I had a very very bad experience with Etihad. The first experience was while booking the tickets. When I tried booking the ticket from JFK to MAA, the website encountered errors while processing my payment. My credit card was debited with the fee but I was not able to get the ticket confirmed.
The page showed an error message. This happened four times in a span of two days and my credit limit exceeded and my credit card was blocked. I had no other option but to call the booking office to book the ticket. I did the same and the executives booked the ticket on behalf of me with the details of my debit card. The fare was higher than the other airlines but I booked the ticket thinking the service will be better in Etihad. But this was disputed in the other incidents. My first shocker came when I received my bank statement. There was an international transaction fee of $39 (USD) charged for the booking. I called up the customer care number many times they haven’t come with an answer even after 90 days I booked the ticket.
Thee second shocker came when I boarded the flight. They charged $137 USD for a luggage which was under 50 pounds but they said the size was large. But my luggage was a carton box which is very thin and 40 inches in diagonal length. The worst part was I checked with the customer care the previous day and they never mentioned about this. They only told me that the weight should not exceed 50 pounds. The third shocker came inside the flight. The flight departed JFK around 10:30 PM and the flight attendants were so lethargic that I kept on asking them for some food.
They kept on saying that its coming. It didn’t come and it was paining my stomach due to hunger. I slept with the hunger and tiredness. Finally they woke me around 1:30 AM for food. I don’t know what kind of service it is. I owed that I will never ever travel in Etihad and also advised few of my friends due to their very pathetic service and attitude. Please don’t get into the trap of Etihad with their star rating.