Flight attendant humiliates Taiwanese passengers in Fukuoka; China Airlines confirms: apology issued, hopes for passenger forgiveness

▲ China Airlines flight attendant (Photo / ETtoday, stock photo, not the individual involved in this news)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

China Airlines’ Japan routes carry over 300,000 passengers annually, making it the airline’s largest market share and one of its most profitable routes. Unexpectedly, on the 14th, a passenger posted on PTT revealing that on October 9th, their family of five was “humiliated by a China Airlines flight attendant” while traveling to Fukuoka. On the 16th, China Airlines confirmed the incident and stated that flight attendant He X-Xian had apologized to the passengers. The misunderstanding arose due to unclear communication, and the airline hopes for the passengers’ forgiveness. China Airlines’ cabin crew department also called the passengers to explain and apologize, earning their understanding.

PTT Aviation Board (Aviation)On the 14th, an author named lamirror (拉镜子) posted that on October 9th of this year, they took their first flight with China Airlines, CI0116, to Fukuoka. Their 2-year-old child was sleeping during meal service. After asking the flight attendant if they could pack the meal, the attendant responded,“Of course not!! Do you want to get arrested by customs?!”

Not wanting to waste the food, the family ate the child’s meal. However, the flight attendant then said upon seeing this,“Huh?! You’re still going to eat that?! I wouldn’t eat it if I were you!! There’s so much good food in Japan, why eat this?! Fine, all I can say is good luck, Up~”

Such an outrageous attitude from the China Airlines flight attendant sparked outrage among netizens, with many suggesting filing a complaint with China Airlines customer service. A China Airlines PR representative said in an interview on the evening of the 16th that the attendant had apologized as the misunderstanding was due to unclear communication, and the airline hopes for the passengers’ forgiveness. The cabin crew department also called the passengers to explain and apologize, earning their understanding.

China Airlines stated, “Our company will continue to strengthen training for flight attendants to use respectful service language carefully, observe passengers attentively, proactively serve them, and focus on the finer details of service.”

 

▲ PTT Aviation Board (Aviation) post on the 14th complaining about a China Airlines flight attendant. (Photo / Screenshot from PTT)

The following is the original content from the PTT Aviation Board

Title [Chat] Humiliated by a China Airlines flight attendant
Time Tue Oct 14 15:39:53 2014

Having flown with so many airlines, this was my first time flying with China Airlines. I was full of expectations, but the service attitude was surprisingly terrible.

On October 9th, my family of four adults and one child took China Airlines flight CI0116 from Taipei to Fukuoka. We had a child under two years old. When the child’s meal was being served, the child was sleeping, and since we were about to arrive in Fukuoka, my mother was worried the child would wake up hungry and fussy, so she asked flight attendant He X-Xian if she could pack the child’s meal. There was no insistence if it wasn’t possible.Unexpectedly, flight attendant He X-Xian arrogantly replied to my mother, “Of course not!! Do you want to get arrested by customs?!”She then walked away. We felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable, but we thought, ‘Oh well, let’s not waste it,’ so my sister ate the child’s meal. Then, when flight attendant He X-Xian passed by again and saw this,she responded to my sister with a discriminatory tone, “Huh?! You’re still going to eat that?! I wouldn’t eat it if I were you!! There’s so much good food in Japan, why eat this?! Fine, all I can say is good luck, Up~” At that moment, my sister said she felt humiliated, and the whole family felt the flight experience was very unpleasant.

I don’t think everyone flies frequently. We followed the airplane rules and only asked about things we didn’t understand. There was nothing unreasonable, so why should we be subjected to such humiliation?

Flight attendant He X-Xian, thank you for showing us what China Airlines’ service attitude is really like—just like that. Note: On the return flight CI0117 on October 12th, the flight attendants were very polite, which shows that the quality of China Airlines flight attendants varies. We’ll just have to say ‘good luck’ to you all.