Well fuck Etihad Airways that’s all I can say !

[Nirish guy]

So as the title suggests that’s my view today “FUCK Ethiad” - the worlds best airline “apparently” - so, I’d booked a ticket, Dublin to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi to Bangkok ( I know what a shitty route, I don’t know WHAT I was thinking even booking it !!)

So, Ethiad booked me on their partner airline ( air lingus) for the first leg - who ended up being an hour late departing, but who managed to cut that down to about a 40 minutes of a “late delay” - resulting in a tight 40 minute transfer time - tight but certainly more than doable - I however to be sure When on board I suggested to the air lingus crew they might want to call ahead and let the next crew know that myself and several other passengers WERE coming. “Oh no, no need sir”.... however the closer ( and later ) we got they conceded and did that and so there was a member of airport staff waiting for us at the gate - who was beyond useless !

She took us all - at a walking pace - towards passport control and then just stood there. Eventually we asked “so what you have us fast tracked here or what ?” to which she cheekily replied “I don’t know why you’re standing here, I can’t help you with passport control”. At this stage realising she was useless I gave up on her and RAN on towards the gate only for them to literally almost close the door in my face as I arrived !!

Some large German Ethiad “customer service” manager was then physically placed in front of me explaining loudly that I would NOT be allowed to board as “I” had missed my flight ! Needless to say a VERY frank exchange of views then took place with me reminding them it was their ( and their partners ) crap service that had caused the issue not us passengers ! Either way we were all denied boarding.

We were then then instructed to go get our backs from a particular carousel, we went there and it and all others were empty - as was the airport which was closing in 35 minutes ! Eventually we found one guy who didn’t even work for any airline but for the baggage handlers and he told us “honestly” - you’re screwed as our luggage system stops at 11pm, but don’t worry your bags will go to secure storage and you’ll just have to come to collect them again tomorrow.

We then had had to go to a different terminal to find the ONE air lingus agent guy left in the whole airport who we hoped could find us a hotel, which eventually he did. I should point out while all this was going on I called Ethiads “customer service” line and they couldn’t have cared less and their answer was “go talk to air lingus, it’s their problem ( at nearly 11pm when their desk was totally unmanned and the airport closing !)

Cut a long and stressful story short we were sent to a random hotel, had to come back to the airport this morning / only to find that our bags had in fact been left sitting on a carousel ALL NIGHT unsecured until the morning shift started ! And then we had to fight all over again to get redirected on another airline flying direct to Bangkok - so I’m now siting at the gate waiting to board the next Thai Airways flight and hoping my luggage is following me !

So, apologies for the long post but as I said at the start FUCK Eithad Airways and their TOTAL lack of ANY customer service or care ! They’ll be hearing from me on my return !

As others have mentioned though thank GOD I HAD booked ONE THROUGH TICKET and not deprecate journeys or I would have been TOTALLY screwed !

[cdnmatt]

You'll be in Thailand soon. Half a bottle of whiskey, a four hand massage, a couple blowjobs, some dtom yam gung, and you should be all set and stress free again.

[Nirish guy]

If they had of offered even ONE of those things last night it might have helped take the sting out of it all - but alas no. Was given a meal voucher worth 28 euros - a burger in the hotel restaurant cost 26 euro !! ( funnily enough) meaning I had to even buy my own beer ! Disgraceful ! :-)

[ceejay]

NIrish guy. You realise that if you just stay in Thailand and never go back to Ireland, this can never happen again?

[arsenal]

26 euros for a burger!!!

What the hell was it made from? Panda meat.

[gerefan2]

Please tell me you read Airline Reviews....If not time to start!
No need to read beyond the first page....
https://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/etihad-airways/

[goji]

.....there was a member of airport staff waiting for us at the gate - who was beyond useless !

She took us all - at a walking pace - towards passport control and then just stood there. Eventually we asked “so what you have us fast tracked here or what ?” to which she cheekily replied “I don’t know why you’re standing here, I can’t help you with passport control”. At this stage realising she was useless I gave up on her and RAN on towards the gate only for them to literally almost close the door in my face as I arrived !!

Some large German Ethiad “customer service” manager was then physically placed in front of me explaining loudly that I would NOT be allowed to board as “I” had missed my flight !

What complete ****s ! Slamming the door on you, when there is a group on a connecting flight. You are right to tell as many people as possible about their shitty service and take your business elsewhere.

[Brad the Impala]

So as the title suggests that’s my view today “FUCK Ethiad” - the worlds best airline “apparently” -

Sounds a terrible experience, but I'm not sure where you got the idea that Etihad is the world's best airline! From that part of the world Emirates are good and Qatar even better, but Etihad is nowhere close.

[joe552]

What a horrible experience NIrish. I hope you'll soon be enjoying the delights of Thailand (can't imagine what they are, myself). Chin up, lad.

But seriously, why would you add Frankfurt to your trip when Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Abu Dhabi or Dubai? I don't understand that.

[frequent]

So, apologies for the long post but as I said at the start FUCK Eithad Airways and their TOTAL lack of ANY customer service or care ! They’ll be hearing from me on my return !Did you stamp your foot as well?

[Smiles]

I'm certain Nirish must be in here somewhere. He might be at 4:16.
This guy especially is after red meat!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbPe8vyS1HQ

[Andaman!]

The carrier at fault is Aer Lingus. The Aer Lingus flight was late and you missed your connection. The door may have been closed in front of you but the flight will have been “closed” a while before that and the dispatcher will have been on board to hand over the final manifests etc from which you will have already been excluded. Irritating - but your flight was late. You were put up in an hotel and reprotected onto a TG service the next morning. Depending on how late you arrived into Bangkok compared to your original scheduled arrival time, you may be entitled to EU261 compensation provided the Aer Lingus delay was not due to issues outside its control (eg adverse weather or air traffic control issues). If your arrival time into Bangkok was more than 3 but less than 4 hours after the scheduled arrival, you are entitled to €300 and if over 4 hours €600 compensation. If your flight number was prefaced EI (Aer Lingus) you must make the claim against Aer Lingus. Complete the form at https://www.aerlingus.com/support/forms/post-travel-enquiry/ If the flight number was a codeshare with EY(Etihad) IATA code, then you have the option of making the claim against Aer Lingus as operating carrier or Etihad Feedback@etihad.ae You should make your claim attaching a copy of your booking and specifically requesting an EU261 compensation payment. You should also specify actual arrival time of the TG flight you were reprotected onto compared to the scheduled arrival time of the Etihad flight from Abu Dhabi. Good luck - hope you get your €600 payment promptly.

[aot871]

I have just read some reports on Air Line review site , and air lingus has very bad reviews

[Dalewood]

NIRISH, you should post this misadventure on Flyertalk.com.

[sglad]

We were then then instructed to go get our backs from a particular carousel,...

Why did you have to get your backs from the carousel? Were you being fucked assembly-line style?

[ceejay]

2 days have passed and no further word from NIrish from which we may conclude that he has either burst a blood vessel or that he has safely arrived and is now availing himself of the consolations that only Thailand can provide.

[christianpfc]

The carrier at fault is Aer Lingus.
...the Aer Lingus delay was not due to issues outside its control (eg adverse weather or air traffic control issues).
It might even be another airline's or airport's fault, or technical problems. I once waited 6 hours for a flight because the plane that was going to take me took off delayed.

But luckily, that one and another delay (Bangkok-Kiew-Berlin, the flight from Bangkok delayed to I didn't get my connection to Berlin, but had to wait some hours for the next flight to Berlin, even had to stamp in and out of Ukraine) were within my buffer zones and not such a mess as NIrish describes.

[Marsilius]

If your arrival time into Bangkok was more than 3 but less than 4 hours after the scheduled arrival, you are entitled to €300 and if over 4 hours €600 compensation.

Some airlines will sneakily try to get out of their obligations under EU law with a crafty scam. I was delayed at Cancun airport by a faulty aircraft and the need to fly engineers and replacement parts out from the UK to Mexico. The total delay was 32 hours. The airline put us up in a good hotel overnight, but when it came to the monetary compensation due under EU regulations it was another matter entirely. When we eventually disembarked at the UK, the crew gave out a form to each passenger. It was confirmation from the airline that we had been genuinely delayed and we were told that if we submitted this to our own travel insurers it would be sufficient to guarantee a no-questions payout.

What we were NOT told, however, was that in most cases a claim based on a normally-priced personal travel insurance policy would only pay out about, say, 150 euros or so. And the crucial point is that if you claim on your own personal travel insurance policy you cannot thereafter make a claim against the operating airline under the terms of the EU regulations. So not only do you get far less compensation overall, but the operating airline is not out of pocket at all.

I think that the airline relies on passengers not knowing their EU rights and also thinking that the airline is doing them a favour by giving them the written confirmation of delay and advising them how to use it to make a (substandard!) claim. Beware!

[Marsilius]

PS Just in case you were worried (!), I ought to add that I was among the cannier folks who spent their extra 32 hours in Cancun doing a bit of internet research on the subject. As a result, I ignored the airline's document and suggested course of action, filled out a request to the airline for direct compensation under the EU regulations (you can find online a useful template for how to word it) and, within a very short time, received the full 600 euros in the post.

[goji]

Thank you for sharing that Marsilius. One of the most useful posts I have read for quite some time.

In some cases, I believe the law requires companies to inform customers of their rights. In other cases, companies offering something back to customers have statements like "your statutory rights are not affected". With the airlines, it seems they try to make sure you become ineligible for your statutory rights.

One point, would you like to name & shame the airline ? I think they deserve it.


Some airlines will sneakily try to get out of their obligations under EU law with a crafty scam. I was delayed at Cancun airport by a faulty aircraft and the need to fly engineers and replacement parts out from the UK to Mexico. The total delay was 32 hours. The airline put us up in a good hotel overnight, but when it came to the monetary compensation due under EU regulations it was another matter entirely. When we eventually disembarked at the UK, the crew gave out a form to each passenger. It was confirmation from the airline that we had been genuinely delayed and we were told that if we submitted this to our own travel insurers it would be sufficient to guarantee a no-questions payout.

What we were NOT told, however, was that in most cases a claim based on a normally-priced personal travel insurance policy would only pay out about, say, 150 euros or so. And the crucial point is that if you claim on your own personal travel insurance policy you cannot thereafter make a claim against the operating airline under the terms of the EU regulations. So not only do you get far less compensation overall, but the operating airline is not out of pocket at all.

I think that the airline relies on passengers not knowing their EU rights and also thinking that the airline is doing them a favour by giving them the written confirmation of delay and advising them how to use it to make a (substandard!) claim. Beware!

[frequent]

One point, would you like to name & shame the airline ? I think they deserve it.Can you name (with evidence) a single airline whose business has suffered significantly recently because they have been "named and shamed"?

[gerefan2]

Can you name (with evidence) a single airline whose business has suffered significantly recently because they have been "named and shamed"?

That’s an easy one. Ryanair.

Ryanair were named and shamed by the UK CAA for giving misleading information about compensation when they had insufficient pilots to fly their aeroplanes. The pilots ran out of hours and most had to take time off towards the end of the year.

The UK CAA instructed Ryanair to withdraw their “advice” to customers and issue correct guidelines.

Ryanair made substantial losses over the incident from lost revenue, lost flights and having to pay additional compensation.

[frequent]

Ryanair were named and shamed by the UK CAA for giving misleading information about compensation when they had insufficient pilots to fly their aeroplanes. The pilots ran out of hours and most had to take time off towards the end of the year.Quite - Ryanair were named and shamed by a regulator. I want evidence of an airline that's been named and shamed by wankers stamping their foot over real or imagined misdemeanours

[gerefan2]

It was the general public that forced the regulator to take the action. Read about it ...

[frequent]

It was the general public that forced the regulator to take the action. Read about it ...You'll be able to direct me to a newspaper will you? Oh, I forgot, you don't trust newspapers, never read 'em

[gerefan2]

Well, if you’re not happy about that one what about the man who objected to being off loaded from an American flight and was forcible dragged off the aircraft. It went viral if you remember.

That was just one man stamping his foot and cost that Airline dearly.

[goji]

Ryan Air lost my goodwill when they started charging to carry my previously Ryan Air compliant Cabin Max luggage on board.

This luggage goes under the seat in front, so no capacity issue. However, last year they wanted ~£30 to take it on board when I was trying to book. I used a different airline and haven't yet flown with the greedy ****s since that charge. The "free" bag size they now have is barely large enough for a couple of changes of underwear.

Wizz are also bastards, with a website that makes booking as painful as possible, whilst you try to select what you need and nothing more.
They annoyed me a few years back by failing to provide the speedy boarding I had paid for departing Budapest. I often saunter on at the last moment & miss all this, but as I had a front row extra legroom seat, it's preferable to get the bag in an overhead bin by row 1, not row 10.
Myself & the other middle aged guys in the same boat gave their staff some serious grief for that foul up.

[frequent]

Well, if you’re not happy about that one what about the man who objected to being off loaded from an American flight and was forcible dragged off the aircraft. It went viral if you remember.

That was just one man stamping his foot and cost that Airline dearly.A five-minute Internet wonder with no lasting impact. What it was not, however, was some pathetic individual stamping his foot and shouting “I’ll never fly with you again” and thinking that such “naming and shaming” will make the slightest difference

But I’m intrigued how you know “it went viral” because as you’ve told us you haven’t read a newspaper for years. You now trust everything you see and read on the Internet do you? What a credulous person you must be

[Dalewood]

Well, if you’re not happy about that one what about the man who objected to being off loaded from an American flight and was forcible dragged off the aircraft. It went viral if you remember.

That was just one man stamping his foot and cost that Airline dearly.

Actually, any losses were very slight and very short-term despite all of the uproar.

[Dalewood]

Still no posts; NIrish must really be getting some consolation....

[frequent]

Still no posts; NIrish must really be getting some consolation....Possibly still trying to reclaim his luggage

[Andaman!]

Possibly still trying to reclaim his luggage
.........or spending his €600 compensation with gay abandon......

[joe552]

I heard from a reliable source that NIrish ended up in the Azores, while his luggage is still in the Falklands.

[gerefan2]

Did he not buy a Laptop or smartphone??

[Nirish guy]

Sorry chaps I haven’t logged in since I last posted that so haven’t read any of the previous ( yet). Currently in Bali and pleased to report whilst the resort is a little quieter than normal the free service isn’t and the usual easy 2 or 3 a day, every day is still very easily well doable - assuming ones stamina holds out accordingly of course ! :-)

Anyways going to run again as busy busy here :-)

[frequent]

... whilst the resort is a little quieter than normal the free service isn’t and the usual easy 2 or 3 a day, every dayAre you referring to the Second Coming?

[joe552]

Good to hear from you NIrish. Have a ball in Bali.

[Old git]

I used to fly via Frankfurt to save a few pennies - but not any more.

Yes - I have also been to the gate to see my connecting flight still there but denied boarding.

On one occasion, Frankfurt was suffering freezing fog and we had to circle for nearly two hours before we could land. My connection lost, I was given an hotel but had a long wait outside for a bus to get there - the temperature was around minus 5 and I was dressed for Thailand..

Nearly dead of exposure, I eventually grabbed the first bus that came and got the hotel it went to to call me a taxi to go to the right one.

Since then I pay the extra for a direct flight (and now pack a jersey in my hand luggage - just in case..)

[Marsilius]

Most unusually, in my experience, Frankfurt airport actually has a hotel inside Terminal 1. You can therefore enjoy a sleep during transit without having to go through Immigration to exit the airport and find a hotel in the city. It was not cheap but it was comfortable and convenient.

https://www.google.co.uk/travel/hotels/Frankfurt%20Airport/entity/CgsIkZTg8Mj3o4WNARAB?g2lb=4208993%2C4223281%2C4252 074%2C4253023%2C4253230%2C4253565%2C4254308%2C4258 168%2C4260007%2C4265959%2C4270442%2C4274032%2C4274 649%2C4282363%2C4284820%2C4251519%2C4256180%2C4265 427%2C4270859%2C4280642&hl=en&gl=uk&un=1&q=hotel%20inside%20frankfurt%20airport&rp=OAJAAEgC&ictx=1&ved=2ahUKEwj48-Xu8LTjAhVDoVwKHUc1CfQQvS4wAHoECAoQHw&hrf=CgUIrwEQACIDR0JQKhYKBwjjDxAIGAESBwjjDxAIGAIYAS gAWAGSAQIgAQ&tcfs=EhoaGAoKMjAxOS0wOC0wMRIKMjAxOS0wOC0wMlIA

[frequent]

Most unusually, in my experience, Frankfurt airport actually has a hotel inside Terminal 1. You can therefore enjoy a sleep during transit without having to go through Immigration to exit the airport and find a hotel in the city. It was not cheap but it was comfortable and convenientSo does Changi, in at least three of its four terminals - unlike Sisaket