[skapoor72]

Sharing my experience with this airline
Below was sent out to the customer feedback and they have failed to respond. In the run of catching up with their competitor Emirates they are going to fall smack on their faces with a complete disorganised structure

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I am writing this mail at the end of the two week trip which concluded in Mumbai on 30th March.
The mail gives a summation of my experience resulting from the lost baggage before it was finally located after a week of being in ‘lost status’
In addition details of the claim have been attached.

Etihad experience

Before getting down to the details of my experience, ' E Ti Had ' in my native language of Punjabi means 'this is the limit'
The nature of my work makes me travel quite frequently and it was no different this time when I was lined up for a 10 day trip covering New York - San Antonio-Houston- New Delhi

My journey began from Mumbai via a jet Airways flight to Abu Dhabi on 15 March. I had a normal check in with two baggages which was booked to my final destination at JFK airport in NY.
The halt in Abu Dhabi was uneventful and as scheduled I arrived JFK on 16 March morning via EY 103.
Much to my dismay I was the lone passenger with one piece of baggage lost. The one check in baggage I did receive was incidentally a parcel for an office colleague and was devoid of all my personnel belongings The case of my lost baggage was reported to the ground staff at the JFK airport . All that I was given as a documentation was mini slip giving me an email id of JFK baggage claims and a phone number( 718 751 3148). This was not the first time I had lost my baggage however there was a casualness in the approach of the ground staff and no one bothered to provide me with a formal Report as is always the case. I was literally made to believe its tough luck . it happens and Baggage shall arrive in the next flight scheduled later in the evening.
All details of the baggage and my hotel in NY were provided to the claims department. ( attached is the slip received from Mr Robert at JFK )

I checked into my hotel (Helmsley Park Lane) and purchased some necessary belongings hoping the baggage will arrive in the evening On Monday 17th morning at around 02::00 AM NYT I receive a call from the baggage claim department in Abu Dhabi. A certain Mr Mushtaq (+971 2 599 8446) inquired on the details of my belongings and once he was convinced he advised me the baggage is in the possession of Etihad . They apparently got my contact number after opening my suitcase and getting hold of my business cards. Mr Mushtaq further confirmed upon my query that there was no communication from JFK on my lost baggage details. I was assured the baggage will be available to me latest by Tuesday morning.

The jet lag coupled with lost baggage was not the best start to the extremely busy week but I let it pass for the moment.
Beginning Monday evening I started to make calls to the Telephone number provided at JFK as week as the number I received from Abu Dhabi . These calls started turning a bit frantic and frustrating coupled with a few emails till Wednesday morning as there was no response to any of the calls and mails.

On Wednesday evening I reached JFK airport for my onward journey to San Antonio. Decided to visit the claims department of Etihad before boarding my flight and after spending close to 45 min trying to locate the concerned persons ( marred by confusion at the front desk and baggage department of Etihad ) I was finally made to see the storage of lost baggages. Since the baggage never left Abu Dhabi it was eventually a waste of time On Friday 22 March I received a call from Mumbai Etihad that there is a lost baggage with my phone details in their system. Apparently the baggage was received from Abu Dhabi and sent back by mumbai for lack of details . The Mumbai Etihad team received it the second time and then chose to call me up.
Given the experience I could not take any further chance and decided to receive the baggage at my residence in Mumbai even though my business trip had the New Delhi leg still left in balance.

I am not new to travelling . Been doing that for close to 25 years and hence I am aware that travelling comes with its nuances and in 200 odd flights I would have lost my baggage half a dozen times.
However what has been concerning and upsetting me was the lack of communication by means of a follow up from an airline which holds and projects itself as the next big thing Growth can be painful and I can speak from my own experience considering I work for a shipping company named 'Scorpio which is probably the biggest name today in Shipping given its huge Order book of new merchant ships. I head their Global Operations and can tell you from my own experience that a lot of hard work goes in making this growth work which I am sure you are experiencing on an even larger scale.
A piece of advise which I can relay is to make sure the basics are kept right at all times.
My today's experience date 23rd March on a flight back from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi is no different where we had to wait for 30 minutes in the bus before alighting the aircraft. I have expressed my displeasure to the ground staff as well as the air hostesses and they were very receptive and gave me all the attention it needed to listen to the above experience as well assuring me that the case will be looked into by the concerned

I am hopeful you would look into this matter with an aim to improve your services towards your customers
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