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Etihad offloads US-bound passengers, Indian students pay over two lakh for new tickets on other airlines | India News
MUMBAI: Based in Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways reduced or canceled bookings of passengers, mostly students, who had booked tickets to fly to the US from cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru on Thursday. The students allege that the airline refused to rebook them on other flights, which were scheduled to depart in the coming days. With semesters set to start soon, students have no choice but to spend over two thousand rupees on a last-minute one-way ticket on other carriers.
“The Etihad customer service official said I would have to wait 20 days to be re-registered, a waiting period that I cannot afford,” said one student, who asked to remain anonymous. The sudden cancellation of the flight has caused panic among parents and students who have booked flights to the US on the Internet. Etihad in the coming days. On Thursday, the cheapest one-way ticket to the US to travel this week from Mumbai started at Rs 1.40 lakh, but has been offered on flights longer than 27 hours. Most of the tickets are priced above Rs 2 lakh.
“I’m on my way to the airport for a 2:40am flight from Bengaluru to Abu Dhabi when I received a letter from Etihad informing them that they have canceled my entire booking. I already have an onward ticket to New York,” said another student, who also declined to be cited. “I booked an Etihad flight in early June and paid Rs 94,000 for a one way trip. I booked another ticket today, this time on Indian Airlines priced at Rs 2.19 lakh. It was the 10th of August trip that was the cheapest I could find,” he said, adding that Etihad said it had already refunded his ticket but the amount would take 7 to 10 minutes. 45 days to transfer to his bank account.
An Etihad spokesman said: “Due to capacity limitations, Etihad Airways was forced to reduce the number of passengers on flight EY101 from Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK) on Thursday 4 August.”
“ Payload limit ” is a reduction in passenger (or cargo) mass, intended to reduce the weight of the aircraft and compensate for increased fuel absorption, reduced engine efficiency, etc. A flight Longer-than-normal flights, which require higher fuel consumption, or flights that take off on a particularly hot day, affecting engine performance, will have payload limitations.
On Thursday, Etihad operated a regular Abu Dhabi-New York flight, flying the same aircraft, the A350, with roughly the same flight times. Ground temperatures in Abu Dhabi are not higher than normal. But in recent days its flights have departed late. Etihad flight EY101 to Abu Dhabi-New York departed 5 hours behind schedule on August 2 and 2 hours later on August 3. Thursday’s flight was delayed by just one hour.
Aishwarya Nagori tweeted: “You guys overbooked and played the strategies out there. Better reschedule our flights from Mumbai to Chicago.. ” @iamrealvinod tweeted that Bengaluru-Abu Dhabi flight EY-217 was supposed to take off at 4:40 a.m., but at 4:30 a.m., the airline informed the passengers in United States that the said flight will not take off. “There were around 300 passengers waiting.. Ground staff had no clue.. There were some elderly people and children who stayed up all night and Etihad didn’t provide proper assistance or communicate on time.. .” The last Abu Dhabi flight departed at 8 a.m. after the passengers bound for the United States were transferred.
The parent of one of the affected students, Bhushan Patil tweeted: “Pathetic service at Mumbai airport. Our kids were informed that the 4 August Mumbai-New York flight was canceled while the website said the flight was going on schedule. Very few people are allowed to conduct security checks.” @AHaldipurA tweeted that Etihad canceled its arrival flight Washington. “Customer service is terrible, I can’t rebook for 20 days,” the passenger tweeted.
Regarding the denied boarding, Etihad said its teams are in contact to notify affected passengers in order to minimize disruption for them. “We regret any inconvenience caused by this last minute change and we will compensate those affected,” the statement said, adding that affected passengers can call their contact center (+971 600 555 666 – UAE number) or visit their website, mobile app for more information.
“The Etihad customer service official said I would have to wait 20 days to be re-registered, a waiting period that I cannot afford,” said one student, who asked to remain anonymous. The sudden cancellation of the flight has caused panic among parents and students who have booked flights to the US on the Internet. Etihad in the coming days. On Thursday, the cheapest one-way ticket to the US to travel this week from Mumbai started at Rs 1.40 lakh, but has been offered on flights longer than 27 hours. Most of the tickets are priced above Rs 2 lakh.
“I’m on my way to the airport for a 2:40am flight from Bengaluru to Abu Dhabi when I received a letter from Etihad informing them that they have canceled my entire booking. I already have an onward ticket to New York,” said another student, who also declined to be cited. “I booked an Etihad flight in early June and paid Rs 94,000 for a one way trip. I booked another ticket today, this time on Indian Airlines priced at Rs 2.19 lakh. It was the 10th of August trip that was the cheapest I could find,” he said, adding that Etihad said it had already refunded his ticket but the amount would take 7 to 10 minutes. 45 days to transfer to his bank account.
An Etihad spokesman said: “Due to capacity limitations, Etihad Airways was forced to reduce the number of passengers on flight EY101 from Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK) on Thursday 4 August.”
“ Payload limit ” is a reduction in passenger (or cargo) mass, intended to reduce the weight of the aircraft and compensate for increased fuel absorption, reduced engine efficiency, etc. A flight Longer-than-normal flights, which require higher fuel consumption, or flights that take off on a particularly hot day, affecting engine performance, will have payload limitations.
On Thursday, Etihad operated a regular Abu Dhabi-New York flight, flying the same aircraft, the A350, with roughly the same flight times. Ground temperatures in Abu Dhabi are not higher than normal. But in recent days its flights have departed late. Etihad flight EY101 to Abu Dhabi-New York departed 5 hours behind schedule on August 2 and 2 hours later on August 3. Thursday’s flight was delayed by just one hour.
Aishwarya Nagori tweeted: “You guys overbooked and played the strategies out there. Better reschedule our flights from Mumbai to Chicago.. ” @iamrealvinod tweeted that Bengaluru-Abu Dhabi flight EY-217 was supposed to take off at 4:40 a.m., but at 4:30 a.m., the airline informed the passengers in United States that the said flight will not take off. “There were around 300 passengers waiting.. Ground staff had no clue.. There were some elderly people and children who stayed up all night and Etihad didn’t provide proper assistance or communicate on time.. .” The last Abu Dhabi flight departed at 8 a.m. after the passengers bound for the United States were transferred.
The parent of one of the affected students, Bhushan Patil tweeted: “Pathetic service at Mumbai airport. Our kids were informed that the 4 August Mumbai-New York flight was canceled while the website said the flight was going on schedule. Very few people are allowed to conduct security checks.” @AHaldipurA tweeted that Etihad canceled its arrival flight Washington. “Customer service is terrible, I can’t rebook for 20 days,” the passenger tweeted.
Regarding the denied boarding, Etihad said its teams are in contact to notify affected passengers in order to minimize disruption for them. “We regret any inconvenience caused by this last minute change and we will compensate those affected,” the statement said, adding that affected passengers can call their contact center (+971 600 555 666 – UAE number) or visit their website, mobile app for more information.
