Etihad Reviews 

The worst airline ever, stay away from them

Etihad confirmed compensation but never paid it

I was denied boarding due to overbooking during my journey from Istanbul to Phuket via Abu Dhabi (AUH).

Etihad acknowledged the issue and issued a compensation of €600 for the denied boarding. (And also €600 for my wife, so €1200 in total). I completed all required forms and submitted my bank details as instructed.

More than 10 months have now passed, and I still have not received the payment.

I have contacted Etihad multiple times through their customer service and social media channels. I was repeatedly told that the payment had been "processed" and that the matter was being followed up. However, no payment has ever arrived in my bank account.

What is even more frustrating is that my case was marked as "Resolved" in the Etihad Feedback portal despite the fact that no compensation was received.

I have repeatedly asked for proof of payment, including the transfer date, transaction reference number, sending bank details, and SWIFT/MT103 confirmation, but these details have not been provided.

At this point, I am extremely disappointed with the handling of this case. A compensation payment that was approved by the airline should not remain unresolved for more than 10 months.

Case Reference: 2507234806834

Very bad customer service they treat you like animals. Never try then no information.

I have always flown business class with them when traveling to Asia, both for work and holidays.

For some reason, they blocked my miles account. After several weeks of repeatedly sending the same documents and only receiving responses two weeks after each email, they are once again asking for the very same documents and claiming that my company domain (the one associated with the account and from which they receive my emails) is “suspicious.”

What is truly suspicious is this level of customer service. The outcome is simple: I’ll be flying with a competitor instead.

It’s remarkable how badly you can manage a loyalty program that is supposed to attract and retain customers, only to achieve the exact opposite and drive them away.

Really clean and modern aircraft, immaculately presented crew who were always smiling and happy to help. Great infight services and very comfortable seating.

My entire journey was booked on one ticket through Etihad. Due to a delayed second flight, I missed my connection and arrived over 13 hours late to the destination. At the airport, Etihad staff told me to pay for food and taxi expenses myself and keep the receipts for reimbursement.

After submitting everything exactly as instructed, Etihad simply refused reimbursement and closed the case with a generic copy-paste response blaming “circumstances beyond our control.”

Even worse, customer support completely ignored Article 9 of EU Regulation EC261/2004 regarding passenger care obligations during major delays. They acknowledged the disruption, provided hotel accommodation, but now deny responsibility for meals and transport that THEIR OWN STAFF instructed me to arrange.

The most frustrating part is not even the delay itself — delays happen. It’s the way Etihad handles customers afterward:

* generic scripted responses,
* no real investigation,
* no accountability,
* no willingness to honor promises made at the airport.

Very disappointing experience from an airline that markets itself as premium.

I strongly advise against paying for seat selection or extra legroom seats through Etihad Airways. As long as your flight itinerary remains unchanged and goes smoothly, their system may appear to function adequately. However, the moment operational problems arise—such as airline-initiated flight cancellations, last-minute aircraft swaps, scheduling delays, or involuntary seat reassignments—the true extent of their poor customer service becomes obvious.
In situations like these, customers trying to reclaim their ancillary fees are essentially left completely on their own. Meaningful support, clear communication, and genuine assistance are practically nonexistent. In particular, obtaining a refund for a paid seat reservation that Etihad failed to provide turns into an absolute nightmare: endless arguments with the chatbot, constant delays, and countless frustrating interactions with overwhelmed customer service agents. Despite having legitimate claims for services paid for but never received, an enormous amount of pressure and endless follow-ups are required just to recover part of the money owed.
Such a disrespectful and customer-unfriendly approach is completely unacceptable. Anyone wishing to avoid stress, wasted time, and financial loss should think twice before spending extra money on seat reservations with Etihad Airways.

I booked a business class fully refundable flight with the airline. I cancelled by flight 2 days before because of the Iran war (the flight was actually cancelled in the end) I asked for my refund. My flight was on March 7th 2026. Numerous emails and at least 3 phone calls and so far they have only refunded 2/3 of the ticket price. The ticket was a fully refundable one and they are now dragging their heals on paying over £1000 more. Still fighting for it now. Find it totally unacceptable that i have to keep chasing for my refund and getting fobbed off. Expected so much better from them and am really disappointed.

one of the worst companies I have experienced in my life.
You may think that this is a premium company, but it is not. Customer service is 100% useless.

I am extremely disappointed with the customer service of Etihad Airways.
I flew Business Class from Bangkok to Tel Aviv via Abu Dhabi. During my trip, I decided to cancel the second leg of my flight to Tel Aviv because I wanted to remain in Abu Dhabi longer.
Since then, it has been an absolute nightmare dealing with customer service. For the past 3 weeks, every single representative gives me the exact same response: “We will send an urgent email and please contact us again within 48 hours.” Three weeks later, nothing has been resolved, no one follows up, and I continue receiving the same scripted answer over and over again.
For an airline that promotes itself as a premium carrier, this level of customer service is unacceptable. Business Class passengers expect professionalism, communication, and actual solutions — not endless delays and empty promises.
Very frustrating experience and extremely disappointing support from Etihad Airways.

My basic gripe is that I was forced to pay for reserved seats twice for a flight between Dublin and Abu Dhabi. I had purchased the tickets for a group of four, so the total they overcharged me exceeded €100.

This was pointed out to ground staff at Dublin during check-in, who reviewed the booking and agreed that there was a mistake. I was told they had added a note to the booking and that the overcharge would be refunded within a few days (it was not) but that if not to ring a telephone number they gave me.

After returning from my fortnight in China, I rang the contact number only to hear a recorded message telling me that their support desk was extremely busy and could only accept calls from customers who were flying in the next three days. I was asked to use "digital channels of support" instead, without any specific details of what these were.

I tried their chat support, which only took me in infuriating circles that led back to the same point every time. Obviously a crude and fairly useless facility.

So I resorted to emailing six different addresses at Etihad that I had used to communicate with the company in the past. I spent half a day detailing exactly what had happened and retrieving and attaching screen shots and ticket receipts that demonstrated incontrovertibly the mistaken double charge.

After 48 hours I have not received a single acknowledgement from any of the Etihad addresses I sent the message to. Nor have I received a non delivery report, confirming that all the messages have been received and are sitting in someone's inbox at Etihad.

In this case the flight was readjusted several times between the time of booking and flight day. On each occasion a tedious process of going through the whole booking scenario again was necessary, even though take off or landing times only varied by a few minutes. Nothing simple like clicking a button to confirm I agreed with the change.

One of the adjustments seemed to change the plane to a smaller one that was not long enough to accommodate the seat row I had initially reserved. It seems that rather mundane and unintelligent systems created and employed by Etihad are simply incapable of dealing with certain scenarios (poor programming). In this case my seats were no longer available so I had to reserve and pay for different ones before being allowed to check in online.

Another change that was just thrust on us was that our 48 hour stay in Abu Dhabi at a plush hotel in the city centre, was just removed from the return flights without explanation. One gets the impression that those who run this company consider themselves superior beings who should be above having to communicate with lesser mortals.

Even though ground and flight crew staff are wonderful, I cannot trust this company and will avoid in the future at all costs. Their systems are dysfunctional, managers obviously out of their depth, and the sum total of experiences suggests that this business entity hasn't an iota of integrity.

I really enjoyed traveling with Etihad. It seems like a luxury brand! Very pretty colors and nice facilities, the onboard experience was so good. Nice staff, nice food and drinks and very good e-box entertainment!

They are cheating the customer, From last couple of years I am flying as Economy passenger with Etihad and they never charge for Bags, This time when I booked a Ticket for my parents they charge more than 600 dollars for bags. They are one of the worst and trying to make money now. I will never use and ask my all friends and family that dont go with Etihad.

Very disappointed with Etihad Airways customer service.

My baggage was delayed on my flight from Colombo to Paris via Abu Dhabi. A PIR report was completed at the airport and I submitted all required documents, receipts and reimbursement requests within the proper timeframe.

After weeks without any response, I contacted customer service again and was told that my case had been deleted without explanation.

Because of the baggage delay, my partner and I had to buy essential clothes and toiletries in order to continue working and manage daily life. Our house keys were also inside the missing baggage.

I understand that baggage delays can happen, but ignoring customers and deleting cases without assistance is unacceptable.

I hope Etihad Airways will finally review my case seriously and provide proper customer support.

My wife was stuck in vietnam due to the conflict in the middle east. They kept moving her flight, then they offered us a full refund and we took that. We are still waitint for the money to arrive and it has been over 55 days now ! They keep coming with the same excuses and nothing happens. Last time i will ever book with this airline!!

Flights were changed 2 times. The only flight they would rebook us on would meant we spent 6 hours and 55 mins in transit. Completely unwilling to help it was either take that or get a refund two weeks before we were flying. Horrible never again

Very disappointed with Etihad Airways. I paid around $1900 for my ticket, and when I tried to change my flight, their system kept showing “no flights available” for all the dates I selected. But when I checked other websites, flights were clearly available on those same dates.

It honestly feels like they are forcing customers to cancel their tickets and buy completely new ones instead of allowing a proper flight change. Even worse, after paying such a huge amount, they only offered me a $95 refund.

This has been extremely frustrating and unfair. I expected much better customer service and transparency from an international airline. I would not recommend Etihad based on my experience.

All of the cabin crew throughout both flights were excellent and are a credit to Etihad Airways.

On the London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi route, there was a lovely, friendly young male crew member working in the Economy cabin who stood out because of his constant smile, warm manner, and positive attitude throughout the flight. He made passengers feel welcome and comfortable at all times.

On the Abu Dhabi to Male route, the Cabin Crew Manager and the entire cabin crew team were outstanding. My family and I always bring chocolates for the crew as a small thank you because we appreciate how hard they work. What impressed us was that several crew members personally came to thank us, which felt very genuine and thoughtful.

The crew also handled a difficult passenger situation extremely professionally and calmly. Despite the passenger becoming upset regarding issues caused by a travel agent booking, the crew remained patient, respectful, and composed throughout. Their professionalism under pressure was admirable and reassuring for other passengers.

Overall, the kindness, professionalism, and genuine warmth shown by all crew members made our journey far more enjoyable and memorable.

You may think you are booking with a premium airline, but the reality is that they are worse than any of the budget airlines when it comes to customer service. You are left with AI chat bots that repeat the same thing over and over again. Providing no help whatsoever. This airline deserves to go under

I’ve been receiving multiple upgrade offers for my flight, but the upgrade price is almost the same as purchasing a brand-new Business Class ticket. Since I already paid for my Economy ticket, this offer does not provide any real value. It feels misleading to repeatedly promote an “upgrade” that effectively costs the price of a full new ticket.