Re: Etihad Airways
i agree with donni-paa (not nonni-paa :p)...they did their best to accommodate passengers. you can't blame them for missing the connecting flight and rude behavior of the BA staff.
Re: Etihad Airways
i suppose etehad could have housed ppl in a hotel and then put them on the next flight to toronto.
Re: Etihad Airways
i suppose etehad could have housed ppl in a hotel and then put them on the next flight to toronto.
i agree with mr chooha (thats wht imran calls X2 :p)
Re: Etihad Airways
my flight from lahore to abu dhabi was delayed because of bad weather in UAE. they brought the flight as soon as possible, and while we were sitting at the airport, they provided us with snacks. my flight from abu dhabi to toronto left almost 2 hours earlier, but they did give calls to people telling them that the flight was to leave earlier.
while the flight itself is pretty good...they are accomodating when it comes to things such as delays and what not...better than other airlines.
Re: Etihad Airways
i suppose etehad could have ... put them on the next flight to toronto.
That would mean waiting 3 days for the next flight from Abu Dhabi - Toronto.
Etihad did more than what was expected by paying for their trip to London, and then onwards to Toronto. I don't know what else someone could ask for in that situation. This is simply a case of false entitlement.
Re: Etihad Airways
Thats fine, ask the people what they needed, some people may have been better off waiting in a hotel and taking a direct flight rather than running all over the airport. especially older folks.
It was Etehad's responsibility to get the passengers to their destination, so they were not doing anyone any favours by getting them to London and then from their to toronto. It appears from the story that passengers were given incorrect information about connecting flights, and that Etehad did not provide much support to the passengers once at heathrow.
excellent service would have been Etehaad handling this stuff, receiving the passengers in Heathrow and taking them to their connecting flight counters, assisting them throughout.
I am not addressing the compensation for psychological and physical pain. all I am addressing is the fact thaty Etehad could have done more than they did. so when people asked what elese could Etehaad have done, I have stated a few things thay could have done and could have done better.
Re: Etihad Airways
i agree…:k:
Re: Etihad Airways
Thats fine, ask the people what they needed, some people may have been better off waiting in a hotel and taking a direct flight rather than running all over the airport. especially older folks.
It was Etehad's responsibility to get the passengers to their destination, so they were not doing anyone any favours by getting them to London and then from their to toronto. It appears from the story that passengers were given incorrect information about connecting flights, and that Etehad did not provide much support to the passengers once at heathrow.
excellent service would have been Etehaad handling this stuff, receiving the passengers in Heathrow and taking them to their connecting flight counters, assisting them throughout.
I am not addressing the compensation for psychological and physical pain. all I am addressing is the fact thaty Etehad could have done more than they did. so when people asked what elese could Etehaad have done, I have stated a few things thay could have done and could have done better.
Thank you for getting it. :D
They had no arrangements with British Airways. NONE. Yet they sent my parents and a bunch of otehrs to the BA desk. If you are familiar with Heathrow airport, you know how much you have to walk. It's ridiculous, especially for older people. When they got to that desk, BA said that they have no arrangements with Etihad, they aren't putting them on a plane anywhere.
I don't consider that excellent service. That's real ****ty service. Then my parents had to argue with Etihad and only then did they decide to put them on and Air France flight which was leaving the next day. Nobody gave a damn.
Bad weather was just a BS excuse used by Etihad, considering other flights were able to fly out of Abu Dhabi.
When we were leaving Abu Dhabi for Islamabad, there was severe fog and ALL flights were grounded. No flights to Toronto were secretly snuck out ... and if that really was the case, it wasn't a case of 1 or 2 passengers, it was SIXTY who they left behind. Ridiculous.
Still no luggage has been found.
Re: Etihad Airways
That would mean waiting 3 days for the next flight from Abu Dhabi - Toronto.
Etihad did more than what was expected by paying for their trip to London, and then onwards to Toronto. I don't know what else someone could ask for in that situation. This is simply a case of false entitlement.
Wanting them to wait until Tuesday was exactly what Etihad wanted them to do. But when you have 60 passengers screaming at you cause they need to get back to work, including my folks, where my mother is ill, nobody was going to tolerate that. So they did the best Etihad could do which was dump my parents and others in London and then wipe their hands clean of the situation. From there, getting to Toronto was a huge fight which Etihad wanted no part of.
Re: Etihad Airways
Bad weather was just a BS excuse used by Etihad, considering other flights were able to fly out of Abu Dhabi.
You're saying Etihad would fly you to Al Ain, then on a flight to Abu Dhabi, from there to to London, and then back to Toronto just for the heck of it? Just so they could lie about bad weather?
Their standard response is to give you two options: in this situation your options were to wait for the next Etihad flight on Tuesday (they'd be legally forced to give you a hotel room) or if you really wanted they could fly you to another destination served by Etihad and travel from there to the final destination on your own terms. Your parents, for some reason, chose to go to London.
Your story's unfortunate but unfairly biased in favor of your parents. Reading between the lines it's clear Etihad went above and beyond providing alternative arrangements. Hope you get the luggage.
Re: Etihad Airways
The closure of Abu Dhabi airport due to bad weather was all over the news here. So Etihad didn't BS you on that. The airport really was closed for 9 hours and I guess the flight of your parents was within that time frame.
However I agree that they could have handled the situation better. If it's one or two passengers I'd understand why they won't hold the Toronto flight. But leaving 60 people behind is not really smart on them.
Re: Etihad Airways
Why did the flight for Canada leave from Abu Dhabi if all the flights were grounded? My parents chose to go to England cause that's the only option that Etihad gave them ... either go to England or sit and wait until the next flight, which was on Tuesday. If it was just them moaning about it, ok ... but it is 60 people! They just showed on the news yesterday that some Etihad flight broke on the runway on Friday .... so maybe that is what the real problem was????
Coming to Jakarta, we missed our flight from Bangkok to Singapore. PIA really did go out of their way to get us a hotel room, put us on the next flight to Bangkok, and made sure we got our luggage ASAP since it wasn't in Jakarta when we arrived.
Surprisingly, PIA gave good service. Etihad, sorry to say, did not.
Re: Etihad Airways
The main point is that return tickets were purchased from Etihad airlines.
To fly return from Karachi to Abu Dhabi to Toronto. Therefore the passengers were Etihad’s responsibility.
Tickets were not purchased to fly Karachi to Abu Dhabi to London to Paris to Toronto, waiting aimlessly at airports, being bounced around from one airline to another and then after almost 2 entire days of traveling finally reaching their true destination.
Calling the Etihad 24hr Call Center was also useless. Every time they were called over the 2 days of traveling they had NO answers to give the families who were trying to track their relatives down.
The weather was the reason for not landing in Abu Dhabi and instead going on to Al Ain and then returning to Abu Dhabi. Up to this point everything is acceptable. No one can control weather conditions.
What was not outstanding service and totally unacceptable is how quickly Etihad dumped these 60 passengers. They got NO answers from the ground staff about what was going on or when they would get another flight. After several hours of waiting at Abu Dhabi airport the passengers began a journey of being bounced around from one airline to another. They endured the waiting game in London and in Paris before reaching Toronto.
For anyone who has experienced traveling through London, Heathrow airport will realize how impossible it is to find or make arrangements for transportation in a matter of minutes. Considering there was no plan to travel to Europe and there was little or lack of communication from Etihad to the passengers, no advance arrangements could be made. Every minute standing is a minute lost in travel time to the other gate. They basically had no choice but to endure the lengthy and speedy walks from one end of the airport to another to reach the various gates for different airlines. It is pointless even asking anyone to understand how difficult and lengthy the terminal walks are there unless you frequent this airport. Imagine your own parents in this situation.
Ultimately no one will truly understand the feelings that these passengers felt until they are in there 60’s being treated this way or have a serious health condition.
Re: Etihad Airways
nothing surprising there khatoon, PIA and anything related to Pakistan is always the best. Pakistan Zindabaad. 
Re: Etihad Airways
I've heard with the new planes and improvements in service PIA is worth trying out. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about Emirates.
Re: Etihad Airways
Sun Shine 
Re: Etihad Airways
something similar happened on gulf. a flight from Pakistan to Kuwait and then London took 40+ hours and from London to JFK, NY, US took another 20 due to contingent flights being delayed.
i would say that give the air plain service a benefit of doubt once, but i can see why people with small children or elderly or someone going for an appointment or important will get upset.
all flights can have delays on any airline.
we need to be planning well and then improvise as a tough situation arise in travel.
best,
Dushwari
Re: Etihad Airways
DO NOT GO TO ABU DHABI AIRPORT
it is a joke operation
i had a similar experience in 2005 being told to disembark the plane for no reason, and then sleep overnight in the airport and wait for the next flight in the morning.. we were not offered a hotel room, compensation, explanation, or apology... we had to fly to muscat then change planes again for the karachi flight.. how ridiculous!
with regard to mehnazs story
- what 'fog' do they have in 35 degree weather?
- how did the connecting flight in abu dhabi leave if there was 'bad fog'
- why could the flight not wait for SIXTY connecting passengers from karachi when they knew it would create a mess for themselves not to mention the 60 passengers trying to arrange alternate flights
i already had my experience at abu dhabi airport in 2005 so i will never go back nor recommend it. in 2005 i flew in Gulf, this story is with Etihad, but the common theme is ABU DHABI airport.. it is the most UNPROFESSIONAL airport i have ever had the experience to encounter..
i am telling everyone i can NOT to travel thru this airport
you are treated worse than cattle or garbage by the management!
Re: Etihad Airways
The closure of Abu Dhabi airport due to bad weather was all over the news here. So Etihad didn't BS you on that. The airport really was closed for 9 hours and I guess the flight of your parents was within that time frame.
However I agree that they could have handled the situation better. If it's one or two passengers I'd understand why they won't hold the Toronto flight. But leaving 60 people behind is not really smart on them.
if abu dhabi airport was 'CLOSED' due to bad weather, how did the connecting flight to toronto LEAVE from THE SAME AIRPORT that was supposedly closed???
when does Heathrow/Frankfurt/JFK ever close due to weather???
Re: Etihad Airways
i flew from NYC to Mumbai 2 days ago with Etihad, it was a nightmare flight, however I must agree with LondonE7 that the common theme here is Abu Dhabi airport, not Etihad. The flight itself was very comfortable and the staff attentive and courteous. We were unable to land in Abu Dhabi due to fog.. and I was reminded of this thread. To me, it didn’t really seem that bad, however the passenger seated next to me happened to be a pilot with a license to fly commercial flights.. she assured me that the visibility was indeed below acceptable levels… so i stopped complaining. We were detoured to Doha airport, which is the saddest thing ever to be called an airport. Stuck on the plane for 3 hours, after which we flew to Abu Dhabi.. it was honestly the worst airport I have ever seen. Chaos reigned… no one could tell us which gate we were supposed to go to… we were sent all over the place and it was just exhausting having to lug our stuff everywhere. The airport was smelly and full of jaahil employees and hordes of jaahil passengers who just shoved their way here and there..as though it were some kinda bazaar in cairo or somet. Happily, the connection flight was delayed by a few hours, and after an exhausting voyage we made it to Mumbai. Sadly due to this delay, I missed my connection flight to Delhi.
I have now resolved to travel only by airlines stopping in Europe. Last year I bought an Etihad ticket because of the awesome fare offered, but it cost me more in the long run due to stressful travel and a missed connection flight. Hasta la pasta, Etihad, Kuwait Airlines et al 