Etihad chauffeur change

Looks like Etihad have joined the growing number of carriers trimming back. I was trying to make a booking in business class for a trip from EDI-BKK-HKT-AUH-EDI in June. The fare was good as it was part of their recent sale.

I couldn’t make the booking online as the system kept looping in the enter passenger details. I tried on 3 different computers but to no avail. I then contacted their service centre to go ahead there.

During the process I was informed that as it was a Z class ticket it no longer qualified for the chauffeur service at each point, which I found a disgrace. Seems this was brought in quietly sometime in December last year.

Their Ts & Cs only refer to ‘chauffeur service may be restricted on some special/promotional fare tickets’. It’s not clear which and they say contact the service centre to find out. Kind of defeats the purpose of making online bookings, they need to make it clear at the point of purchase.

I’ve had a bit of email ranting with them disappointed that an airline that stood out from the rest with their innovations and service standards was now succumbing to the attention of their bean counters who, by definition, are not innovative or have any sense of customer focus. Copied in the CEO but I’ve now thrown in the towel.

I think we are going to see a lot more of this cutting back across all airlines.

Etihad introduced Z Class as a new booking code a while back for tactical / specials in Business Class (used to be that W Class was lowest fare class in Business). When this new inventory class was announced they advised that they wouldn’t get the limo transfers. W Class now only gets 2 cars per itinerary as well I believe.

In much the same way the Virgin Upper Class Z Class fares have never had the limo transfer.

Just to update – I got a telephone call from Etihad’s Guest Relations Manager in Abu Dhabi this morning apologising for the lack of clarity in their Ts & Cs, their communication to customers and the online booking system regarding the change to the chauffeur facility.

On this occasion he is going to provide the limo at each point they provide it, which I would say is a good response. So it is worth offering feedback as they do take heed. That said he did say that there is no move to change the new policy at the present time. Maybe as customers we need to keep at them (all airlines) to make our thoughts known.