Etihad Airways defended their new 48 hour special offers available on their website, following complaints by customers that the promotional prices were misleading and inaccurate. Dozens of customers have complained about large discrepancies between the actual price after extra charges compared to the promotional price.
For example, a return flight to Heathrow Airport on May 4-5 and May 18 could be purchased for AED200 ($54) . However, this price is before surcharges and taxes, which when added bring the total price to AED1,375, nearly seven times the promotional price and only AED500 less than the standard return fare price. One website user questioned “why are the airlines in this part of the world not transparent, and publish the actual amount to be paid by the end user?”