Etihad Airways

caovit

I was denied boarding on Etihad flight from London to Hong Kong on 13 February 2014. Etihad ground staff claimed I could not produce evidence of onward travel.

In fact I did have evidence of onward travel. I had booked a trip to Japan for a week’s snowboarding through a HK travel agency departing on 16 February. I had an itinerary which I showed to Etihad’s Duty Manager at Heathrow and pointed out I was traveling with a large bag containing a snowboard. This was not accepted as evidence. I then had a stamped receipt from the travel agency forwarded, giving the time and date of my flight from HK to Tokyo, the hotel I was staying in and with a stamp that showed it was paid in full. The Duty Manager also refused these further documents as ‘not evidence’ and the flight departed without me.

I had to buy another flight, on a more sympathetic airline, leaving that evening at a cost of £500.52 and spend 16 hours waiting in the check in area of Heathrow.

Since then I have fruitlessly attempted to get a satisfactory resolution from Etihad’s Guest Affairs. They have relied entirely on largely fictitious reports from the Duty Manager at Heathrow. These change from one email to the next. In his first report he claims I did not know the date or destination of my onward travel. In the next, after I sent documents to Etihad proving otherwise, he claims I did not have the flight number. In the one after that, when evidence of a flight number was shown to have been provided, Etihad claim only a booking reference or flight ticket is acceptable as evidence. Then they apologise for my inconvenience and hope to welcome me aboard Etihad flights in future.

I have been flying to and from HK for several years now and have never been asked to produce onward travel documents at check in. Further, as immigration rules state no onward travel document need be produced if traveling on to Macau or Mainland China, I could have simply told ground staff that this was my plan. Neither the FCO nor Hong Kong immigration state that a booking reference or flight ticket for a future trip is required, only that visitors comply with regulations. Similarly Etihad’s Conditions of Carriage state:
"You are responsible for obtaining and holding all required travel documents and visas and for complying with all applicable laws, regulations, orders, demands and travel requirements of all countries to be flown from, into or through which you transit.”

HK immigration inform me “each case is determined on its individual merits.” Perhaps Etihad took the view that the travel agent’s receipt, the itinerary with a large ‘VISIT JAPAN’ logo at the top and the large bag of snowboards were part of some elaborate ruse to get to HK and bring shame on their airline’s good name.

Etihad claim to offer “the best of Arabian hospitality - cultured, considerate, warm and generous.” In the light of my experience I find this to be utterly insulting. Only when I sent an email to senior managers was the incident taken seriously. Since then I have been offered a “goodwill gesture” of a refund on the unused leg of my flight and an apology for the inconvenience. They refuse to reimburse me for the extra flight I had to buy or compensate me for the day I spent sitting in Heathrow. In any case, I am not entirely sure how to redeem this offer as Etihad Guest Affairs now ignore my emails. Facebook messages are referred to Guest Affairs with a message thanking me for my patience.

All has been sent to the CAA for investigation, but I’d appreciate any thoughts in the meantime.

visidigi

So they offered you a refund. And you asked them to pay for the flight that got you to HK too?

agrinnall

One post on the Travel board was enough.