A pair, who argued with a passenger who reclined her seat, won’t be flying with Cathay Pacific ever again.
The Hong Kong-based airline banned the pair after video footage emerged of an onboard disagreement that occurred on a long-haul flight on Sept. 17, in accordance with a press release the corporate posted on the social media platform Xiaohongshu.
The video, which was posted on the identical platform, which is commonly described as China’s Instagram, showed the couple taunting, using vulgar hand gestures, and jostling the chair of a female passenger who reclined her seat on a 14-hour flight from Hong Kong to London.
Cathay Pacific has not responded to CNBC’s request for comment, but said within the statement that it “sincerely” apologized for the incident.
“We maintain a zero-tolerance policy towards any behavior that violates safety regulations or disrespects other passengers’ rights,” the corporate wrote, in accordance with CNBC’s translation of the Chinese.
The girl, who narrates parts of the video that was posted on the identical platform, said the couple harassed her after she declined to return her seat to the upright position.
Within the video, she said she asked the flight attendants for help.
“I used to be shocked since it was not time for supper, however the flight attendant … she asked me to compromise, so I rejected the suggestion,” the girl said within the video, in accordance with CNBC’s translation of the Chinese.
The harassment intensified after the staff did not intervene, she alleged. The video captures her chair moving from being kicked and pushed from behind. Eventually, she was moved to a different seat, the video showed.
Nonetheless, Cathay Pacific said in its statement that onboard staff had issued two “serious” verbal warnings to the 2 disruptive passengers.
The unruly behavior rose to the purpose where nearby passengers intervened. Passengers will be heard within the video saying: “Show some decency!” “Don’t bully that little girl!” “You’re bringing shame to our Hong Kongers.”
One among the passengers who had been banned repeatedly referred to the reclining passenger as a “mainlander.”
Online reactions
Despite Cathay Pacific’s ban, many social media users in mainland China criticized the carrier’s initial response to the dispute.
“Only after other people spoke up did Cathay attempt to rectify the situation. It is not news to me that Cathay’s not friendly to mainland travelers,” one top comment said.
To many mainland residents, this incident brought back memories of one other scandal that caused a stir on Chinese social media last yr. The carrier fired three flight attendants following a viral clip where the crew were heard mocking a non-English-speaking passenger who mistakenly used the word “carpet” when requesting a blanket.
Social media platforms, reminiscent of Xiaohongshu, are rife with mainland Chinese alleging sick treatment while in Hong Kong. A few of them say they feel discriminated against in the town — where locals speak Cantonese, not Mandarin, the official Chinese dialect.
The divide between mainland China and Hong Kong has been a persistent problem, rooted within the economic and cultural disparities between mainland China and the previous British territory, which was returned to China’s rule in 1997.
Tensions further intensified throughout the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests, as some locals rebelled against Beijing’s tightening control over the town.
Cathay Pacific was caught within the crossfires then too, because it tried to pacify anger from the Chinese government after some staff took part within the pro-democracy protests.
To recline or to not recline?
Reclining one’s seat — a once common and innocuous act — has developed into one more in-flight battleground as “airplane etiquette” rises in prominence amid ever-devolving onboard behavior. Â
As passengers have increased in size, seat pitches — roughly, the space between seats from front to back — have dwindled, resulting in mid-air disputes over the smallest of airplane real estate, from middle seat armrests to the area under passengers’ seats.
Unlike those issues which have a consensus — Ø…middle person gets each armrests, passengers are allotted the realm under the seat in front of them — there’s widespread disagreement about seat reclining.
Proponents often argue seats recline for a reason, while opponents argue it’s an inconsiderate act, “period,” when done in economy class.
Still, more say the reply is determined by a confluence of things, from the time a flight occurs, its duration, whether the passenger seat behind you possibly can recline and whether one obtains permission from the passenger first.
