Etihad policy on cancellation on medical grounds

kuepper

I had to cancel an Etihad flight because of an urgent medical issue the day before. Hopefully I'll get money back from my travel insurance but I knew they'd tell me to apply for the tax part of the flight cost back from the airline. So I phoned Etihad and they said because it was a medical reason for cancelling I could get the whole fare refunded, all I had to do was cancel my check-in and when I had written evidence of the medical advice to email it to them but ring first before sending so I was talking to them as it was received.

So I cancelled my check-in via the app and was prompted to apply for a refund so I did that and I had a refund of the tax within 24 hours. I had to wait a week to get the letter from the doctor but when I did I drafted an email and attached a jpg of the letter and phoned Etihad as previously advised.The operative told me to send the letter and when they got it they asked me to re-send the doctor's letter in pdf format. I couldn't do this straightaway so had to phone back and spoke to someone different. That person said I wasn't entitled to a refund of the full fare because I'd already received a refund of the tax element and that if I'd wanted a refund of the full fare I shouldn't have applied for a refund of the tax element. No-one had mentioned this to me before that otherwise I would have waited until I got the doctor's letter. So I'm several hundred quid out of pocket.

I've googled but I can't find any reference to this procedure. It doesn't seem fair to me that I was entitled to a refund on medical grounds of the full fare but because I'd been prompted to apply for a refund of the tax part of the fare that has excluded me from being refunded the rest of the fare..

Grumpy_chap

Will your travel insurance still cover the loss?

kuepper

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010446#Comment_82010446

I don't know yet. I hope so but if they think I'm to blame for not claiming the full fare maybe not. Everything I know from Etihad is based on what I was told by the last person I spoke to, nothing I can find in writing anywhere. I might have to phone them again and ask them to send me a link to the procedure they've referred to and if I can make some sort of appeal

NoodleDoodleMan

"That person said I wasn't entitled to a refund of the full fare because
I'd already received a refund of the tax element and that if I'd wanted
a refund of the full fare I shouldn't have applied for a refund of the
tax element"

Maybe I've misread - if you've already received the tax element then you are not eligible for the full fare refund as well. Or are they two separate items ?

Maybe the Eithad staffer misunderstood the situation ?

kuepper

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82014768#Comment_82014768

The full fare I paid is made up of a) the airline's fare and b) taxes. I've been refunded the taxes but not the airline's fare. They now say I can't claim for the airline's fare because I should have claimed for both a) and b) at the same time but no-one told me that as obviously I would have done that otherwise.

NoodleDoodleMan

Thanks for clarification.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82010479#Comment_82010479

Almost certainly this is a gesture of goodwill from Etihad and not a part of their standard terms and as such it wouldnt invalidate your claim from the insurance.

kuepper

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82021219#Comment_82021219

It's a bogus gesture of goodwill then. If they'd let me apply and then turned me down because I didn't meet their threshold and the threshold was explained to me I could accept that. It's when I couldn't even get that far for reasons of not following a procedure that was never explained to me that's so infuriating. I'll never fly with them again anyway