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Hi,
I managed to book a 1st class seat on Etihad A380 from Abu Dhabi to LHR using points. 2 months later I received an email from them saying the flight has been cancelled. But it is still available to buy with cash on the website. There is no availability to switch it to another flight so they are offering me a refund. But if I can’t use my Etihad points for a 1st class flight then I don’t want Etihad points and I’d rather they just return my points to Amex Membership Points. They won’t do this.
Do I have any rights here? I find it outrageous that they can just kick me out my seat even though there are seats available to buy with cash. The only reason I transferred Membership Points to Etihad was to buy this particular ticket…
TIA to anyone that has any info…
A non EU/UK based airline flying to the UK means no UK/EU261 protections so any rights you have derive from the conditions of carriage and ticket rules.
I understand that once AMEX MR have been transferred then it is irreversible so more a case of they can’t do it not just that they won’t do it.
Next would be to look at any insurance policies you have.
I suppose a credit card – if you used one to pay any taxes and fees and they amounted to more than £ 100 might – offer you s75 protections if it’s a UK based one but I’m less sure about if it applies to a foreign based transaction.
But do they have the right to cancel your ticket for no reason even though the flight is still running and seats (albeit for cash) are still available?
For S75 protection, it depends on whether you paid in GBP or AED.
I also suggest you look at Etihad’s Conditions of Carriage and Etihad Guest Awards T&C, there might be something there to help your case.
Regarding sending back the points to Amex, there is no technical impediment for airlines to send back points to Amex. Singapore Airlines did that for me on two occasions. They just need to talk to each other. Perhaps write a strongly worded email to CEO.
Can I double-check that the flight is still operating as an A380 (and not switched to another non-First plane?)
I can’t say any more than what was stated already (maybe have a read of their T&Cs to see under what circumstances Etihad can do that or not) but I am following this with interest, as I’d like to book a similar journey to yours in the near future…
@George K – they did not switch the plane. For your interest – I flew 1st with Emirates last year (Dubai to London) and it was superb (using points)! Etihad on the other hand seem to have practically zero 1st availability with points and I suspect they accidentally sold me 1st with points which is why they have now cancelled for no good reason – I’d avoid them from my little experience!
I flew Etihad F several times on points. There was tons of availability last month and I can see more availability even now on certain routes. They are a great airline, but since their own devaluation are best booked via Aeroplan or AA Advantage.
Not sure why they specifically cancelled your ticket, but it might indeed be a switch of planes as @GeorgeK suggests or outright cancellation. The fact that they are still on sale doesn’t mean that they will not eventually.
If it’s been more than a week since they did this then I’d start making a fuss with some of thing suggested above.
I think they’ve offloaded you deliberately so they can sell your seat for more. Flight is leaving from their home base, where they will be well aware there are buyers and possibly who, is what clinches it for me.
It might that someone wants the whole cabin…
Another thing that occurred to mew Did you ask for an immediate re-route? Maybe they’ll be more amenable to a re-route later in the year or next year.
How far ahead of the flight have they done this?
When exactly is the flight?The demand they want your seat back to meet, is either originating Abu Dhabi or perhaps from further afield, transiting. Get screenshots of seats for sale, ideally at the very moment you’re on the phone to them (record the call) with them refusing to reinstate you. Keep them talking/refusing over a few minutes and take a few screenshots. Just hang onto these in case needed and…
Email CEO stating you only wish to fly with them if in First etc and moved polyvalent points from Amex only for the purpose of the First seat you booked. Unfortunately after you bought your ticket in First on[date] Etihad has recently found it impossible to accommodate you in First on the flight you booked and has informed you of this on [date].
This is extremely disappointing and you will now need to obtain a seat in First with another airline. Accordingly you would request Etihad to arrange the reinstatement of your nn,000 Amex points to Amex account [#] as these were converted to nn,0000 Etihad miles solely for the First seat on this particular flight which Etihad has now cancelled. Very sad Etihad can no longer accommodate your seat as booked and of course you must accept this so you would very much appreciate to have your Amex points back soonest possible. You might want to give Amex a heads up that you’re requesting the airline to reverse the transaction back to MR points as well.
I’m interested as to how this turns out.
I’m not practiced in UAE law, having visited only once on business, but there is some protection from T&Cs that unjustly favour one party. See Article 246 of the UAE Civil Transaction Code. Bad faith can be imputed where the harm to one party is disproportionate. Similarly, there is a general Consumer Protection Law that prohibits false advertising regardless of small print. No idea if either would apply in your case, for all I know airlines are exempt, and even if it did apply it would be a nightmare to enforce, but might worth reading up on, and quoting, in any correspondence to the CEO.
I would drop local Consumer Protection an email and see what they have to say.
The local authorities are pretty good in the UAE enforcing consumer rights and most businesses will comply with their rulings. May be different with the national carrier of course but could give you a bit of extra leverage with the airline.
Whilst doing that preparation @Blenz101 and @memesweeper, I’d still suggest a factual letter to the CEO naming dates only (from which a CEO in an internationally operating company such as Etihad can impute bad faith without you rubbing them up the wrong way with an unrefined accusation they’d actually potentially feel obliged to defend against instead of helping you out, or his office can investigate internally.). No need to state bad faith nor make any accusations on a first approach at CEO level.
That’s why I suggested do the recording and screenshots contemporaneously and just keep the evidence. For me, defo follow @blenz101’s and @memesweeper’s recommendations but as preparation.
However be refined on your first approach to CEO. No accusations just dates and facts, your disappointment and the remedy you seek. The rest is backup for later rounds if needed.
The flight is for January 2024. I can see from expert flyer that they have sold 2 seats so far. every 1st class seat throughout the year on that flight EY17 costs 447k points. i got mine for about 90k. it seems to me that they didn’t want to sell it for that price and 2 months later just cancelled my ticket. any idea how to get the email address for anyone that could help me with this? VP customer relations or someone similar? the person i spoke to on the phone at etihad guest relations was very unfriendly!
447k points? Golly! Is that a recent (massive) increase? Last I checked it was going for about half that (maybe about a couple of months back). Certainly not 90k… !
Etihad might argue mistake fare. Do you know what the normal price was before you booked? T
@GeorgeK I have seen and can still see some dates for 140k miles one-way the other day, but EtihadGuest now has dynamic pricing so it will vary and can go up to 670k miles one-way.
If you want to fly it use AA Advantage for 62.5k miles one-way or Aeroplan for 80k. AA just re-introduced online bookings for Etihad so need to call.
Yes, I just had a quick look. You can get it for 140k but those are the non-A380 flights… Any A380 First seems to start from 447k points now.
Good tip on AA. I’ll take a look. Thing is I’ve got 80k points on Etihad and was planning on topping them up via Amex MR much like @F001 did. I take it there is no such transfer option for AA or Aeroplan?
For AA and Aeroplan, best is Amex MR to Marriott to AA or Aeroplan. There is no longer 5k bonus with AA, but there is still with Aeroplan.
Aeroplan frequently runs 100% bonus on buying miles and Canadian dollars still okay, so you can buy 80k miles outright for cca £750.
Sorry F001 for hijacking the thread.
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