Etihad reviews

no water, no food, no hotel, no lounge—nothing. So after some grumbling I bought a one-night lounge pass for $120, and, absurdly, that's when the trip turned. The lounge had decent showers, actual hot food, and a couch that cured my grump. Not an apology, but I finally felt satisfied. Tip: pack snacks or be ready to pay for peace. Staff attitude needs work, though.

some crew were fine, others seemed rushed. The real disappointment was after: customer support felt completely outsourced and not interested, lots of scripted answers and long waits. On the bright side the flight itself landed on time and booking was easy, so it’s not a total loss. Still, they didn’t really deliver what was promised.

I first spotted their offer on a travel blog, and a friend actually nudged me to give them a shot — glad I did. The ticket showed up in my inbox way sooner than I expected, which already made me breathe a bit easier. I did hit a snag with a last-name correction and braced for a big fee, but the customer service agent I got was calm, patient and walked me through options. The hold time wasn't great, but once connected they solved it without fuss and kept me updated by email. Delivery of the e-ticket and receipts was tidy and on time. Overall relieved and happy; worth recommending to pals.

I was at the airport last month and everything seemed fine until the flight was delayed about 14 hours. Big hassle — missed a night’s sleep, paid for a last-minute hotel and snacks (ugh) — and at first the customer service felt like a conveyor belt, lots of passing me around. After a few calls one agent actually apologized and helped arrange a hotel voucher and rebook my connection, which I appreciated. The $200 they offered felt low for all the extra costs. Not ideal, but at least they fixed some things, so I’m relieved I made it home safe.

disappointed with meal choices and with support, though the trip itself was fine. I first noticed the issue while booking online. A friend had tipped me to try Etihad, so I was surprised. My mother is pescatarian and I couldn't find a seafood meal option. On other carriers, like Emirates, that's been easy. I phoned the call centre. The agent couldn't help. I sent emails. No reply. The web help centre gave nothing useful. That lack of follow-up felt sloppy. Flights were on time. Crew were okay. So it's not a total fail. But for a carrier I pick regularly it's annoying. They could fix this with a simple menu update and better follow-up. Small changes would make a big difference. Still, the basic service works. I will fly again, but I'll call ahead next time.

I wouldn’t trust them with a straightforward refund or a compensation claim. I’ve been chasing a tax refund related to a flight for about three years now and it’s still unresolved — the case was apparently closed and the money never showed up. On top of that, I can’t submit the delay-compensation form online because it errors out every time. I’ve sent multiple emails (five, at least) and asked for help via their support address but got no useful replies. It’s frustrating because I had a smooth experience getting compensation from another carrier in a month, so I know it can be done. Also, I got sick from the in-flight meal on two legs of the trip, which didn’t help. They keep saying my bank info is wrong — it isn’t — so it feels like I’m being stonewalled. My advice to others: document everything, try alternate contact methods early, and be ready to escalate legally if needed. I’d like them to be more responsive and clear; that would change everything.

I won’t be booking with them again. My ticket said there’d be a coach from Bristol to Heathrow at 11:00 on the day of travel, so I planned everything around that. The coach never arrived. I stood there with my bags, made calls, tried support, and ended up cobbling together a last-minute route to catch something — and still missed the long-haul. What annoyed me most was the complete lack of real help from the airline’s support; they gave me the usual “you missed your connection” line and wouldn’t admit their timetable was wrong. I’ve had other carriers step in when things went sideways, offer a hotel or rebook, so this felt particularly cold. To be fair, there was nothing aggressive about the staff I eventually spoke with, but it was too little, too late. I got out of it, eventually, but it cost extra and a lot of stress. If you value backup plans and clear communication, be cautious here — their booking made a promise that didn’t get kept, and the follow-up was weak.

the in-flight experience was fantastic, the after-flight admin was a pain. We flew Etihad business LHR–Shanghai return and honestly the check-in, lounges and crew were all top notch — proper comfort, attentive staff, the whole thing. Then our flight got cancelled and swapped to China Eastern (not really comparable), and Trailfinders had to push hard to get us back onto Etihad. After that Etihad billed us for seat selections and lounge access that we never should have paid for. Their feedback form didn’t work, emails went nowhere, and it felt like we were talking to a void until Trailfinders stepped in again. Five months later TF finally recovered the money. I’ve worked in management and it’s surprising to see such a clumsy refund process from a carrier that otherwise nails the travel part. So, would I fly Etihad again? The flights themselves: yes. The paperwork and refunds: it left a bad taste, so I’d be cautious next time and maybe use an agent again.

Funny thing — I booked what I thought would be a simple trip, and it turned into this slow-motion mess. The delivery updates were vague (if even there), and trying to get a human who could actually help before the flight was exhausting. I tried the chatbot, live chat, social posts — all polite dead ends. Phone calls promised a supervisor callback in 24 hours; nine days later, after three more calls, a supervisor did call and basically said they couldn't help or point me to anyone who could. There was no way to file a formal complaint before travel — only a bland 'feedback' option after the fact — which felt useless when I needed an answer now. Compared to other carriers I've dealt with, the lack of clear policy or even a T&C reference was surprising. They kept saying it's "policy" but never showed it. I get companies have rules, but the runaround and radio silence on delivery and customer service was frustrating. Not hostile, just disappointed — and I won't be rushing back.

I almost didn’t book the flight because I was nervous about taking my cat along. A friend in Toronto had told me Etihad was usually okay with pets, and their written note confirming my cat on specific flights convinced me — that’s why I paid. After that, though, things got messy. Etihad Pet Services kept sending vague, copy-paste replies. Every message said they’d look into it, and then nothing concrete came back. I kept asking who would pay any fees, and what would happen if the cat was refused at the airport. Crickets, or contradictory answers depending who answered. It left me and my partner scrambling and stressed, and honestly upset that our travel plans were hostage to their paperwork. I did appreciate that the initial confirmation existed — that’s why I risked booking — but the follow-up was a joke. If you’re thinking of doing this, be prepared to chase them, keep screenshots, and don’t expect clear timelines. I still hope it’ll be smoother next time, but for now my confidence is low. Small thumbs up for having any written confirmation at all, but the customer side needs serious work.

did I just pay for seats that weren’t really there? Tried to change things myself but there’s no option on their site, which surprised me because every other carrier I’ve used lets you swap seats easily. Spent about two hours on live chat — which was tiring — and the agent did eventually move us, and honestly she was polite and worked with me. The annoying bit: she didn’t tell me I wouldn’t get back the fare difference between the original and new seats, even though I asked first. So I’m down about £100 now, which left a bad taste. Also had to request kids’ meals through chat, again — no online request. I’ve asked for a formal complaint route and been promised a callback; I won’t hold my breath but maybe they’ll surprise me. Overall, some small bright spots (the rep tried), but my initial worries mostly stuck around.

I remember the check-in area being eerily quiet, not the usual hustle — and that should’ve been my first clue. We showed up to Kuwait International Airport with kids in tow, thinking we were on time, and found the Etihad desk locked and empty. No staff, no sign, just a closed counter and a small group of other passengers looking as confused as we were. There were three young kids in our party and one older traveller who needs regular care, so the situation felt urgent.

family visits, work calls, the usual. Still, I had this tiny niggle before buying — a vague worry about being treated differently on some routes. Didn’t expect that little worry to grow into a full-on eyebrow raise at the check-in counter.

I gotta tell you about this airline I flew with for my solo trip to Thailand over Christmas. So, the flight centre suggested them and I thought, hey, they must know what they're talking about, right? But man, the online check-in was a disaster! It said I needed a visa when I didn't, and I almost lost it. I had to make countless phone calls just to get through check-in at Heathrow and Abu Dhabi.

The whole thing was a mess, let me tell you. It totally ruined the end of my holiday. And get this - on the way back, they put me on standby without even telling me why or if I'd get a seat! The lack of communication and all these booking mistakes just added to my stress.

To top it off, it took them four months to respond to my email - and it was just a generic apology! That's just terrible customer service. I'll never forget this awful experience.

My buddy had to take a sudden flight before our trip we had all planned with that airline. We wanted to change the return flight using the ticket we already had, but they made us fork over more money to get it reissued. It just didn't seem right, considering how much we already shelled out for half of the service. They're acting like a bunch of vultures!

My first time flying with this airline was a total disaster. We got on the plane, but then had to get off because of technical problems. We had to wait around for hours, and then they told us our flight was rescheduled for the next day, completely messing up our plans. They didn't seem to care at all and didn't offer much help. I would highly recommend avoiding this airline for your own sanity.

I recently had a really bad experience with this airline, eh? My luggage got broken into and some of my stuff got stolen during the flight, bud. When I told customer service about it, they just gave me a useless answer and said my suitcase only had a little damage, eh. They wouldn't take responsibility for the stolen stuff and didn't offer any compo, bud. This airline is a disgrace and you shouldn't trust 'em, eh. They're just a bunch of thieves taking advantage of us customers, bud.

I was so disappointed with the customer service I got from an airline I used recently. When I picked up my baggage at London Heathrow Airport, I saw that it was all messed up. I quickly went to the airline's desk to tell them what happened and they gave me a number to use for making a claim online. I did everything they asked, sent in pictures of my wrecked luggage, and then had to wait for a response. But then I got an email saying my case was closed, with no explanation or compensation. When I tried to find out more about what happened, they just gave me another reference number and the same lousy outcome. This airline's customer service is terrible and really unprofessional. They clearly don't care about their customers or our stuff. I recommend steering clear of this airline whenever you can.

My experience at check-in was absolutely terrible. There were seven of us, including two little ones, and we had an extra bag weighing 6kg. The check-in people made us remove the extra bag, and it took a painful two hours to sort it out. I'm really upset about all this and I think I need to make a formal complaint. Can you please give me an email address to do that? The lack of efficiency and friendliness from the check-in staff was just terrible. And on top of that, they were constantly speaking in their home language, which made us feel left out and uneasy.

I just went on a trip with my baby, and unfortunately, my family got split up because there weren't enough seats on the plane. I tried talking to customer service to fix it, but they weren't very helpful and kind of blew me off. The people on the phone didn't seem to care or want to help me out, which made me super frustrated and lonely on the flight. I had to deal with everything by myself, and the airline didn't offer any help or comfort.