In-flight experience - Should Etihad compensate me?

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Irishmaninaus

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Hi all,

Recently flew from Sydney to Abu Dhabi and then from Abu Dhabi to Dublin.

On the second leg, from Abu Dhabi to Dublin, there was a passenger who was intoxicated. The facts are as follows;
- I gave up a 4 seater for a 3seater on request so she could lie down. I didnt care as i didnt want to sleep and it seemed to help the flight attendants who were very nice
- at two points during the flight she turned around and agrresively accused me of kicking her chair. There was nobody kicking her chair. The second time I told her aggressively to go coughk herself effectively. Both times I made it clear I hadnt kicked her chair and the first time I was polite
- Shortly thereafter, 2 hours from Dublin she lit up a cigarette. Once I realised what was happening I stood up and told her to put it out, called the flight attendants and they also told her to stop. She did.
- She became abusive towards me and continued to do so. I'm a big boy and not afraid of confrontation and eventually I just moved to a different seat to (a) help the flight attendants who just wanted to calm the incident and (b) to prevent myself from strangling the woman if I'm completely honest.
- The flight attendants recollection of the incident, im in no doubt, was of me being a reasonably polite passenger and a very accommodating one. So while I didn't exactly sit back and take the abuse passively I didn't react too aggressively


The smoking really shook me, I honestly felt it was a safety risk to everybody on board and I was probably shaking for an hour afterwards. All I was offered was an ice cream and the seat move was to sit in a spare seat in economy beside other people. It was a move down from my three seater.

Anyway I'm of the view that Etihad should compensate me in some way as a show of good faith. Not one to generally try to get stuff out of people to be honest its not something I'll lose sleep about but if I can get some air miles, an upgrade on another fleet or something else from the airline well so be it.

I'm very interested to see what people think would be appropriate based on experiences and expectations.

Thanks
Stephen
 
Why would an airline compensate you for the behaviour of another passenger? It's not their fault. EL is a dreadful airline in Y.
 
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Sue the passenger if you feel the need.

It sounds like the FAs did the best they could, can't watch everyone all the time, and you provided some assistance.

Unsure how you could be accused of kicking if you moved presumably from a centre 4-seat section to aisle 3-seat
 
I honestly wouldn't hold your breath in the hope for compensation.

As much as it ruined your flight, the actions were from a passenger, not the airline so they will pass this one on.
 
I honestly wouldn't hold your breath in the hope for compensation.

As much as it ruined your flight, the actions were from a passenger, not the airline so they will pass this one on.

Sound advice, horrible experience but move on.
 
It sounds like the FAs did the best they could, can't watch everyone all the time, and you provided some assistance.

My very recent experience of EY whY travel was the opposite - the crew were never to be seen in the cabin. So unless you visited the rear galley where they gathered most of the long flight to make tea (for themselves) and browse the duty free or other magazines - actually getting anything approaching service required pax to interrupt them (politely waiting to get their attention had no effect) only to be met with begrudging and mostly unhelpful 'service'.

Im not having a go at crew taking breaks during a long flight, but the occasional whip through the cabin wouldn't go astray, as would some attempt to appear mildly interested in providing service.

In short, do not ever contemplate EY whY.
 
I think you're entitled to zero compensation, but if you negotiate carefully, you might be able to get them up to a hundred times that.
 
Hi all,

Recently flew from Sydney to Abu Dhabi and then from Abu Dhabi to Dublin.

On the second leg, from Abu Dhabi to Dublin, there was a passenger who was intoxicated. The facts are as follows;
- I gave up a 4 seater for a 3seater on request so she could lie down. I didnt care as i didnt want to sleep and it seemed to help the flight attendants who were very nice
- at two points during the flight she turned around and agrresively accused me of kicking her chair. There was nobody kicking her chair. The second time I told her aggressively to go coughk herself effectively. Both times I made it clear I hadnt kicked her chair and the first time I was polite
- Shortly thereafter, 2 hours from Dublin she lit up a cigarette. Once I realised what was happening I stood up and told her to put it out, called the flight attendants and they also told her to stop. She did.
- She became abusive towards me and continued to do so. I'm a big boy and not afraid of confrontation and eventually I just moved to a different seat to (a) help the flight attendants who just wanted to calm the incident and (b) to prevent myself from strangling the woman if I'm completely honest.
- The flight attendants recollection of the incident, im in no doubt, was of me being a reasonably polite passenger and a very accommodating one. So while I didn't exactly sit back and take the abuse passively I didn't react too aggressively


The smoking really shook me, I honestly felt it was a safety risk to everybody on board and I was probably shaking for an hour afterwards. All I was offered was an ice cream and the seat move was to sit in a spare seat in economy beside other people. It was a move down from my three seater.

Anyway I'm of the view that Etihad should compensate me in some way as a show of good faith. Not one to generally try to get stuff out of people to be honest its not something I'll lose sleep about but if I can get some air miles, an upgrade on another fleet or something else from the airline well so be it.

I'm very interested to see what people think would be appropriate based on experiences and expectations.

Thanks
Stephen

It can't hurt to send an email to EY explaining your flight and see if they offer you anything.

Are you entitled to anything? The crew should have monitored the passenger's alcohol intake and ensured they did not become intoxicated to the extent they caused a problem. If the enjoyment of your flight was hampered by their actions, it can't hurt to point this out and see what they come up with.

However, there are some things that shouldn't be on your list for compensation. The 4-seater? Unless you had paid for all four seats you're not entitled to the comfort afforded by those. You are entitled to only a single seat, with services and amenities for that seat.

The smoking? Unfortunately it happens. Was it a major safety risk? Probably not. You were vigilant to notice and alert the crew, and the safety risk was removed. It would have been potentially much more dangerous had the passenger tried to conceal their smoking and discarded the cigarette inappropriately (like in the trash bin in the WC).

Smoking was allowed for many years on aircraft and while there were fires, some with tragic results, it was not a common occurrence. And I'm not aware of any fires caused by properly extinguished cigarettes.

So you may have a case regarding the loss of enjoyment for an hour, caused by the crew serving alcohol (or alternatively, not noticing if the passenger was drinking from their own supply). But that would be about it. Will they compensate you? You may not be 'entitled' to anything, but if you don't write, you won't get the closure.
 
Compensation? No, but I'd write to them and explain that you did have a pretty ordinary flight.
Sometimes airlines will grant lounge access on an upcoming flight if you don't already have lounge access just as a show of good faith if you don't already have access.
 
Unless you are a celebrity, I think you'll find most airlines couldn't care less.
 
Thanks guys, appreciate the views

To deal with a few comments raised
- I don't expect anything and do not believe for a second I have any legal entitlement but I would have thought (possibly quite naively) that in the name of customer service Etihad would offer some token gesture?
- I'm well and truly over it but if I can get an upgrade or some mileage points then that would be welcome
- Given the passengers behaviour I don't believe her punishment was sufficient and why it was her behaviour I truly believe that Etihad have a duty towards the experience of other passengers, whether legal or not.
- The 3 seater was actually directly behind the 4 seater at the rear of the plan. I just provided this information for context and to explain how I had been accommodating
- I honestly believed the smoking was a real safety risk, i guess this was misplaced, but doesn't change how it affected my experience at the time

Anyway, again appreciate your comments! We will see how it goes, as for example I have a return flight in Jan so might get some sort of comp in the form of lounge access, seat upgrade, etc etc that i wouldnt have gotten otherwise.
 
I suppose where EY failed was they either allowed a passenger to board while significantly intoxicated or provided sufficient alcohol on board for this to occur. You could raise those as concerns with the airline and relay the experience you had because of it.
 
- Given the passengers behaviour I don't believe her punishment was sufficient and why it was her behaviour I truly believe that Etihad have a duty towards the experience of other passengers, whether legal or not.

Of course the airline owes you a duty of care. They have to get you safely from A->B, and protect you from harm on board the aircraft.

problem is - you didn't really suffer any 'injury' or harm. Loss of enjoyment - sure. The experience was uncomfortable for an hour. If anything, you might get something for the crew somehow serving too much alcohol. They should have been on top of that.

The same doesn't apply to cigarettes. A passenger can light a cigarette in two seconds, without warning. Short of confiscating all packets of cigarettes before people board, not a lot crew can do to monitor that.
 
Even with only a small amount of alcohol it can be difficult for crew to judge - particularly if it is effects are being magnified by medication or other substances taken earlier. In some ways you were lucky - you made it safely to the destination and her behavior didn't deteriorate to the point of needing to divert the flight and offload the offending passenger - which can happen.
 
The same doesn't apply to cigarettes. A passenger can light a cigarette in two seconds, without warning. Short of confiscating all packets of cigarettes before people board, not a lot crew can do to monitor that.

I had always assumed that there was some sort of 'body' that could issue a fine to a passenger for smoking on a plane. But now that I think about it, I'm not sure how that body would work internationally: what would be its jurisdiction?

Could EY have called ahead and had police of the country they were flying to waiting to issue the passenger a fine? I suspect not ... .

I'd like to see cigarettes become prohibited items in international travel. If security can take away bottles of water, and FAs can take away hot drinks, then why not cigarettes?

mrpooky.
 
I had always assumed that there was some sort of 'body' that could issue a fine to a passenger for smoking on a plane. But now that I think about it, I'm not sure how that body would work internationally: what would be its jurisdiction?

Could EY have called ahead and had police of the country they were flying to waiting to issue the passenger a fine? I suspect not ... .

I'd like to see cigarettes become prohibited items in international travel. If security can take away bottles of water, and FAs can take away hot drinks, then why not cigarettes?

mrpooky.

It's not up to the airline to levy fines. They aren't a law enforcement agency.

They can call ahead and have the police meet the plane, and the passenger would then be subject to the law of the country of arrival.

Most airlines also have some sort of clause in their terms and conditions which would allow them to ban future travel by a passenger in the event of a breach of the rules. So EY could invoke that if they wanted.

Why ban the carriage of cigarettes on board? They're not an inherent safety risk. Only when the passenger decides to light up can there be a potential problem.

Now mobile phones (and other lithium battery devices) are supposedly inherently dangerous. Should those be banned?
 
It's not up to the airline to levy fines. They aren't a law enforcement agency.

They can call ahead and have the police meet the plane, and the passenger would then be subject to the law of the country of arrival.

Most airlines also have some sort of clause in their terms and conditions which would allow them to ban future travel by a passenger in the event of a breach of the rules. So EY could invoke that if they wanted.

Why ban the carriage of cigarettes on board? They're not an inherent safety risk. Only when the passenger decides to light up can there be a potential problem.

Now mobile phones (and other lithium battery devices) are supposedly inherently dangerous. Should those be banned?

I agree it's not up to the airlines to levy fines and I don't think I proposed such a thing in my previous post, but I would expect them to enforce the rules on board and to inform whatever government / organizational bodies that can levy fines. And I would hope that the woman mentioned in the OP's post was banned from flying EY for some time at least. Her behavior was unacceptable in multiple ways.

In my opinion, smoking on board is a very serious problem. It's not only a long-term health risk to those directly around the smoker, it's also immediately dangerous for everyone onboard!

You're right that cigarettes themselves aren't a safety risk, but I would challenge you to find someone with an open packet of cigarettes who doesn't also have some way of lighting them -- and that's a safety risk. I would far prefer that security focus on removing cigarettes and ways to light them than bottles of liquids and gels exceeding a seemingly arbitrary volume.

Yes, Li battery devices probably should be banned if they are dangerous. Airlines go to a fair bit of travel pointing out how to carry small-capacity Li batteries when not in devices, but there seems to be an assumption that they are 'safe' when stored in the device for which they were intended -- or when appropriately wrapped. And I'm pretty sure there's a maximum total capacity that's allowed to be carried as well, but I'm certainly not an expert on Li batteries.

I am a bit of an expert on fire, though: it's potentially very dangerous! :)

mrpooky.
 
Unless you are a celebrity, I think you'll find most airlines couldn't care less.

You would be winning the lottery if you got any more than a few measly points such as upgrade next flight or prorata refund or lounge access

Doing an airline a "favour" whether in your opinion or theirs will only result in you being inconvenienced and out of pocket.

I would write to the airline but only to let them know of your less than ordinary flight due to an obnoxious passenger and not necessarily to request compo. I would not ask specifically for a compo unless its a downgrade in cabin class. Even then you will get screwed - see Qantas downgrade of passenger thread.

I do not help/deal with any passenger who are being rude and obnoxious. You might get accused of being unreasonable etc etc by the other passenger or worse, by the people traveling with that passenger. I leave it to the cabin crew to deal with that as they have procedures and training to deal with that kind of situation. "Helping" the CC only kicks the can down the road as you experienced later in the flight. The earlier the CC get sick and tired of the passenger the earlier the situation will be resolved. This requires the involvement of the CC early.

I would just page the CC or go to the galley and tell them you are worried about the behaviour of that passenger and leave them to deal with it.

Similarly passengers who don't accept no as an answer to their request for a seat swop get referred to the CC.

Kids who kick my seat also get referred to the CC. Telling the kid or parent might get you reported an an aggressive passenger by that parent.

I will however follow the directions of the CC even if it is as a result of their dealings with the passenger. (Eg if the CC requests you to move to put the obnoxious passenger in a different seat or an urgent request to subdue and arrest a passenger).
 
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I agree it's not up to the airlines to levy fines and I don't think I proposed such a thing in my previous post, but I would expect them to enforce the rules on board and to inform whatever government / organizational bodies that can levy fines. And I would hope that the woman mentioned in the OP's post was banned from flying EY for some time at least. Her behavior was unacceptable in multiple ways.

In my opinion, smoking on board is a very serious problem. It's not only a long-term health risk to those directly around the smoker, it's also immediately dangerous for everyone onboard!

You're right that cigarettes themselves aren't a safety risk, but I would challenge you to find someone with an open packet of cigarettes who doesn't also have some way of lighting them -- and that's a safety risk. I would far prefer that security focus on removing cigarettes and ways to light them than bottles of liquids and gels exceeding a seemingly arbitrary volume.


mrpooky.

smoking - some pilots continue to smoke on board. And some cabin crew as well. It's only dangerous to the physical safety of the aircraft if not extinguished properly.

someone with an open packet of cigarettes must have a way of lighting them? Challenge accepted! All flights in and leaving china have a ban on matches or lighters being carried into the cabin. And its strictly enforced. So that one's easy :)

While it would be better to ban the lighting implement than take away the cigarettes, why should millions of passengers be forced to buy a new lighter after every flight just because one passenger lights up?
 
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