Etihad Airways

Customer Reviews

4 star Skytrax Rating
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Seat Comfort 12345
Staff Service 12345
Value for Money 12345
Customer rating from 1759 reviews
4/10
4 star Skytrax Rating
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2/10

"avoid Etihad Airways"

(Germany)

Verified Review | Munich to Male via Abu Dhabi. I went to the Maldives with my wife. Since this was booked as a package holiday it unfortunately only included economy seats. So we asked the check in agent in Munich for a paid upgrade, which we were granted. I paid the approximately 700 Euro (for one of the four segments) by credit card and was handed over the business class tickets. We went off to do some last minute shopping at Munich airport when about 10 minutes later an public announcement (probably airport-wide, since we were already in the central area) was made that asked us to return to the checkin counter. At the counter we were told by the Etihad "Guest Services Agent" in charge that "unfortunately" our initial tickets were not upgradable and we cannot not keep them (not even by paying more etc.). No choice, no regret, no sorry. While I do understand that there are corporate policies regarding ticket upgrades, the described behaviour (of recalling already issued boarding cards) is unacceptable. It doesn't even make sense from a corporate standpoint since the seats remained empty for the flight. Furthermore our initially reserved economy seats were given to somebody else in the meantime. That also meant that we didn't even receive our pre-ordered special meals. According to the cabin crew member somebody else got it instead. I complained to Etihad about this but got nothing but a dull and worthless standard letter. By no means was this middle eastern hospitality or "five star" service. Two lessons I learned from this experience: Book business class right away and avoid Etihad Airways (not only for the experience described above but also for the horrible and dirty airport in Abu Dhabi which would be another story for itself).
AircraftA340-600
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMunich to Male via Abu Dhabi
Date FlownSeptember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
2/10

"I don't recommend it"

(Iran)

Verified Review | Los Angeles to Tehran via Abu Dhabi, the worst international flight I've had. Even though I had an economy ticket, for such a long distance, I expected a slightly more comfortable travel. Everything was at its very basic: narrow, cramped seats, low-quality food, broken headset. The amount of money charged for the extra luggage was too much. I had to pay more than 300 dollars at the airport. Moreover, it was my first flight experience where I was allowed to have 7 kg cabin bag with me and not more (it is usually from 8 to 10 kg). This also caused me trouble. All in all, this will be my last experience of travel with Etihad Airways and I don't recommend it to anyone else.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLAX to IKA via AUH
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
3/10

"last time with Etihad Airways"

(United Arab Emirates)

Verified Review | Abu Dhabi to Munich. Extremely disappointed in Etihad Airways and Abu Dhabi international airport facilities. More than 30min queuing at the online check-in counter. Etihad customer service is less than useless, penalties to change travel dates costed me the same price as I initially paid, after raising a complaint on Etihad's Facebook page I received the answer 'you can call customer service if you want to complain about any issue' though I was complaining about their customer service. Aircraft to travel to Munich is very old. We are not allowed to use the entertainment services until take off despite the delay in departing. Etihad travel mall for bus shuttle from Dubai to Abu Dhabi does not pick up phone calls outside of working hours (though buses are departing at any time). I use Emirates or Qatar Airways for all my trips and never faced so many negative points even when travelling to developing countries. First and last time with Etihad Airways.
AircraftA330
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteAbu Dhabi to Munich
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
8/10

"crew cordial and professional"

(United States)

New York-JFK to Abu Dhabi with Etihad Airways. The aircraft was very cramped compared to the A380 I had travelled inbound to JFK. The flight was completely full, which will hopefully encourage Etihad to operate their A380 or Boeing 787-9 on the second flight to JFK as well. We were served food thrice on this flight and the pre-booking option for the meal allowed passengers to choose from a huge variety. IFE system was decent and had a good variety of TV shows and movies to choose from. The flight was delayed for reasons we weren’t made aware of. The check-in was smooth and cabin crew was able to get the passengers settled quickly and minimize the delay. The cabin crew was cordial and professional for this flight.
AircraftBoeing 777-300ER
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteNew York JFK to Abu Dhabi
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
3/10

"won't be flying with them again"

(Thailand)

Verified Review | Manchester to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi. After flying with this airline in the past both business and economy I vowed never to fly them again. However, as I was looking for a cheap flight back to Thailand after a trip to the UK for a family bereavement I went for the cheapest one-way and they were the cheapest at the time of looking. In Manchester, at the check-in which was in itself an ordeal, I arrived 3.5 hours before departure only to be in a huge queue that stretched back around coffee machines and public toilets due to lack of space. This was because only 3 check in desks were supplied for economy, the rest were for online check in. In other words, don't check in online and you will be treated to being tended to last and at the back of the queue. I wouldn't have minded but those who took a chance and went to the online check in were still seen to despite not having checked in online, which resulted in chaos for the rest of us who tried to go by the rules. Then, I had to put my hand luggage into this metal cage to check for size. My hand case was 3kg under the 7kg allowance, but wouldn't go in this metal cage lengthways as it was 2cm too long. They then informed me that to take my hand case onboard, I would be required to cough up GBP155. Due to my wife's quick thinking, as the case wasn't new, we discarded it and put the contents into plastic bags. With reluctance, they agreed this was ok so I lost my case yet didn't give them the satisfaction of stripping me of GBP155. After trying to recover from the stressful check-in, once on the aircraft, we had to sit for 1.5 hours due to the usual delays. Then, chaos ensued at Abu Dhabi transit. Hundreds of people fighting to get through with no organization and a gate area so small that everyone was queuing for what seemed like miles outside the gate area. To be fair, the crew on both legs were attentive and very good and no complaints with regard to them. Etihad are a disgrace and I won't be flying with them again!
AircraftBoeing 787
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteManchester to Bangkok via Abu Dhabi
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
5/10

"same double standard is felt"

(United Arab Emirates)

Verified Review | Trivandrum to Abu Dhabi. Almost all the time, the flights to Trivandrum are the old ones, while the flights to Kochin are better or newer versions. This happens every single time. People pay the same amount of money but get different service. The flight was a safe ride, but they missed serving me a meal and I had to request one. The inflight entertainment system needs to be updated since its an older version and cannot handle the new E-Box version. The cabin crew seems not too much interested to respond to requests. The economy class did not have a mobile / laptop charges, the same segment flight to Kochin has these amenities. The same double standard is felt in the business class sector. GCC to India flight sector mints money, why not give us a good quality product. Food menu has not changed and for the frequent traveler, this gets very monotonous.
AircraftA320-232
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteTrivandrum to Abu Dhabi
Date FlownFebruary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"shame on you Etihad"

(Australia)

Verified Review | Hong Kong to Milan via Abu Dhabi. Due to an accident occurring to me while on holiday on the Italian seaside, I was not fit for fly and I had to postpone my return home to HK. The person I spoke with over the phone was very clear to emphasize the USD 200 change date fee, however, he didn’t disclose any amount related to “taxes and fares”. He simply dismissed me with the standard statement: “I cannot provide an exact figure at this stage”, which was not true. He could have provide me with a reasonable expected amount by simply check on his computer. As it turns out, Taxes and Fares summed up to an extra USD 392. The total amount I was supposed to pay for one way only, was even greater than the original return ticket! No need to say that I have booked the one way tickets for me and my wife with a better company, Cathay Pacific. Shame on you Etihad, taking an economical advantage over your customer misfortune is really a disgraceful business practice.
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteHong Kong to Milan via Abu Dhabi
Date FlownDecember 2016
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
1/10

"nobody responded after many follow ups"

(Pakistan)

Verified Review | Lahore to Chicago via Abu Dhabi with Etihad. First, flight was delayed 8 hours, then they re-routed the flight via Washington and added extra layover with 6 hrs waiting. Customer service is worst I have ever seen. I tried to reach their Chicago office at least 10 times, nobody responded. Food was average. I wrote them email - they replied once, we will investigate. After that nobody responded after many follow ups. I had to pay extra to book my hotel and they also ruined my weekend plans.
Type Of TravellerSolo Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteLHE to ORD via AUH / IAD
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no
7/10

"lacking a little care and warmth"

(India)

Verified Review | Mumbai to Cairo via Abu Dhabi. The planes are latest, the comforts are many, the gizmos are advanced, the staff look sophisticated, yet what is lacking is a little care and warmth. The A380 packs a lot of people but the service does not commensurate. For nearly 45 minutes services does not start and once the stewards come to your seat after a long wait you ask for as simple thing as a Ginger Ale for myself and my wife and they just give one saying that there is no stock. Also if you have a connecting flight there is no one at the airport to guide. The A380 Mumbai to Abu Dhabi flight on 20th January was bit delayed and by the time it arrived the boarding time for the connecting flight to Cairo already started. Given my experience with other airlines, I was hoping there would be someone after we come out from the flight to guide us to catch the connecting flight which might have aleady commenced boarding. There was none, the security is so crowded. I seek a help of one of the airport guys saying that I need help to reach the gate quickly to which he asks someone to help only to find that guy is busy over speaking on his mobile. Seeing that, the airline staff guides us to go through a lane that could clear the security fast and it was such a haste and hurry in the process forgot to pick up a few things that were put to security check. Since many passengers have a connecting flight, it is important that the airline and airport extend guidance and help instead of leaving them unattended and force them to scramble scurry all by themselves.
AircraftA380
Type Of TravellerCouple Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteMumbai to Cairo via Abu Dhabi
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
yes
2/10

"not fly this horrible airline again"

(Canada)

Verified Review | Toronto to Mumbai via Abu Dhabi. I have travelled several times in the past on Etihad and I always rated it above many other airlines. However, that impression was totally destroyed with just concluded travel in January 2017. Self and my wife booked our tickets 3 months in advance. The airline refuses to pick a seat unless you pay for it, so we allowed the airlines to allocate the seat. We were on a Boeing 777 (Toronto to Abu Dhabi) and quite shocked to see we were right on the tail even though we booked the tickets 3 months in advance. The seat was very narrow and extremely uncomfortable added to that the seat I was sitting was defective - would not move, so I had to travel 12.5 hours in upright position. Added to that, the entertainment unit was flickering non-stop so I could not use the unit as well. The airline requested us to update our profile so that they know our preferences in advance. However, it looks like a gimmick. The menu card was provided on one side but not to us. When the crew came to serve us, they said all that they have was vegetarian and we accepted but the quality was just horrible. Overall, it was horrible experience. Our flight from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai was on A340, the seat was better but service was a stinker. Again, we were seated right at the tail end and they could only serve us vegetarian! On the way back we were on A380 on BOM-AUH. Great experience, the seats were good but again, we were on seats 85E/F - the tail end. They could only serve us Vegetarian but this time we refused to eat. We asked for a glass of water and my wife took a glass of Sprite. Mysteriously, after 3 minutes the waitress comes with non vegetarian food! My question is what is happening with this airline? Are we supposed to fight for our food option? That is it. I have decided not to fly on this horrible airline again. I advise whoever wants to travel on Etihad on economy, think twice. I am sure they pamper Business and First class passengers though they get their cream from Economy.
AircraftBoeing 777 / A340 / A380
Type Of TravellerFamily Leisure
Seat TypeEconomy Class
RouteToronto to Mumbai via Abu Dhabi
Date FlownJanuary 2017
Seat Comfort 12345
Cabin Staff Service 12345
Food & Beverages 12345
Inflight Entertainment 12345
Ground Service 12345
Wifi & Connectivity 12345
Value For Money 12345
no