Flying with Etihad Airways

[MaxMaxMax]

Hi there,

I'm flying to Abu Dhabi and then on to Phuket with Etihad Airways with my T1D son. We travel extensively but this is our first time travelling with Etihad. They are point blank refusing to allow us to have an addtional medical bag for my sons diabetes supplies (Medtronic pump and CGM) Their carry on allowance appears to be a very strict 7kg each which would be a very tight squeeze along with taking my sons meals with him as they will not give him a childs meal as he is 12 years old and i know he will not eat the provided food. I'm beyond shocked at their lack of understanding and have never had any of these issues while travelling with both European and American airline. Has anyone had similar experience with this and had a positive outcome?

Thanks!

 

[Mumpie_olgran]

I've flown with about 4 airlines so far (BA, Easyjet, United and Canada) and not even close to any pushback from any of them
2 things I'd recommend
1. Keep trying!
2. Tell them that you'll post on every chat room saying that they make it difficult for you

Depends how brave you're feeling by my best guess is that if you just turned up on the day with the extra medical stuff, then they would allow it on with you. You've most likely got some jobsworth in head office who's being unhelpful. In my experience etihad have always been great on customer service when there in person. For that reason I'm pretty surprised by the poor treatment youve had

Good luck and don't be shy about whingeing hard. Sometimes you just need to push

 

[Catbanj]

Try tweeting them. I've found businesses often respond better through twitter than the usual routes for everything these days.

 

[MaxMaxMax]

Try tweeting them. I've found businesses often respond better through twitter than the usual routes for everything these days.

You're very kind to respond 🙂 I spent most of the day yesterday on Twitter (private messaging) with Etihad in the hope to speak with someone helpful. I even got as far as them asking for a photo of all the supplies, which I sent and then they told me not to bring so much stuff!! I'm shocked and furious!! I will absolutely call them out on it on their page if I get no joy but I'm not 100% comfortable doing that either. I've flown with lots of airlines and have never had this My plan to to call again today in the hope to speak to someone new. I have 2 kids with medical conditions (T1D & Crohn's) and I really advocate for them to travel and see the world and not let their conditions ever stop them and this whole nonsense with Etihad is so upsetting as it feels like discrimination. I'll keep you posted

 

[MaxMaxMax]

I've flown with about 4 airlines so far (BA, Easyjet, United and Canada) and not even close to any pushback from any of them
2 things I'd recommend
1. Keep trying!
2. Tell them that you'll post on every chat room saying that they make it difficult for you

Depends how brave you're feeling by my best guess is that if you just turned up on the day with the extra medical stuff, then they would allow it on with you. You've most likely got some jobsworth in head office who's being unhelpful. In my experience etihad have always been great on customer service when there in person. For that reason I'm pretty surprised by the poor treatment youve had

Good luck and don't be shy about whingeing hard. Sometimes you just need to push

You are so kind to respond. This whole thing has upset and maddened me so much!!! I couldn't agree more with you and have also flown many Euopean and American airlines with so much support. Even AerLingus have offered us 2 medical bags for both kids even though I said one bag is plenty for our upcoming August trip to the States (I also have a kid with Crohn's Disease who is on injections). And Aerlingus, Delta & United have seated us all together free of charge to care for the kids, which is amazing customer service! I spend hours on twitter with Etihad yesterday (DMing) with no joy and they even asked me to send a photo of all the pump supplies only to be told not to bring so much stuff!!!! I'm so mad!!! I dont think I'd be brave enough to go to the airport with the extra bag, I'd be a nervous wreck LOL... as even if we did get throught the first leg we could have an issue when leaving Abu Dhabi a few days later. I want to call them out on it as I feel like my kids have things tough enough without this nonsense to deal with. They deserve to travel and enjoy the experince like everyone else On the total flip side I'm so happy that you enjoyed your travel experience with them as I was really excited to try them out thinking they would be amazing... hopefully I can get this sorted and look forward to the trip.... I'll keep you updated and I really appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

[Inka]

Calling them out publicly can really help. You’ll find they’re far more eager to help when they’re tagged on Twitter or whatever and everyone can see how unhelpful and discriminatory they’re being. You can also tag other official people which, again, focuses the company’s minds! Mention of discrimination, giving other examples of things they allow, is good too.

Good luck. I can imagine how stressful it is.

 

[MaxMaxMax]

Calling them out publicly can really help. You’ll find they’re far more eager to help when they’re tagged on Twitter or whatever and everyone can see how unhelpful and discriminatory they’re being. You can also tag other official people which, again, focuses the company’s minds! Mention of discrimination, giving other examples of things they allow, is good too.

Good luck. I can imagine how stressful it is.

You are so right!! I need to get my big girl pants on... I'll let you know how I get on.. xx

 

[helli]

I am sorry that you are having problems with Etihad and would definitely encourage you to make your "conversation" with them public: instead of using DM, I would be asking the questions on their public Twitter ... and Facebook and everything else I can find.

I have never needed a second medical bag. This maybe because I don't take the 7kg hand luggage limit seriously and never found an airline who does so. As long as I am able to carry the bag, the airline is not concerned. I have never weighed my hand luggage but I usually travel for work and include clothing and toiletries for two or three nights, all I need for work (laptop, cables, notebook, kindle), my diabetes kit (pump supplies and spare pens) and a little bit of food. This fits into a backpack that easily fits under the seat in front of me. No one has ever questioned this.