Etihad charged me £1600 at the desk to take 3 suitcases to Australia! How can I get my money back?

Ash_Pole

For that charge I'd have left the bags behind and bought whatever I needed when I got there.

silvercar

TheShape said:

silvercar said:

Some harsh comments on this thread. Even seasoned travellers can come unstuck. We recently took an internal flight on holiday and had a scramble to repack our suitcases to be within the 23kg limit, having been used to the 32kg limit we have on our international flights. We also didn’t think to check in and choose our seats as normally we choose when we book (for free) and these tickets had been booked by a local agent. 

You say you usually choose your seats for free when you book.

What cabin are you usually travelling in, though?  Do you have status with an airline?

I'd probably decribe myself as a seasoned traveller but in economy, and I'm not usually, if ever, getting to choose free seats when I book.

Yes, airline status, that gives us free seat selection when we book plus an extra weight allowance. Often travelling in economy on short haul. Didn’t even think about seat selection or weight limits until we got to the airport and had to do a quick baggage reshuffle. 

jimi_man

silvercar said:

TheShape said:

silvercar said:

Some harsh comments on this thread. Even seasoned travellers can come unstuck. We recently took an internal flight on holiday and had a scramble to repack our suitcases to be within the 23kg limit, having been used to the 32kg limit we have on our international flights. We also didn’t think to check in and choose our seats as normally we choose when we book (for free) and these tickets had been booked by a local agent. 

You say you usually choose your seats for free when you book.

What cabin are you usually travelling in, though?  Do you have status with an airline?

I'd probably decribe myself as a seasoned traveller but in economy, and I'm not usually, if ever, getting to choose free seats when I book.

Yes, airline status, that gives us free seat selection when we book plus an extra weight allowance. Often travelling in economy on short haul. Didn’t even think about seat selection or weight limits until we got to the airport and had to do a quick baggage reshuffle. 

Yes it does. However, in this instance the OP is discussing Basic fares. I’m a status holder with BA (different airline to Etihad - granted) and even that doesn’t include free hold luggage on a basic fare. So it pays to check. 

silvercar

The point I was making was that anyone can make mistakes.

Troytempest

It is without doubt user error. However the scale of the charge seems very very high. I doubt the OP will fly with that carrier again.

la531983

Troytempest said:

It is without doubt user error. However the scale of the charge seems very very high. I doubt the OP will fly with that carrier again.

All airlines charge an eye watering rate for on the day excess weight.

Pollycat

silvercar said:

The point I was making was that anyone can make mistakes.

Of course they do.

But at least accept that you made a mistake instead of blaming every man and his dog for your mistake.

phatbear

Ultimately its your responsibility to check what you can and cant take. Because it doesnt mention baggage doesnt mean you can rock up with 1 bag or 25 bags.

Assumptions can obviously be very expensive for example i had lhr/kll then bkk/lhr both with qatar both in business both booked under the same tier of seating both...both with different baggage allowances lhr/kll (2@32kg) bkk/lhr (1@40kg) but it was MY responsibility to ensure i didnt fall foul of the change of allowances not their responsibility to tell me

mda99das

Can someone explain the advantage of boarding first. To me if I am going to be on a long haul flight I like to be one of the last boarding. Yes I get that I may not have access to the overhead storage units, but you don't need to take that much. 

DullGreyGuy

mda99das said:

Can someone explain the advantage of boarding first. To me if I am going to be on a long haul flight I like to be one of the last boarding. Yes I get that I may not have access to the overhead storage units, but you don't need to take that much. 

It depends... for most it will be getting stuff into the overhead units as some muppets walk on the plane and put it in the first space they find and then walk to the back of the plane to take their seats rather than putting it in the lockers above their seats. That means those boarding later and sitting nearer the front have to walk further down the plane to find a space making getting off the plane at the other end problematic. 

If you are going via a higher class or maybe on a long haul flight then it can also give you time to change into the provided loungewear or have more opportunity to enjoy the pre-flight drinks/snacks. 

As to "you dont need to take that much"... thats a vastly sweeping generalisation. Personally if someone was going for a 1 month holiday and only has a cabin sized suitcase I would not argue with them that they are taking too much.