had been consistently available on the Etihad website for two full days, I was suddenly told that the price had increased by over $300.

What makes this experience even more unacceptable is that:
When Etihad initially called me, the original lower fare was still being offered, but they could not prove they were actually Etihad.

Only minutes after I contacted Etihad through official channels, I was told the fare had changed.
While still on the call, I searched again and found new bookings available online for less than what Etihad was now asking me to pay.

The explanation given was that “fares are subject to change”, but this explanation is not credible in this context. The price had been stable for days, was offered during the unsolicited call, and then increased only after I chose the safe and correct path of contacting Etihad through official support.

To make matters worse, despite no ticket ever being issued and no active booking existing, my payment remains blocked, and I have been informed that I must now wait 7 to 14 days for the funds to be released. This means being left without access to a significant amount of money due to a failed transaction that was not caused by any error on my part.

This entire experience felt unprofessional, confusing, and frankly unacceptable for an airline that presents itself as a premium carrier. Customers should never be put in a position where they feel pressured to share sensitive payment details over the phone without proper verification, nor should they be financially penalized for choosing to act responsibly.

I invested considerable time and effort organizing this trip around work commitments, only to be met with poor communication, questionable payment handling, pricing inconsistency, and a prolonged delay in recovering my own funds.

This experience has seriously undermined my trust in the Etihad brand. I hope the airline urgently reviews how it handles payment verification, customer security, and pricing consistency, because this was far below acceptable standards.

The most family unfriendly airline I have ever experienced. From check in to landing at my destination.

I booked an Etihad flight via Booking com from Kuala Lumpur to London via Abu Dhabi for me and my family, which includes 3 young children aged 3 and under.
My flight were booked with 4 x baggage allowance as our youngest was an infant. However upon check in at Kuala Lumpur Airport, the Etihad check in staff were refusing to check in my 4 x luggage each weighing the 25kg each. The reason for this is that in their system, it was showing them that I had no baggage allowance even though I showed them booking confirmation that it did.

This was a very traumatising situation, especially as it caused a great uncomfortable experience particularly for my young children. We arrived nearly 4 hours early to check, but check in took nearly 2 hours because our suitcases were being rejected an the staff were extremely rude, unhelpful and very patronising. At the end, in order to avoid missing our flight, we were blackmailed that unless we paid a fee of over £1,775.00 we would not able to travel with our baggage.

I would like to further add that inside the plane, the crew were very family unfriendly. They were making up rules as they went along as to what my children can and cannot bring onto the plane. They could see we had our hand fulls with our children but yet this probably attracted them to what I believe to be targeted and picked on.

I must say this was the most family unfriendly airline I had ever experienced and travelled upon. I do not recommend Etihad Airlines at all. They've gone downhill. Iam exploring all options available to seek a refund on this extortionate fee I was wrongfully charged.

Our journey with Etihad Airways turned into a complete nightmare. Due to a delay on our first flight from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi, we missed our connecting flight. We were assured by a flight attendant that the connecting flight would wait for us, but this never happened.

As a result, we were rebooked 14 hours later, with an additional stop, and forced to travel overnight, without any proper rest or sleep. We eventually arrived at our final destination one full day later than planned, which caused us to lose an entire day of work. This is an unacceptable consequence of poor planning and mismanagement.

The situation at Abu Dhabi Airport was chaotic. Customer service was absolutely terrible: we were sent from one desk to another with no clear information, no explanations, and no real assistance. No one took responsibility, and no one seemed capable of managing the situation.

To make things even worse, we never received a single email or notification informing us about the delay, the missed connection, or the changes to our itinerary. The complete lack of communication added even more stress to an already exhausting experience.

For an airline that claims to offer high-quality service, this level of disorganization, lack of support, and disregard for passengers is shocking. Arriving a day late, traveling all night without sleep, losing a workday, and receiving zero communication is simply unacceptable. I will never fly with Etihad again and strongly advise others to think twice before choosing this airline.

Etihad Airlines … What an absolute “shxt show”. By far the worst carrier I’ve used, best avoided.