Tag: airport

The Ugly Korean in Hong Kong's Airport

| July 13, 2005

It appears that one airline had an interesting evening on Sunday:

Cathay Pacific CX 416 was scheduled to leave Hong Kong for Incheon International Airport at 4:20 p.m. on Sunday. The airline delayed the flight twice, first to 5:30 p.m. and then again to 6:00 p.m.

The airline said it made four announcements of the delays, both in the terminal and at boarding gates. But with the airport bustling and the broadcasts made in English and Chinese, some of the Koreans were unable to understand them.

Dozens of Korean passengers protested to Cathay Pacific staff at the boarding gate that the airline had delayed the flight twice but offered no explanation. They also demanded free transport once they arrived in Incheon and compensation for the delay.

The airline promised to provide meal coupons (HK$45), phone cards and transport according to its flight delay regulations. It says it also went beyond regulations in offering US$25 coupons toward in-flight duty-free goods and discount airline tickets during their next trip.

Okay, airline delays happen all the time and the airline offered meal coupons and other incentives for the delay. I have been delayed for up to five hours before and all I got was a meal coupon. So what Cathay Pacific was offering in compensation seems pretty good in comparison to my experiences with flight delays. Anyway this is what some Korean passengers decided to do:

The furious Koreans then started protesting vociferously, screaming and waving their arms. Alone among the 308 passengers, the 44 Koreans refused to board the aircraft. Attempts by the pilot to convince them fell on deaf ears.

They wanted more compensation and refused to board. So this is what the airline decided to do:

The airline then decided to let the flight take off at 7:14 p.m. without the Koreans, explaining it could not delay any longer. At this stage some of the Koreans relented saying the most important thing was to get back to Korea first, and suggested the airline must have had its reasons. When the flight arrived at Incheon at 11:34 p.m., five buses were waiting to take passengers to their regional destinations.

The Koreans that did not board were offered another flight the next day but the airline would not provide lodging and accommodations for them. The Korean passengers are demanding compensation and an officially apology from a high ranking Cathay Pacific official.

Looking at the article I cannot find where the airline was at fault. Delays happen all the time. The article did not say what the delay was for but maybe the plane had a flat tire or something. That is how I got delayed at the Phoenix airport for 5 hours because the plane needed a new tire. I didn’t go berserk, I got a meal coupon got something to eat read the paper and got on the plane when it was ready.

According to the article Cathay Pacific gave the Korean passengers everything they were entitled to for a delay of 1-2 hours. Why would someone demand a hotel room when the delay was not even 2 hours long?

Then should the plane have taken off without all of its passengers? The Korean passengers apparently were given every opportunity to board the plane and they refused. The airline has to think about all of the 308 passengers, not just 44 self absorbed ones. The airline delayed the plane over an hour longer waiting for the Koreans to board before they finally let the plane go.

It was their choice not to board the plane and I think the airline has a responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the majority of the passengers which is the plane should of left. Cathay Pacific shouldn’t feel any obligation to house people that voluntarily don’t board their plane. The passengers should feel lucky the airline gave them another flight the next day.

Make a scene, yell, protest, demand compensation, and an official apology from a high ranking official. Doesn’t this sound familiar? This is a strategy taken straight out of the anti-USFK play book. Now my final question is, how much did this people have to drink before trying to board the plane?