Etihad Airways

Not Verified | I did not pay attention that my ticket did not include a suitcase, at check in I was asked to pay £200 for my suitcase of 7 Kg. Airlines are good at sending their customers to the competition. Wont see me ever again.

✅ Trip Verified | We had two flights with Etihad last week. Phuket - Abu Dhabi - Dublin. The first flight was an hour late to take off. I mean after everyone was onboard and everything seemed ready, we still waited almost an hour to take off. In both flights, the staff looked and spoke to people as if they were doing us a favor. Beef option offered, minced meat given. Very cheap for a company that sell themselves as a premium airline. And it was a flight from Thailand, where minced beef is not even a common thing in their culinary. The only positive thing I can say about the flights was the comfortable seat recline. But overall, they are far behind Emirates and Qatar Airways service quality. That’s for sure!

✅ Trip Verified | Flying from Pakistan to Denmark. Not able to continue my travel from Abu Dhabi because the plane was overbooked. Customer service is out the window. They’re not following rules and regulation. The regulation for compensation is actually on their own webpage, but they are not following them. Now I’m lying in bed at an airport hotel with three meal vouchers and waiting 24 hours to continue my journey. And the compensation is a $300 voucher that can only be used for transportation within Etihad Airways. It feels like a joke when you receive a voucher. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Normally I travel Qatar/Emirates when I’m travelling in this region. This is just a reminder why?

Not Verified |  Tickets were bought at a great price. Outbound and return flights were on time and arrived at destination early. Seat was OK, we were in the rear of the aircraft, so reclined further than normal. Food was tolerable (it's Economy). Cabin crew were terrible, not one smile, grudging service - requests for water were ignored. One male FA in particular was bordering on hostile. I'd fly Etihad again, if I had to.

Not Verified | The worst flight experience I’ve ever encountered. The seat armrest had collapsed and the reclining mechanism was broken meaning the seat continually slid forward and back for the entire 4.5 hour flight. The seat was covered in stains. The discomfort on the entire journey was made worse when I took the issue up with customer care afterwards. I just got a generic sorry and they closed the case, unwilling to do anything to rectify the situation or encourage me to fly with them again. I actually couldn’t believe that a legacy carrier can have such a lack of aftercare. They just want the money and don’t care about repeat business. Never use them again.

✅ Trip Verified | On our flight we did not receive any drinks (sparkling water could not be provided pre take-off). When asked about food, we confirmed our order, and re-ordered drinks. Still drinks did not arrive. After 2.5 hours of waiting for any drink or food I decided to go to sleep (it was 00:30 at this time), when the air hostess told me the food was finally ready. By that time I did not feel like eating anything as it was way too late (two hours after being offered food). I complained about this with Etihad - after more than a week the only response I got was to provide booking information (which I did). It is now over three weeks since my initial complaint and Etihad still has not gotten back to me. I'm appalled at the terrible service provided but what's even more galling is the complete lack of care from the customer care staff. This should have been resolved weeks ago but Etihad simply chooses not to engage with customer complaints. Will never fly with this airline again.

✅ Trip Verified | What has happened to Etihad? I was very disappointed having flown with Etihad many times. First of all, business class was rammed, high prices yet poor in flight service, food and third rate wines including being served sparking wine not champagne - other little luxuries cut back too: chocolates, cookies, basic amenity kit etc I found the service cursory, not once did I feel like a business class passenger, not once was I asked if my food, or for that matter anything else, was ok. No offer to replenish water during both long flights. The food was average, the wine dreadful! It was low cost plonk and nothing like the quality of Etihad of old. So, in summary, far less but for more money. 2 x tickets almost £6k. Etihad is not alone in fleecing customers and should work much harder to impress. They’re not alone, many airlines are making record profits whilst cutting service quality and amenity. Planes are packed, prices are sky high and there’s no quid pro quo with what’s being delivered. Even the lounges are packed, often with non business class passengers who are (understandably) taking advantage of an offer or paying extra. Trouble is, all of this dilutes the quality for business class travellers. Finally, fast track at LHR was a joke, a national embarrassment. SE Asia / Bangkok hugely more efficient. Very disappointing all round.

✅ Trip Verified | Very good service. There was a guy name Azad in the checkin line and he was very sincere helpful and was handling everything very professionally. He was helping me with every details and he was trying helping and giving his help to everyone. The flight experience is very good too. The seats were very comfortable and monitor works very good. Food was good too. Hopefully i will travel with eithad soon and will have a chance to meet this hospitality again.

✅ Trip Verified | I was not exactly looking forward to two long haul flights to London, especially departing at 2.15 in the morning, and with a 4 hour layover in Abu Dhabi. However, the check-in was smooth, but there was a delay in the incoming aircraft, so we actually departed an hour later. I had booked and paid for extra leg room seats (nearer the front of the aircraft) for both flights. Having 3 inches more leg room did make a difference in comfort. At the seat was placed a pillow and blanket, along with headphones. There was also a very basic amenity kit that just had an eye mask, ear plugs and hand lotion. The pouch itself opens up to a small bag. The meal service on both flights was pretty bland. I also observed that on recent Economy Class flights, the alchoholic drinks served is rather meagre. The wine in the small paper cup was only half full. On one occasion, when I requested whiskey, I felt embarrassed to have no more than a tablespoon served - just enough for one sip! Overall, despite my opinion about the food and drinks, the flights were comfortable. I was even able to doze off for a couple of hours on both flights.

✅ Trip Verified |   I had the worst flying experience with Etihad Airways at Abu Dhabi International Airport. I arrived at the airport 1 hour and 40 minutes before my flight to Boston. After waiting in a poorly managed check-in line (where other passengers were allowed to cut in front), I was informed that U.S. citizens must arrive over two hours early, a policy that was never mentioned during booking or on my ticket. The staff was completely unhelpful. I was sent back and forth between the check-in desk and ticket counter for over 30 minutes while my flight boarded. I was then told I could only rebook for the next day at an outrageous cost of $700, with no other options offered, no accommodation, no food vouchers. Etihad’s lack of clarity on policies, dismissive staff, and poor management made this an unbelievably stressful experience. I do not recommend flying with Etihad Airways unless you want to risk being stranded at the airport with no support and forced to pay exorbitant fees.