[David2015]

Etihad are currently ignoring my complaint so Im posting here for everyone to see:

" 11/07/2015

​​​​Dear Etihad,

I have a complaint regarding issues while flying with Etihad,

Me and my partner were flying from an EU destination (Ireland) to Perth (Australia) and were denied boarding, to my Perth flight in Abu Dhabi, because the flight was overbooked.

I believe this was EY 486, uncertain as they would not issue me a boarding pass.

On this evening (8/7/2105), it had happened, with many different people on many different flights, so it is clear, that Etihad has a policy of overbooking flights and "bumping off" passengers, because of the extra profits this can generate. We stood in a non-moving queue at the main transfer desks for an hour, while they were dealing with people from different flights, who had been overbooked, before running to another terminal to try and get a boarding pass at a quieter transfer desk.

I was told to sit down and wait for a number of hours, by staff at the transfer desk, while my flight departed. It was only after pushing them, that they admitted the flight was overbooked and I would not be boarding. They initially, would not tell me the truth.

Hotel accommodation was not provided overnight, they only gave us a pass to use a sleeping pod in the airport, which is a shared room with many people, sleeping in a reclined seat with a cover. Almost impossible to sleep and sub standard accomodation. This is the first breach of the law.

As compensation, a 300 USD, Etihad travel voucher was issued for me and my partner. This voucher can't be used online or on the phone, but only redeemed at certain international offices, in person I believe, which incur heavy extra charges anyway. Apart from the difficulty in actually getting to these places. It is effectively a useless voucher, that can't really be used, while extra seats were sold on my original flight to people booking late and paying high prices. I booked two months early and was denied boarding.

EU compensation is 600 euros, per ticket, can be requested in cash or credit, for denied boarding due to overbooking on a flight over 3,500km+,

The Warsaw and Montreal conventions also cover these situations.

The staff later issued a new ticket for the next day via Bangkok this time. Turning a 2 stopover trip from Ireland to Australia into a 3 stopover trip. This flight was also delayed by four hours and I had to, again be re-routed the following day, as this had again, caused me to miss my onward flight to Perth. They had also lost my bags. No compensation was offered this time

I had to spend the night in Bangkok. I'm a dual citizen. I had my Irish passport on my person and my Australian passport ended up in the bag. This was not an issue, as I was already checked in at Dublin, having shown my Australian passport. Immigration in Perth can check my details easily.

As I had now, once again to check in for new flights at Bangkok the next day, it became a problem, as Etihad had lost my Australian passport (in my bag) and my Irish one had no visa. The Australian authority's had to intervene to allow me to board that flight.

This time we were sent to Singapore, the fourth stopover so far, where I once again encountered the same problem and once again needed Australian intervention to force them to let me board, my Perth flight.

In the process, my Australian passport had also been declared lost. I would not have done this, because it was not lost. I knew where it was and could retrieve a few days later when my bags surfaced. It was a frequent traveler passport and a replacement costs 376 dollars.

By the time we arrived in Perth, we had to take five separate flights, had been wearing the same clothes for four days travelling, all luggage and possessions had been lost, one of my passports cancelled, stuff most likely stolen from my bag and the only compensation is unusable vouchers.

Baggage services in Perth informed me that so far 52 bags so far had been reported lost from that Etihad flight I had been denied boarding, landing in Perth on 9/7/2015. This was 11/7/2015 and most of the bags were still missing in Abu Dhabi.

Travelling through Abu Dhabi (with Etihad) last year, a laptop was stolen out of my checked luggage. I did not report it then, but its worth mentioning, because I was surprised to find everything still in my bag when it eventually arrived in Australia. Although both bags had clearly been opened and checked inside.

The end result is:

- Sub-standard accommodation in Abu Dhabi airport, poor, almost unusable compensation voucher paid for re-selling my booking to someone else.

- A two day, two stopover trip turned into a four day, four stopover trip, five flights to reach my destination.

- All luggage was lost in the process leaving us wearing the same clothes for the whole time.

- Many valuables in luggage, laptops, i-pods, clothes, various certificates, a frequent traveler passport, Some of this stuff may have been stolen by ground staff as my laptop was last year when travelling with Etihad.

- As a consequence of not having the second passport on me and being forced to do additional check-ins due to the airline faults, It was declared lost and I will have to replace passport at a cost of 376 dollars.

- Overall dishonest practices

This is the summary of my complaint,

Boarding passes, baggage tags and flight details attached,

Regards,"