Cathay Pacific has come under fire for failing to provide a quality service to Mandarin-speaking Mainland Chinese passengers. The problem is that most flight attendants based in Hong Kong speak Cantonese and English, but not Mandarin.
The situation escalated last month after a Chinese-speaking passenger on a Chengdu-Hong Kong flight , recorded how a Cathay Pacific flight attendant openly mocked the Chinese because of their command of English.
The video included an episode of a crew member making fun of a passenger who asked for a blanket (blanket), but mistakenly called it a “carpet”; (carpet). A flight attendant can be heard saying that a passenger cannot get a blanket if they use the wrong word, but that they can lie down on the carpeted floor.
“Given the growing number of Mandarin-speaking customers since the pandemic, we have always intended to recruit some flight attendants from the Chinese mainland. We plan to start the recruitment process from July,” Cathay Pacific CEO Ronald Lam explained.
Putonghua is the official language of mainland China and is a form of Mandarin, also referred to as “official Chinese.” It is based on Beijing Mandarin.
Existing employees have been assured that the majority of flight attendants will remain from Hong Kong, although it is no secret that the airline has a long history of recruiting international staff.
Before the pandemic, Cathay Pacific had foreign crew bases in several countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Thailand.
The Cathay Pacific flight attendant union says low wages and morale contributed to last month's discrimination incident , while the union expressed “deep regret” about this event.
Cathay has ordered additional flight attendant training starting in July.