'Gutted' Etihad customers take action over cancelled flights

Australians who scored $300 return trips to Europe due to a brief Etihad glitch may take legal action after the airline cancelled their tickets.

Hundreds of Etihad customers will have their tickets refunded with the airline admitting to the major data glitch.

Frustrated Etihad customers have filed official complaints to the consumer watchdog following forced refunds for their record-cheap tickets to Europe, claiming it is "unfair" of the airline not to honour the cheap prices. 

Hundreds of Australian travellers scored the $300 return tickets from Sydney to Berlin (or $140 one way) last Thursday night, after a brief glitch in Etihad's booking system only charged customers for the taxes on the ticket, not the full price. 

But on Sunday night, the airline sent emails to ticket holders admitting to a "glitch in the data system" and saying they would be cancelling the tickets and refunding the money. 

The email to Etihad customers. Picture: Supplied.

Now, the disgruntled customers are taking their complaints to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)  in an attempt to force Etihad to honour the original prices. 

Sydneysiders Ella and Mickey, who purchased tickets for their family last Thursday, had hoped to take a trip to Hungary to visit Mickey's daughter, but were "gutted" to see the tickets had been refunded.

"We were genuinely devastated and outraged when we saw they weren't going to honour the price," Ella, who requested her last name remain unprinted, told The Oz. "We were really hopeful they would do honour the costs, so when they didn't we were really confused." 

The couple have since complained to the ACCC, are rallying a group of unhappy customers to do the same, and have set up an online petition to encourage Etihad to backtrack on the decision to refund the flights.

"Etihad must honour it's (sic) online fares and not cancel our tickets," the petition reads. "What kind of a company tries to crush the important travel plans of people just coming out of the world's first global lockdown and trying to reunite with family and friends."

Petition screenshot. Picture: Supplied.

Mickey said he has not ruled out legal action against the airline, but is still trying to understand the facts. 

"It would be great if we could challenge the decision based on some kind of legal action because of the ACCC or because of the terms and conditions or because of emotional distress," he said. "Not only have they made a mistake and sold all these tickets, imagine all these people who have just been super excited about reconnecting with their family all over the world, after coming out of the massive global pandemic where everyone has been locked down, and then two days later or three days later, they cancel them."

Typically, return flights from Sydney to Berlin cost around $3000 - sometimes more during peak holiday seasons.

Etihad has honoured cheap prices in the past

The UAE-based airline in 2014 mistakenly sold thousands of flights from New York to Abu Dhabi for $187 due to a "system filing issue". 

Etihad honoured the cheap ticket prices at the time, but on Monday told the Oz it was "not sustainable" to sell the tickets at a low price this time around. 

"The airline will cancel the bookings and refund the taxes, with customers invited to re-book at the correct price. Etihad is contacting all those customers who bought the mispriced flights," they said.

Customers who scored the cheap tickets

Sydney university student Erin Peters told The Oz she received a message from a friend telling her to get onto Skyscanner and buy tickets as soon as possible. 

“It was so stressful because we had no idea how long the price was going to be that low for,” she said. ”I didn‘t even consult my partner. I just bought two tickets and that was it.” 

The lucky customers downloaded the Skyscanner app, enter flights from Sydney to Berlin in peak summer, click through to the Etihad website and the price would drop dramatically. But by 10pm on Thursday the glitch seemed to have been corrected with the cheap flights no longer available.

“With the rising cost of living and the crazy house prices I never thought I would be able to afford to go overseas again,” one lucky flight-buyer, who managed to recruit a group of 15 friends to also purchase tickets, told The Oz. ”So when I saw the flights I was so excited.”

Another ticket-holder, who snagged one just before the glitch seemed to be resolved, said his only concern was whether Etihad would force him take a refund.

“I‘d be so bummed if they didn’t honour the ticket,” he said. ”Come on guys. None of us have travelled in so long. Please give us this.”

Etihad Airways has not responded to The Oz‘s request for comment.