[pemmoz]

Shame on you ETIHAD. Claiming to be one of the best airlines in the world and treating elderly passengers travelling alone with complete disregard and disrespect.
My elderly mother flew from JNB to AUH on 8th January on EY603. She was to connect with flight EY019 to LHR and travel onwards to New York. The flight from JNB was delayed by over 90 minutes. The reason given that it was waiting for passengers from another flight. Original departure time was 19:40.
The flight made up some time and arrived at the destination just 50 minutes late. Other passengers onboard this flight (Seats 10c/d) were also concerned about the connection to London but were assured by flight crew that they would be assisted on arrival and they would make the flight....
My mother who sat in seat 11d was not offered any assistance whatsoever and consequently was denied boarding for this flight despite having her boarding card already in hand......
She was rudely informed by ground staff that she must get on the later flight and the consequences of this meant that all connecting flights from London would be missed. These were, London-New York-Miami-San Pedro Sula-La Ceiba, a total of 4 flights..... Where she would originally have had over 4 hours layover in London now she would miss all her flights.
The passengers from seats 10c/d did manage to connect to the original London flight.
On arrival in London, finally after this flight was also delayed for 60 minutes to wait for passengers from another flight she noticed that Etihad had kindly sent her an email - time of email was sent after the original flight was scheduled to depart from Johannesburg - informing her that they had changed her departure from AUH....
My mothers baggage was already checked through to NEW YORK from Johannesburg so they were quite aware that she had connecting flights that would be missed as a result of this last minute change.... and one can reasonably assume that once a person has departed they may not have access to emails during time of travel....
To summarise:

• original flight delayed to wait for passengers
• ETIHAD MAKES CHANGES TO BOOKING and CONNECTING FLIGHT. SENDS EMAIL ONLY AFTER BOARDING CARD IS ISSUED AND ORIGINAL FLIGHT HAS DEPARTED
• allowed some but not all of the passengers to board original connection with no explanation or compensation... preferential treatment to certain customers but COMPLETE indifference to others
• baggage checked to New York indicates clearly that other flights are going to be missed if connection not made
• customer has to make emergency purchase for new flights, $1000's of Dollars and pay for accommodation in UK due to layover
• NEW FLIGHT LEAVING AUH FOR LHR IS DELAYED TO WAIT FOR PASSENGERS FOR 60 MINUTES........

So both flights that my mother was unfortunate enough to have booked or been allocated to were delayed to wait for other passengers... yet she, a passenger of ETIHAD who was delayed, was NOT allowed to board her flight... she was given no compensation for the 6 hours spent waiting at the airport, she was given no explaination as to why she had been PUSHED ASIDE while other passengers from the same flight AND SAME CLASS OF TRAVEL were ESCORTED TO THEIR CONNECTION.


I am disgusted by this level of incompetance and the way that the airline has the audactiy to change someones flight when they are already boarded,knowing that they can make the connection but are too greedy and had opted to sell the seat instead of waiting for all the passengers to baord. Im happy for you ETIHAD, glad you were able to make a couple of hundred dollars on that extra sale... you have cost my mother thousands and have cost yourself customers.