Changing Etihad Multi stop flight

Ames

Hi,

I'm supposed to be flying:

Cape Town - Jo'burg
Jo'burg - Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi - London.

For various reasons my holiday plans have changed and I'd like to skip the first bit and just fly from Jo'Burg. Does anyone know if this is possible and how to arrange it? I'm guessing I won't just be able to turn up for the Jo'Burg leg without letting them know? I can't find contact details though and the only online option is to totally rebook the flights.

Alan_Bowen

If you fail to take your first sector, the usual rule is that all other sectors are cancelled automatically. You need to speak to Etihad in SA and see what they can do as pricing can change even though you are now flying a shorter distance. This is not something that can be arranged on line, Etihad need to be called or visited

102 Rivonia Road, Tower 2, 6th Floor, Sandton 2196, Ernst & Young Building, Johannesburg, South Africa 0860123150 (within S.Africa)

richardw

Cpt-LHR and Jnb-LHR are different markets and different fares apply, it's best to call them, also consider doing the cpt-Jnb leg a little earlier if that would fit with your plans.

SW17

Ames wrote: »

Hi,

I'm supposed to be flying:

Cape Town - Jo'burg
Jo'burg - Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi - London.

For various reasons my holiday plans have changed and I'd like to skip the first bit and just fly from Jo'Burg. Does anyone know if this is possible and how to arrange it? I'm guessing I won't just be able to turn up for the Jo'Burg leg without letting them know? I can't find contact details though and the only online option is to totally rebook the flights.

Is this the start of your holiday or the return, i.e. have you already done UK-SA on the same booking/ticket?

The rule about missing a sector invalidating the subsequent sectors continues to apply regardless, but the rules (and costs) for changing routing can be different depending on whether the change is done before the first flight in the booking or after it. You will definitely need to call them either way.

I don't have direct experience with Etihad, but gulf carriers can sometimes be more flexible about amendments than European ones, I have found this in the past with Qatar Airways and Emirates.

Ames

Thanks everyone, I had a feeling that the whole flight would be cancelled.

I flew to Africa (Dar Es Salaam) with Egyptair, and I'm flying back from Cape Town with Etihad. I booked one ticket Cape Town - London, which came in three legs.

I'm currently in Lusaka, moving on to Livingstone tomorrow.

My original plan was to go overland Livingstone to Johannesburg. But based on my experiences over the last couple of weeks having two overnight buses and a day in between them with nowhere to go to rest in the day between is going to be physically very difficult. Budget accommodation in Bulawayo is very scarce.

The next option then is to fly Livingstone to Johannesburg, but the whole point of this trip was to do a lot of overland journeys and get my head around a load of crap that's gone on over the last year or two.

So I was thinking I'd go overland Livingstone to Cape Town via Namibia, then overland to Johannesburg and catch my flight there. But if I have to rebook the whole thing, with penalties, just to leave my seat empty on the first leg, then it's going to be too expensive.

I don't really want to risk getting to SA and Jo'burg where I can finally speak to Etihad only to find out it's not feasible.

I suppose option four is to go from Windhoek to Johannesburg (half the route is the same as going to Cape Town anyway), and then come back to Cape Town.

Or cut Johannesburg out altogether and spend more time exploring Western SA.

Hmm, decisions decisons...

tomtontom

Cut Jo'burg out altogether. I've not been but know people that have lived there, they wouldn't recommend it for visitors (or indeed as somewhere to live!).

Ames

There are a few things I'd like to see in Jo'Burg, and having spoken to a few travellers a short break there is recommended.

I'm thinking about coming back to this part of the world at Easter though so could do it then, although I'd hoped to concentrate more on Eastern Zambia and Malawi.

SW17

Ames wrote: »

....

So I was thinking I'd go overland Livingstone to Cape Town via Namibia, then overland to Johannesburg and catch my flight there. But if I have to rebook the whole thing, with penalties, just to leave my seat empty on the first leg, then it's going to be too expensive.

I don't really want to risk getting to SA and Jo'burg where I can finally speak to Etihad only to find out it's not feasible.

I suppose option four is to go from Windhoek to Johannesburg (half the route is the same as going to Cape Town anyway), and then come back to Cape Town.

Or cut Johannesburg out altogether and spend more time exploring Western SA.

Hmm, decisions decisons...

If you booked the flight from the UK, you could try calling Etihad UK reservations via a Skype call if you find somewhere to do that. It's been quite a few years since I was in Windhoek, but you should be able to try from there, if not before. If not, it should definitely be possible from CPT, they can tell you if they will amend and at what, if any, cost. You can then make a decision as to whether to amend or fly to JNB as planned.

Presumably you can still see JNB either way, the question is only the road trip from CPT to JNB and what you would miss if you didn't do it. I have not done that trip, though have been to both cities several times. JNB is not the same draw as CPT, though there are a few interesting things in and around it, it's not far from Pretoria, and as long as you take basic precautions, should be ok to navigate.

Hope this helps.

Ames

Thank you, yes it helps!

I wouldn't have time to see Jo'Burg as part of the flight as the stopover's only a couple of hours. So from Windhoek I'd travel down to Kimberley, across to Jo'Burg then back to Cape Town overland, before flying back to Jo'Burg.

Which isn't a problem, depending on how the trains are. Three days on the Tazara has made me a bit wary of African trains!

I didn't realise I could do it via Skype (I was dreading huge phone bills trying to sort it out), I'll try and do that while I'm in Livingstone.