How Cathay Pacific's wings were clipped

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

 

How Cathay Pacific’s wings were clipped amid Beijing’s wrath

 

• Staff’s involvement in anti-government protests saw the airline paying ‘a painful price’, with dozens of employees losing jobs or resigning
• But that was not the end of the matter, and the whole saga laid bare just how much Cathay had come to rely on the mainland market

Cathay Pacific chairman John Slosar’s early reassurances was swiftly followed by the rolling ofheads. Photo: Reuters

 

‘Don’t mess with Beijing’

 

 

In the days and weeks that followed Slosar’s comments, an estimated three dozen Cathay staff either lost their jobs or resigned, from cabin crew to pilots to the CEO and finally Slosar himself. The problem for Cathay was that Beijing decided to make it into an example for any other big company that failed to toe its line. And with the airline reliant on business from flights to mainland China, it swiftly found itself unable to withstand the pressure.

 

Within minutes of Slosar’s press conference the influential Chinese tabloid Global Times – known for its nationalist tone – began to weigh in. The state-run paper said the airline would “pay a painful price” for the actions of its employees, leading the rest of the mainland media in a chorus of disgust against the company.

 

More worrying for Cathay was the intervention two days later of the mainland’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Without giving the airline prior notice, the CAAC announced publicly that it had issued a major safety warning against the carrier and demanded sweeping changes that included barring its staff from taking part in the protests.

 

 

[Randy W]

Previously covered in CFL topics:

 

Beijing’s tougher stance on Hong Kong’s unrest is damaging big business and the free-market economy

Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg resigns in midst of Hong Kong protest controversy

China bans Cathay Pacific staff involved in Hong Kong protests from mainland routes

Hong Kong to bailout Cathay Pacific

American Pilot Detained in Guangzhou

[Randy W]

Cathay Pacific discrimination scandal: is it the tip of an iceberg of low morale, simmering Hong Kong-mainland tensions or just inexcusable bad behaviour?

• Analysts and employees of flag carrier ask whether Cathay can salvage reputation, save itself from mainlanders’ ire and rebuild standing in key customer base
• ‘The overall consensus from the crew community is that the company does not listen to their grievances despite voicing their concerns,’ insider says

from the SCMP

Quote

 

Staff at Hong Kong’s flag carrier Cathay Pacific keep hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Over the past few days, the airline has been embroiled in a widening scandal as its crew were caught openly humiliating mainland Chinese passengers. Recently, its pilots were accused of deliberately slowing down while taxiing their planes. In the first of a two-part series, Cannix Yau, Jess Ma and Oscar Liu report on Cathay’s crisis.

 . . .

The insult fiasco has now taken a new twist as mainlanders launched a vehement online attack on the airline, unleashing a barrage of criticism and verbal insults while others vowed to film Cathay crew and make public any further discriminatory behaviour.

 . . .

According to a Mandarin-speaking passenger taking a flight from Chengdu in Sichuan province to Hong Kong on Sunday, three flight attendants made fun of customers’ English-language ability. In an online post with voice recording clips, the passenger quoted them as saying: “If you cannot say ‘blanket’, you cannot have it.”

 

 

[Randy W]

Rename airline Cathay Pacific? Well, it is a misnomer – Cathay, the West’s old word for China, comes from Khitan, the name of a tribe who were far from peaceful

• After a row over discrimination by Cathay Pacific crew, it has been suggested the airline change its name – and it is true the name is something of a misnomer
• Cathay, the West’s old name for China, came from Khitan, name of a tribe of fearsome warriors in northern China 1,000 years ago who were anything but pacific

from the SCMP

After a recent suggestion of a name change for Cathay Pacific airline, we look at the origin of the name Cathay. Photo: Getty Images
 

Quote

 

The Khitan, Qidan in Pinyin, were a federation of tribes who roamed the steppes between the Liao and Xilamulun (Sira Mören) rivers, an area that occupies part of present-day Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Liaoning province.

According to Chinese historical records and ethnographies, the Khitan consisted of eight tribes led by a khan. The eight tribes were mutually autonomous except in battle, when they would band together.

The Khitan were a fierce and warlike people (Cathay Pacific is therefore something of a misnomer). The Chinese reported that it was customary for them not to cry at the deaths of their parents because it was considered an expression of weakness.

 

 

[Randy W]

The airline reported an attributable profit of HK$4.26 billion (US$546 million) for the first half of 2023. Read more: https://sc.mp/x4lz

#cathay #cathaypacific #hongkong #travel #aviation #economy #scmpnews #scmp

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Earnings for Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific soar to HK$4.3 billion in first half of 2023, with share buy-back from government on horizon

• Cathay chairman Patrick Healy says the results show the airline is ‘on the right track’
• He says Cathay plans to buy back 50 per cent of the preference shares the government acquired as part of recapitalisation package in 2020