[Thorsten Michalak]

I booked an ETIHAD flight through the Air Berlin homepage for my wife from Narita to Düsseldorf. And-to my utter surprise- they did it again. They completely screwed up. Hard to believe, but they did. It starkly reminded me of last year when my wife was booked on the exactly same ETIHAD flight out of Narita and arrived 3 days after the scheduled arrival date in Dusseldorf . This time-during check-in- my wife was told nonchalantly by the Narita Etihad ground staff that although her flight data is stored in the ETIHAD system it cannot be found in the Air Berlin system. In other words: They will not let her take that plane for the simple reason that the link between the Air Berlin system and the ETIHAD system is missing. One of the staff told her that this sometimes happens and that she should call Air Berlin. What?????? Are you kidding me?

Well anyway she called Air Berlin and the Air Berlin call center staff told her that everything is fine and that maybe she checked in too early. Hahaha. Well it wasn’t ok and the ETIHAD ground staff continued refusing to hand out a boarding ticket.

Maybe one day I will write a book about what a lousy company ETIHAD is (if anybody hasn’t noticed yet).
My wife had to listen to their Narita ground staff and later she was issued a temporary Ticket and had the privilege to board the plane for which I had already paid, after they let her wait for three hours. Last time when this happened I thought they are just a sorry bunch of losers, but by now I think they are a) either completely incapable or b) they are doing this intentionally.

Later my wife was told that she will have to check that the return flight on Saturday 10th is correctly listed in the ETIHAD /Air Berlin system otherwise she will not be able to fly home.

In the meantime I sent a couple of emails regarding this pressing matter to guest@etihadguest.com. Within a week I did not get ANY reply. I had a feeling nobody is there.
Contacting ETIHAD via FB I received the following message after I supplied them with all the information I had;
“Unfortunately we need the Etihad booking reference. Air Berlin and Etihad are partners, but they are still different companies, meaning we don't have any access to their internal systems. Thank you for understanding. *JP” That was all I ever received from ETIHAD. Can you believe it?
When we arrived at Duesseldorf airport on Saturday the ETIHAD ground staff still was unable to find my wife’s ticket in the system. After one hour of waiting and calling the supervisor (obviously the only capable person in that cesspit) my wife was given a ticket.
What a sorry airline. All the trouble we had with them in the last two years… To be honest I was livid, but that is like beating a dead horse.

[Etihad Representative]

Hi Thorsten,

We're so sorry this has happened and we would like to let our Guest Relations team look into this for you. Unfortunately we hadn't received your Etihad booking reference via Facebook and couldn't look your booking up in our system therefore. We would propose to create a formal case for you now, which will be reviewed in detail by our Guest Relations team. In order for us to lodge this complaint, we would kindly need your feedback and your booking reference in an email to **********************. We will create a case within 24hrs for you and the Guest Relations team will get back to you and discuss the options afterwards.

We are looking forward to hearing from you. *JP

Originally Posted by Thorsten Michalak

I booked an ETIHAD flight through the Air Berlin homepage for my wife from Narita to Düsseldorf. And-to my utter surprise- they did it again. They completely screwed up. Hard to believe, but they did. It starkly reminded me of last year when my wife was booked on the exactly same ETIHAD flight out of Narita and arrived 3 days after the scheduled arrival date in Dusseldorf . This time-during check-in- my wife was told nonchalantly by the Narita Etihad ground staff that although her flight data is stored in the ETIHAD system it cannot be found in the Air Berlin system. In other words: They will not let her take that plane for the simple reason that the link between the Air Berlin system and the ETIHAD system is missing. One of the staff told her that this sometimes happens and that she should call Air Berlin. What?????? Are you kidding me?

Well anyway she called Air Berlin and the Air Berlin call center staff told her that everything is fine and that maybe she checked in too early. Hahaha. Well it wasn’t ok and the ETIHAD ground staff continued refusing to hand out a boarding ticket.

Maybe one day I will write a book about what a lousy company ETIHAD is (if anybody hasn’t noticed yet).
My wife had to listen to their Narita ground staff and later she was issued a temporary Ticket and had the privilege to board the plane for which I had already paid, after they let her wait for three hours. Last time when this happened I thought they are just a sorry bunch of losers, but by now I think they are a) either completely incapable or b) they are doing this intentionally.

Later my wife was told that she will have to check that the return flight on Saturday 10th is correctly listed in the ETIHAD /Air Berlin system otherwise she will not be able to fly home.

In the meantime I sent a couple of emails regarding this pressing matter to guest@etihadguest.com. Within a week I did not get ANY reply. I had a feeling nobody is there.
Contacting ETIHAD via FB I received the following message after I supplied them with all the information I had;
“Unfortunately we need the Etihad booking reference. Air Berlin and Etihad are partners, but they are still different companies, meaning we don't have any access to their internal systems. Thank you for understanding. *JP” That was all I ever received from ETIHAD. Can you believe it?
When we arrived at Duesseldorf airport on Saturday the ETIHAD ground staff still was unable to find my wife’s ticket in the system. After one hour of waiting and calling the supervisor (obviously the only capable person in that cesspit) my wife was given a ticket.
What a sorry airline. All the trouble we had with them in the last two years… To be honest I was livid, but that is like beating a dead horse.

[Thorsten Michalak]

I followed the suggestion of the automated reply (see above)
and this is what I received:



"Dear Mr Michalak,

Thank you for your correspondence.

Our records show that your wife could not be accepted on her flight in Narita on 04 October 2015 due to absence of itinerary in her booking reservation.

Furthermore, although the reservation was not reinstated prior to check-in closure, our staff in Narita accepted your wife for travel as she was able to show the confirmed ticket for her journey.

It is only through valuable feedback such as yours that we can continue to develop a product which meets and exceeds both guest expectations, and also the competitive standards required to be an award winning airline. We see guest feedback as a vital part of our growth and development, and are grateful to all guests for their guidance in helping us to improve.

In closing, I would like to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to review your concerns, and hope that we will have the pleasure of welcoming you on board our flights in the future.

Yours sincerely,
Frederico de Sá
Guest Relations Officer"


I mean are you serious? What a BS answer is that? A domesitcized monkey could have written a better reply. What is wrong with you, ETIHAD? You have no idea of basic customer service? All your money can't buy you that?