Cathay Pacific Apologizes After Serving Alcohol To Toddler On HKG-LHR Flight

A Cathay Pacific flight attendant mistakenly served wine to a three-year-old boy on a recent flight from Hong Kong to London, causing a complaint from the parents that went viral across multiple media outlets worldwide.

The incident occurred on April 24th when the boy was served a beverage by cabin crew that after a small sip didn’t seem to be to his liking and which was then identified as white wine.

It’s unclear how wine was served in a cup or glass suitable for a three-year-old, but the parents complained to the cabin crew, and then an onboard doctor was consulted as well.

The parents then posted this matter up and down the internet until it eventually found its way into mainstream media and was reported worldwide.

The Independent writes that they have now sought out a pediatrician to treat the kid – after tasting a little bit of wine.

A three-year-old boy was accidentally served a glass of white wine on a recent Cathay Pacific flight.

The family was travelling in business class from Hong Kong to London on 24 April when the incident occurred.

After taking a sip of the drink, which the boy believed to be water, he complained to his father, Mr Tsui, that it tasted sour.

The child’s father then sampled the drink and quickly realised that it was, in fact, white wine.

The family immediately alerted a member of the cabin crew who reportedly apologised, removed the wine and replaced it with water. …

Distraught, the boy’s mother Ms Wong escalated the matter with a senior crew member, who identified an onboard doctor to assess the boy.

The fellow passenger reportedly assured the boy’s mother that the boy displayed no adverse symptoms and would be fine.

Ms Wong shared her experience of the unsettling incident on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese social media platform.

“We understand that alcohol consumption in young children can have delayed neurological, developmental and physiological impacts that may not manifest immediately,” she said.

She added that the family are in the process of arranging further medical assessments with paediatric specialists.

According to reports, the airline offered to refund the child’s ticket with three one-class upgrade vouchers and to cover the cost of medical check-ups. …

In an email to the family, the airline apologised to the couple for the incident, and offered to refund the child’s ticket with three one-class upgrade vouchers and to cover the costs of medical check-ups.

It added that it had conducted immediate coaching for all cabin crew to reinforce the importance of checking food orders before serving them.

However, Ms Wong stated that Cathay Pacific did not offer a satisfactory account of why the incident occurred or how it would prevent similar events happening in future.

“During the whole process, there was a lack of care for my son,” she said.

“They gave me the impression that they were trying to shirk responsibility.”

The boy’s father later told media that the couple shared their experience online in an effort to raise awareness of child safety on flights.

“If a flagship Asian carrier can miss such basic safeguards in business class, every travelling family is at risk,” he said. …

While certainly an unacceptable mishap, the reaction of the parents here is absolutely ridiculous and they are out for additional compensation (not that they have don’t a solid ground to ask for compensation).

A three-year-old sips on wine and spits it out because he hates the taste. That happens every day and isn’t a big deal unless there is some kind of allergy, which apparently isn’t the case.

They were told by a doctor that there was nothing to worry about, and yet the mother and father blew this out of proportion, as if the child was somehow contaminated with a dangerous substance.

What else did they expect the crew to do, turn the flight around or crawl in the aisle for the remainder of the flight? The Cabin Service Manager called for a doctor, the situation was assessed and a report was written up.

If the passengers feel like they have some kind of case to pursue legal action, they should go ahead with that, but depending on their place of residence and jurisdiction, that might be an uphill battle. Although if a lawsuit were to be filed, I’m sure Cathay Pacific would be inclined to settle it.

For what it’s worth, I think the compensation offered is somewhat reasonable, although they should offer to refund all three of the tickets (not just the one for the boy) and make the three upgrades confirmed and not with these useless standby upgrade vouchers that are a nightmare to be used even for ONE passenger, let alone three. Deposit 300k miles into their Asia Miles account and call it a day.

Conclusion

A family flying Cathay Pacific Business Class from Hong Kong to London is currently going after the carrier in the media because their 3-year-old was served a glass of white wine instead of water by the cabin attendant. The child reportedly didn’t drink it, just sipped on it and spat it out as the taste was too bitter (what a surprise, a three-year-old doesn’t like wine).

The boy was assessed by a medical doctor onboard, and Cathay consulted with their medical emergency team on the ground; both professionals assured that there are no adverse effects. Yet the parents are still droning on, saying the compensation offered wasn’t good enough. I think Cathay has a reasonable approach of what kind of compensation is due here but it could be improved.

Had this happened to Americans or on a flight that somehow falls under U.S. jurisdiction, that would be a nice payday for the boy’s college fund. In Hong Kong or the UK, probably not, I can’t see a huge judgment for this case without any injury.

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