Hong Kong’s de facto flag carrier Cathay Pacific has become embroiled in yet another row over the treatment of mainland Chinese passengers on its flights after a member of the cabin crew struggled to stop a Cantonese-speaking couple from abusing a lone female traveler from the mainland during a recent flight to London.
The incident is said to have started when the female traveler reclined her seat to get some rest during the ultra-long-haul flight, prompting a backlash from the couple sitting behind.
When the female engaged them in conversation, it became apparent that she was from the mainland, and this further antagonized the couple who allegedly made discriminatory comments towards her over her ethnic origin.
The lone traveler then called over a flight attendant to resolve the situation but according to a now-viral social media post, the crew member failed to challenge the abusive couple and instead told the female to stop reclining her seat.
That, however, did not apparently stop the couple from continuing to make abusive and derogatory comments towards the female, as well as pushing the seat in front.
It was only after the female requested the assistance of cabin crew for the third time that a flight attendant managed to calm the situation down by moving the victim to an alternative seat.
Cathay Pacific has confirmed that an altercation occurred aboard light flight CX253 on September 17, with a spokesperson saying that the airline has already apologized to the victim and banned the couple for life.
The apology and quick action against the perpetrators, however, will do little to change the opinion of many Mandarin customers that Cathay Pacific has a discrimination problem with mainland Chinese passengers.
Last May, the carrier was blasted by mainland Chinese social media commentators and even lawmakers after flight attendants were accused of making fun of Mandarin-speaking passengers on a flight from the Chinese city of Chengdu to Hong Kong.
The flight attendants had allegedly mocked the passengers because they did not speak Cantonese or English. The passenger had attempted to ask for a blanket in English but mistakenly used the word ‘carpet’ which led to a flight attendant snapping back: “If you cannot say ‘blanket’ in English, you cannot have it.”
Another of the crew members then allegedly told the passengers that they were welcome to lay on the floor if they wanted a carpet rather than a blanket.
In response to that debacle, the airline quickly sacked the flight attendants involved and issued a groveling apology while promising to improve its treatment of mainland Chinese passengers.
A month later, Cathay Pacific said it would start hiring mainland Chinese flight attendants for the first time in its history. Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam said it had already been the airline’s intention to hire Putonghua-speaking customers as the airline emerged from the pandemic.
Putonghua is the official language of mainland China and is a form of Mandarin which is also referred to as ‘Standard Chinese’. It is based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin.
