Sorry about my late response, and thanks Cazzi for following up. Yes, the issues was resolved over the weekend. Etihad demonstrated exceptional service and consideration. Not only I got the ticket reissued they also followed up today to make sure I was all set - not what you expect from airlines
The only advice I have is to better train the front line customer service team - they seem to be totally talking the script. But once you get past them to for example guest relations ppl etc, they actually go out of their way to understand your problem and help you. Advice for passengers: don't take NO as an answer from customer service (even their supervisors/managers) and have them escalate your issue to someone who has the authority and willingness to help you
All in all, I am pretty happy and will fly and recommend Etihad