Etihad Reviews 

First experience with Etihad. High quality service by cabin crew.

Had a great return bc trip from Manchester to Bangkok. The only reason im not giving 5 stars is my baggage was 3kg over the 35kg limit. The lady at checking had me empty my bag into my travel on bag so overall they took the same weight anyway. Not ideal when paying for bc. The on-board staff were great. Loved the a350 cabin. Will use again

Waiting for my CHF 2,942.25 refund for 6 months – Poor customer service!

I have been waiting for over 6 months for my legitimate refund of CHF 2,942.25 for a cancelled flight (Booking Reference: UP6I74). Etihad incorrectly transferred the funds to a completely wrong/foreign card number and has since refused to provide any meaningful support or the required ARN number. Despite countless contacts and promises, I am only being stalled with generic responses. Absolute disappointment—this case is now being escalated to legal protection and aviation authorities.

Twice in the last month I have attempted to book 2 first class return tickets 27.1.27 return 04.2.27 ,LHR to Sri Lanka on etihad,s website, the latest attempt being 12.10.26, yesterday at a price displayed by the airline.
On this occasion It was £3685 per person, total £7370.
Completed all required passenger details,booked seats, baggage and went into payments screen, all of a sudden there is an error message displayed,exactly as before, tried on 3 occasions, my wife once, same end result.
On this occasion took a screen shot the actual fare, didn't previous occasion.
You are then redirected where the price is inflated on this occasion over a £1,000.
Rang their London contact centre spoke to Mozame asking why they were advertising this rate and why I was unable to complete.Could not answer, highlighted the screen shot.
Asked for fare at that price, quoted now over £13,000 , on previous occasion it was over £11,000.
Hung up and attempted to complain online which is impossible, you had to have a booking reference which I did not have and there were no other means to raise a complaint
So don't bother attempting to book either business or first with Etihad, it's a sham and a scam fare.
Middle Eastern carriers seem to often offer a sweetener fare which doesn't exit.

Extremely disappointing experience with Etihad Airways customer service.

Due to the current security situation affecting Riyadh and flight cancellations, we were unable to travel to Saudi Arabia as originally planned.

We contacted Etihad to explain the exceptional circumstances and requested a reasonable accommodation: free rebooking from another airport, an Etihad travel voucher, or cancellation without penalty.

Etihad refused every single option. No flexibility, no goodwill gesture, and no meaningful attempt to find a solution.

We fully understand that airlines have fare conditions. However, there is a fundamental difference between voluntarily changing travel plans and being unable to reach a departure airport because of flight cancellations and genuine security concerns.

Ultimately, we decided to book new tickets with Qatar Airways instead. Etihad's rigid policy is remarkably self-defeating: rather than retaining our business through a voucher or alternative booking, they pushed us toward a competitor.

Worse still, Etihad has lost two potential lifelong customers who are just beginning their journey as frequent flyers. We travel extensively and could have brought the airline significant business over the coming decades.

An airline's true quality is measured not only when everything goes smoothly, but by how it treats passengers when things go wrong.

Unfortunately, Etihad failed that test completely.

Never again Ethid. It’s First and last time. It‘s the Check in counter at Frankfurt Airport.
Good luck but without me

My experience with Etihad Airways has been deeply disappointing.

I paid $1,600 for flights from Pakistan to the United States. Unfortunately, complications with my husband’s visa prevented us from traveling to Pakistan—something beyond our control.

I contacted Etihad, explained our situation, and asked for flight credit or the option to rebook our departure from another country. Their response was to ask for an additional $1,000 to rebook. How is that a reasonable solution for someone who has already spent $1,600?

I understand that airlines have fare rules, but there should be room to consider exceptional circumstances. We were not simply changing our minds about traveling. A visa issue left us unable to take the flights we had paid for, and we were asking for a practical way to use that money.

For working families, $1,600 is a significant amount. It represents hard work, savings, and sacrifices. Facing the loss of that money—or paying another $1,000—is incredibly upsetting.

What disappointed me most was the lack of compassion or meaningful help. A company of Etihad’s size should be able to consider its customers’ circumstances and offer more reasonable options. This experience left me feeling that our money mattered far more than we did.

Etihad ruined our holiday. Worst customer service ever. NEVER AGAIN!

On September 3, 2026, we purchased round-trip tickets from Doha to Beijing only after an Etihad representative confirmed by phone that our dog could travel in the cabin on all FOUR flight segments.

Since September 10, I had been contacting Etihad through email, WhatsApp, live chat and phone to clarify their confusing pet vaccination requirements.

Not a single customer service agent could answer even a basic YES or NO question about their own pet travel policy! Despite providing all the details of our dog’s vaccinations, nobody could confirm whether our documents were acceptable. Every agent simply passed the issue to someone else, promising an urgent response within 24–48 hours. Nothing happened.

On October 2, Etihad informed us that our return flight from Abu Dhabi to Doha had been changed to Air Seychelles, which does not accept our dog.

Etihad changed the operating carrier, yet somehow this became OUR problem!

That same day, we spoke by phone with an agent named Carlos, who assured us that everything had been resolved, the rebooking fees would be waived and someone would call us back.

Nobody called. Nothing was resolved.

On October 12, just two days before departure, Etihad suddenly demanded QAR 1,540 to change our return flight, dismissing the carrier change as a “minor change”.

Minor? Our dog could fly to Beijing with us but could no longer return home on the itinerary Etihad had provided!

We live in Qatar, and calling Etihad’s Abu Dhabi number costs us limited international calling minutes. We wasted those minutes on endless waiting, contradictory information and promises that were never fulfilled. On our final attempt, we used our last 10 international minutes just waiting for someone to answer.

With no solution and no confidence in this airline, we cancelled our entire holiday and were charged QAR 1,100 in cancellation fees.

And unbelievably, Etihad finally answered our vaccination questions AFTER we cancelled the tickets on October 12 — more than a month after we first asked!

We will be demanding a refund of the QAR 1,100 withheld. We should not have to pay for a cancelled holiday caused by Etihad’s own changes and failure to provide support.

If you plan to travel with a pet, stay away from Etihad Airways. Their staff couldn’t explain their own policies, their promises meant nothing, and their customer service was absolutely unacceptable.

Etihad will never receive another cent from us. NEVER AGAIN.

The flight from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi was fine but was delayed which meant our connecting flight Jeddah had to be rushed, the staff where rude and disrespectful, they told us to run or risk missing the flight, we experienced the same on our return flight,
The food was the same on both flights and no variety, the check in staff in Jeddah airport was rude.
I thought etihaad was first class air line but they failed to impress me.

I am extremely disappointed with this airline’s service. Without my confirmation, the airline cancelled my flight and reassigned my booking. Furthermore, the customer service representatives were extremely rude and showed no respect for customers.
This kind of unprofessional behaviour and poor customer service is completely unacceptable. I will never book with this third-class airline again, and I would not recommend it to anyone.

Im a First Class Passenger. Tickets not cheap but the customer service is worse in class

Our flight got cancelled last time. We were already at the boarding area and ready to embark.
We went through a hellish time leaving the airport. We waited about 2 hours for accommodation. They only booked us for 2 days for our 4-day delay. I asked for compensation, sent the receipts, and got ghosted. My suitcase, which got damaged, was refunded at less than half the price.
The office at the airport was closed, and I couldn't find an agent.

One of the worst flights long haul from Abu Dhabi to Cambodia in my 30 years of international travelling.. the check in staff seems to be now knowing what they are doing, completely clueless toon 40 minutes just to check me in, it was slow , painful and he kept on making mistakes.

The in-flight experience was equally worse , cramped seats, no options for food, only 1 chicken dish , usually they have 3 , I will never fly etihad again

It was the best experience comparing to other companies

Delayed flight. They rebooked me on a far inferior itinerary without my consent. One really good person helped, the rest were rude and arrogant. Please don't book with these people.

From check in to landing, lounges and staff, it was great. I felt really looked after. Food amazing, flat bed comfy and staff friendly and warm.

Extremely Disappointing Experience with Akasa Air – Etihad, Please Take Note!

I booked my flight through Etihad Airways, expecting the service and reliability associated with their brand. Unfortunately, I ended up on an Akasa Air flight through their partnership, and the experience has been nothing short of frustrating.

I paid specifically for seat 2D, only to be assigned seat 37E instead! How does an airline justify charging passengers for a preferred seat and then assigning them a completely different one?

To make matters worse, the flight was delayed, with absolutely no proactive communication or notification to passengers. When I raised the seating issue with a flight attendant, he assured me he would check with the ground staff. Unfortunately, nothing came of it.

Poor communication, questionable seat allocation practices, and disappointing customer service. This is certainly not the experience I paid for or expected when booking through Etihad.

Akasa Air, I will never choose to fly with you again. I am sharing this review so other passengers know what they might be getting into, especially when booking through partner airlines.

And Etihad Airways, if you are reading this, please pay attention. Your reputation is directly affected by the quality of service delivered by your partner airlines. Customers book with Etihad because they trust your brand. Experiences like this seriously undermine that trust.

A thoroughly disappointing experience. I would not recommend Akasa Air based on this journey.

Verdict: Good value, inconsistent service in a Premium Cabin

I choose Etihad for one reason: price. No other carrier undercuts it in premium cabins on Asia–Europe routes. A return Business Class ticket from Jakarta to Europe costs under US$2,000, while Singapore Airlines charges over US$6,000 for the same route.

That saving comes with trade-offs:

Cabin and onboard systems: First Class offers generous space, but the cabin is poorly maintained. The inflight entertainment and internet are frequently out of service.
Schedule and seating reliability: Departure times are often changed, and seat assignments may differ from those confirmed at booking.
Customer service: Communication is the weakest aspect. Calls to the premium First Class call center can take hours and often end without a resolution.
Crew: Service in Business is generally average, and in First it falls short of what the cabin demands.

Highlight: The Abu Dhabi lounges are outstanding, well managed and top class.

Recommendation: I will book Etihad again. A saving of roughly 70% outweighs the shortcomings, provided you set your expectations accordingly and are prepared to resolve issues as they arise. Best suited to price-conscious premium travelers who can tolerate operational unpredictability. I do have GOLD status.

Customer service don't reply to complains . At least not for 30 days if you manage to get past the AI bot. You still can't talk to a human. Shocking.

I would give 0 stars if I could.

I had a 25 hour delay with Etihad. My partner and has separate booking but had paid to sit next to eachother. When we were put on our next flight our seats weren’t together and Etihad wouldn’t refund the original choice of seats.
When emailed for compensation for the delay they simply said ‘thanks for the feedback’ however when my partner raised the same complaint (separate booking but on the same flight) he was heavily compensated. Whenever trying to speak to the help centre they said they will email the case owner and to expect a reply in up to 72 hours. 3 weeks later still nothing from Etihad and I phone them all they said was that they can email the case owner and that’s all they can do. Absolute scam of an airline.