Etihad’s The Residence is probably the most luxurious product in commercial aviation, as it consists of a three room suite. I recently reviewed the experience, and had a fantastic flight. Unfortunately a reader shared a less impressive experience with me, and it sounds like the handling of this by the carrier’s customer service department left a lot to be desired.

Etihad’s paltry compensation offer for disappointing experience

Let me just share the entire email from the reader (this actually goes back to a flight in May 2025, but the correspondence with the airline has gone on over months):

I recently redeemed miles for two First Class tickets for my parents on Etihad A380, from AUH to CDG. (Cost: 280,000 miles + 800 USD, each ticket). After booking I noticed The Residence was available on the outbound sector as a cash upgrade, at the additional cost of 2000 USD for both tickets together.

Everything went great, from the door to door porter service from airport door to the aircraft seat, the exclusive lounge-within-a-lounge, and wonderful welcome by cabin crew. That is, until the aircraft departed.

Upon departure they quickly found out that the entertainment system in the “living room” didn’t work. Making the most of a bad situation, they decided to dine instead, and make a romantic dinner out of it – sans TV.

After dinner, unable to enjoy a movie together, they then decided to take a snooze, it being a red-eye after all. After a restful nap, they wanted to freshen up with a shower before landing. Lo and behold, the private shower wasn’t working. Cabin crew tried everything they could but to no avail.

The shower at the first class bathroom was already booked by other passengers, so they were unable to be accommodated there either.

So they ended up with no TV, and no working shower, both of which I feel are essential to the Residence experience? I contacted Etihad on their behalf to raise a complaint, and after 2 months of being told to wait for a customer service agent to get back to us, we finally received their reply 2 weeks ago.

Unfortunately it left a lot to be desired. They claimed the services were working during pre-departure inspection, and that they stopped working “upon descent” – a completely inaccurate representation. The compensation offered: a 100 USD voucher or 10,000 miles for each passenger.

First world problems maybe, but I felt that was on the edge of being offensive? I pushed back – but was offered the same, again.

I wonder what you think – if you think the compensation offered makes sense, or if this is indeed an incredibly lowball offer.

The reader followed up with Etihad a couple of times, and ultimately the airline has stated that it considers the case to be closed, with the $100 Etihad voucher or 10,000 Etihad Guest bonus miles offer being the final one:

We have fully reviewed this case and fully addressed your concerns in your previous correspondence. In this regard, we must now draw this case to a conclusion.

My take on how Etihad has handled this situation

If the living room TV and shower were indeed broken, then I absolutely think that Etihad’s compensation offer is incredibly stingy. The couple spent $2,000 to upgrade (on top of what they paid for first class), and they’re being offered a total of $200 in Etihad credits or 20,000 Etihad Guest miles. So the $200 in credits is like 10% back, but it’s not even worth that much, because you’re trading cash for credits.

It’s one thing if just the TV in the living room were broken, but we’re also talking about a broken shower, and there’s no denying that showering on a plane (and having that bathroom all to yourself) is one of the bigger parts of the experience.

My instinct is that what would be reasonable is something in the range of 25-50% of the upgrade cost, with it being on the lower end if it’s a cash refund, and on the higher end if it’s voucher or miles. Keep in mind that it’s really efficient for Etihad to upgrade two people to The Residence, since it clears up two of the first class suites, which can in turn be sold.

It’s interesting how the airline claims that these issues only happened during the descent phase. For what it’s worth, here’s what Etihad wrote in its correspondence:

Following a thorough review, I would like to confirm that a complete inspection of The Residence suite was carried out prior to boarding as part of our standard procedures and no defects were identified at that time. While there were no technical issues identified prior to take-off, several technical issues emerged during the descent phase of the flight.

To me this is all a very strange point to make:

• Did the flight attendant not properly document what happened, including the timing of everything?
• It’s interesting how the airline justifies the claim that it happened during descent based on a pre-flight inspection having been carried out
• I assume the reader is not lying here, because if the couple had showered, there wouldn’t be anything to complain about; and it’s also reasonable to expect that the shower would work close to arrival, given that this is when most people would ideally like to shower on an overnight flight

Bottom line

A couple traveling in Etihad’s The Residence experienced a broken TV in the living room plus a broken shower, which is obviously disappointing. They spent $2,000 to upgrade their first class tickets, though Etihad only offered them a $100 Etihad voucher or 10,000 Etihad Guest miles each as compensation.

That doesn’t seem particularly generous, and I’d side with the family in thinking that Etihad isn’t being reasonable here, unless there’s something I don’t know.

What do you make of Etihad’s compensation offer, and what do you think would be reasonable?