MUMBAI: Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways offloaded passengers or cancelled bookings of scores, largely students, who were to fly to the US cities of New York, Washington and Chicago from Mumbai and Bengaluru on Thursday. The students alleged the airline refused to accommodate them on alternate flights and with semesters slated to begin soon, they have been left with no option but to spend over Rs 2 lakh for a last-minute ticket on other carriers.
"Etihad customer care official said I'll have to wait for 20 days to be rebooked," said a student, requesting anonymity. The sudden cancellations have sparked panic among parents and students booked to fly to the US on Etihad in coming days. On Thursday, the cheapest one-way ticket from Mumbai to the US this week starts at Rs 1.4 lakh, but only for flights over 27 hours long. Most tickets are priced over Rs 2 lakh.
‘Reduced flyers due to payload curbs’
With Etihad offloading passengers booked to fly to New York, Washington and Chicago on Thursday, students said they had to shell out nearly double the cost of original booking for a new ticket.
“I was on my way to the airport to board my 2.40am flight from Bengaluru to Abu Dhabi when I received a mail from Etihad stating they have cancelled my entire ticket booking. I had an onward ticket to New York,” said a student. “I had booked the Etihad flight in early June and paid Rs 94,000 for a one-way trip. Today I booked another ticket, this time on Air India which cost Rs 2.19 lakh. It’s for travel on August 10, that was the cheapest I could find,” he said, adding Etihad said it had refunded his ticket but the amount will take 7 to 45 days to be transferred into his bank account.
An Etihad spokesperson said: “As a result of operational payload restrictions, Etihad Airways has been forced to reduce the number of passengers on flight EY101 from Abu Dhabi to New York (JFK) on Thursday 4 August.”
A flight operating a longer route, which demands a higher fuel uptake or a flight taking off on a particularly hot day that affects engine performance, would come under ‘payload restrictions’. It’s a cut imposed on the volume of passengers (or cargo) to reduce the weight of the aircraft and compensate for increased fuel uptake, decreased engine performance, and so on.
On Thursday, Etihad operated its Abu Dhabi-New York flight tracking the usual route, flying the same aircraft type, the A350, with roughly the same flying time. The ground temperature at Abu Dhabi wasn’t higher than normal.
Aishwarya Nagori tweeted: “You guys are over booked and playing strategies out there. Better reschedule our flights from Mumbai to Chicago.” A parent of an affected student, Bhushan Patil, tweeted: “Our kids have been told that the August 04 Mumbai-New York flight has been cancelled whereas the website shows the flight is on schedule.” @AHaldipurA tweeted that Etihad cancelled its flight to Washington, saying, “Can’t rebook me for 20 days.”
With reference to the denied boarding, Etihad said its teams are reaching out to notify affected passengers to minimise the disruption to them. “We regret any inconvenience caused by this last-minute change, and we will be providing compensation to those affected,” it said, adding passengers could call their contact centre (+971 600 555 666 – UAE number) or visit their website, mobile app for more information.
