Cathay Pacific reputation crisis
Bad Service Angers Customers
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A passenger asks a flight attendant for a blanket on a Cathay Pacific flight from Chengdu.
But because the passenger’s English wasn’t great, they accidentally said "carpet" (地毯) instead of "blanket" (毛毯).
The flight attendant laughed and made fun of them saying: "Carpet is on the floor."
有同行旅客向乘务员要毛毯时，因为英语不够熟练，误使用了“Carpet”一词，被乘务员嘲笑“Carpet is on the floor（地毯是在地上）” [1]
Readers of this newsletter can sympathise, because as we know the difference between the two words in Chinese is just one character.
An easy mistake to make.
But the flight attendant didn't see it like that. She refused to give the passenger a blanket throughout the two-hour flight.
“If you cannot speak blanket", she laughed, “then you cannot have one”.
Her English needs a bit or work too by the sound of it ;).
She continued to laugh about the carpet cock-up with her colleagues, who also found it funny.
Another passenger recorded part of that conversation and shared it on the social media platform, RED (小红书).
That post revealed the flight attendant was rude to other passengers too:
She also mocked an elderly passenger with a child for not understanding a Cantonese announcement about the safety signal light.
And when another passenger tried to ask the flight attendant in English how to fill out an immigration card, they got an impatient response.
The passenger who recorded all this felt sad, upset, and angry, questioning why there was so much hate towards those who don't speak English or Cantonese, wondering why basic respect could not be shown.
此外，空姐还嘲笑带着孩子的老人“听不懂人话”，未能知晓“安全信号灯还未熄灭，请回到座位”的粤语广播；而位于该网友前排的乘客在尝试用英文询问空姐如何填写入境卡时，也得到了无比不耐烦的回答。该网友表示心痛、难过、愤怒，“为什么对不讲英文不讲粤语的乘客有这么大的恶意”“不要求额外的服务，为什么基本的尊重都做不到” [3]
Cathay Pacific apologised three times within 24 hours.
But the damage was done.
The company topped social media rankings, and online uproar and widespread criticism followed:
官网上赫然挂着的那句“国泰航空，一路与您同行”，不如改成“国泰航空，歧视与您同行” [2]
Cathay Pacific Airways has this slogan on their website, "Flying together with you." But someone cleverly suggested changing it to: "Discriminating while flying together with you.”
The scandal has become so big because of the reach of the internet, the power of the Chinese consumer, and the agitation of a propaganda machine that’s happy to encourage a of bit of anti-western sentiment.
Can you imagine that on a flight from Chengdu to Hong Kong, the flight attendants demand that passengers speak English throughout the entire journey, and understand Cantonese?!
What era are we living in? Is speaking English considered superior? It's truly embarrassing to witness such extreme self-deprecation and blind admiration for foreigners.
你能想象吗？一架从成都飞往香港的航班，空姐们要求乘客全程说英文，还要求乘客要听得懂粤语。都什么年代了，会说英语是高人一等吗？自我贬低崇洋媚外到如此地步，真是有够丢人的。 [1]
Ouch!
So that’s what we explore this week.
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Favourite Five
1. 翻白眼 fān bái yǎn
roll one’s eyes
一会辱骂乘客听不懂人话，一会朝着乘客翻白眼 - Sometimes she insults passengers, saying they don’t understand the “human” language, and other times she rolls her eyes at them. [2]
2. 玻璃心 bō li xīn
sensitive, snowflake
虽然国泰航空道歉挺快，但疑似当事空乘之一随后在小红书回应：“一堆玻璃心韭菜” - Although Cathay Pacific Airways apologized quickly, one of the alleged cabin crew members later responded on RED, saying, "A bunch of fragile and sensitive losers”. [2]
Note: An internet slang phrase popular on social media.
3. 阴阳怪气 yīn yáng guài qì
speak in a way that is deliberately ambiguous with a sarcastic undertone
尤其是录音曝光那种阴阳怪气的语气，不由想到跪舔外国人的画面 - Especially with the tone of voice revealed in the leaked recording, it's hard not to associate it with the image of sucking up to foreigners. [1]
Note: An idiom used in most news articles about this story, describing the attitude of the flight attendant. We explore further in the member podcast.
4. 三人成众 sān rén chéng zhòng
three people make a crowd
从录音来看，搞双标歧视的，不是一个人，而是至少三个人，所谓“三人成众”，一群人搞歧视，或许就是公司本身的问题了 - Judging from the recording, it is not one person who engages in double-standard discrimination, but at least three people. Since "three people make a crowd", group discrimination against the passenger shows it could be a company-wide issue. [1]
Note: Learn more about this phrase in The China Project Phrase of the Week.
5. 不作不死 bù zuō bù sǐ
making trouble and getting yourself into trouble
“还是善意提醒一句：不作不死。哦，听说国泰航空有些人员听到普通话就假装听不懂，那讲英文好了：No zuo no die！” - A gentle reminder: If you make trouble for others intentionally, you’ll probably make trouble for yourself. I heard that some staff members of Cathay Pacific Airlines pretend not to understand Mandarin when they hear it, so here it is in English: No zuo no die! [2]
Note: An internet slang phrase which is short for: 不作死就不会死. The Chinglish version in the example sentence also seems to be a popualr phrase.
More: The first tone pronunciation of 作 zuō means to “cause trouble”, or get yourself in trouble - as in 作死 “seek trouble” zuō sǐ.
Consuming the Conversation
Useful words
6. 敷衍 fū yǎn
perfunctory, shallow
国泰航空在这次道歉中表现“敷衍” - Cathay Pacific Airlines showed a "perfunctory" attitude in this apology. [1]
7. 无端 wú duān
for no reason
我不会英语，被空姐无端凶过 - I don't speak English. The flight attendant scolded me for no reason. [1]
8. 豪门 háo mén
prestigious
国泰航空还是当初的那个“豪门”，或许还能多“作”几次，可惜它早就变脆弱了 - Cathay Pacific is still the same "prestigious" airline as before. Perhaps it can still "put on a show" a few more times, but unfortunately, it became fragile long ago. [1]
9. 歧视 qí shì
discriminate against, discrimination
对乘客居然常年抱有地域性歧视，甚至进行言语侮辱，且屡教不改 - They consistently discriminate against passengers because of where they are from, even verbally insulting passengers, and they show no signs of changing their behavior despite repeated warnings. [1]
Related:
敌视 dí shì - hostile
无视 wú shì - ignore
瞧不起 qiáo bù qǐ - look down upon
10. 讥讽 jī fěng
sarcasm
短短57秒，却充斥着国泰空姐的傲慢与讥讽、大陆乘客的局促与无助 - In just 57 seconds, it is filled with the arrogance and sarcasm of Cathay Pacific flight attendants, as well as the uneasiness and helplessness of mainland passengers. [2]
More: 讥讽嘲笑 jī fěng cháo xiào is a common four character phrase, meaning to mock
11. 跪舔 guì tiǎn
flatter, suck up to
说英语的会被跪舔，说粤语的是座上宾，但只要是说普通话的，只能得到赤裸裸的低质服务 - English speakers will be flattered, Cantonese speakers will be treated as honoured guests, but as long as someone speaks Mandarin, they can only receive blatantly low-quality service. [2]
Three-character phrases
12. 不耐烦 bú nài fán
impatient
有乘客尝试用英文咨询如何填写入境卡时，空乘特别不耐烦 - The flight attendants displayed particular impatience when a passenger attempted to enquire in English about how to fill out the immigration card. [1]
13. 拎不清 līn bù qīng
fail to grasp
面对这样的事实，国泰航空一些人依旧拎不清 - Faced with such facts, some individuals at Cathay Pacific still fail to grasp the situation. [1]
Note: From the Shanghai dialect, which we have learned before in this newsletter.
14. 赤裸裸 chì luǒ luǒ
naked, blatant
这样赤裸裸的歧视，让我觉得把这件事情举报出来才是正确的做法 - Such blatant discrimination makes me feel that reporting this incident is the right course of action. [2]
Idioms
15. 崇洋媚外 chóng yáng mèi wài
admiration of the West
自我贬低崇洋媚外到如此地步，真是有够丢人的 - To stoop so low and exhibit such a strong sense of self-deprecation and admiration for foreigners is truly embarrassing. [1]
Note: This is a very common idiom at the moment. We explore further in the member podcast.
16. 死不悔改 sǐ bù huǐ gǎi
unrepentant
倘若为真，也不稀奇，毕竟「死不悔改」，可是国泰航空处理事情的一贯原则 - If it is true, it's not surprising at all, as they have consistently demonstrated their "unrepentant" attitude, which is the usual approach of Cathay Pacific Airways in handling such matters. [2]
Related:
拒不悔改 jù bù huǐ gǎi - refuse to change
屡教不改 lǚ jiào bù gǎi - do not change no matter how many times they are told
17. 劣迹斑斑 liè jì bān bān
bad record
不难发现，国泰航空，早已经是劣迹斑斑 - It is not difficult to see that Cathay Pacific Airways has long been marred by a track record of misconduct. [2]
Related: 骇人听闻 hài rén tīng wén - shockingly terrible
18. 啼笑皆非 tí xiào jiē fēi
dumbfounding, laughable
令人啼笑皆非的是，做出如此斑斑劣迹的公司，居然还敢宣称自己“对待每一位乘客都是平等和友好的” - What is both laughable and ironic is that a company with such a tarnished track record dares to claim that it treats every passenger with equality and friendliness. [1]
Related: 哄堂大笑 hōng táng dà xiào - roar with laughter
19. 变本加厉 biàn běn jiā lì
further intensified
数十年如一日，没有丝毫长进，甚至是变本加厉，究竟是谁给的勇气 - For decades on end, without any progress, and even worsening over time, one wonders who has allowed them to have the audacity to continue in this manner? [1]
20. 高人一等 gāo rén yì děng
superior
都什么年代了，会说英语是高人一等吗 - In this day and age, does speaking English make someone superior? [1]
Related:
低人一等 dī rén yī děng - inferior
三等公民 sān děng gōng mín - third class citizen
21. 深入骨髓 shēn rù gǔ suǐ
to the bone
“只要你不是白人，英语好都不行”的现实，显示“内化性歧视”已在国泰空乘群体深入骨髓 - The reality of "even being proficient in English is not enough if you're non-White" reveals that "internalised discrimination" is deeply rooted in the minds of Cathay Pacific cabin crew. [3]
Phrases
22. 又菜又装 yòu cài yòu zhuāng
incompetent yet pretentious
如今的国泰航空，很容易给人一种“又菜又装”的感觉 - Cathay Pacific nowadays often gives people a feeling of being "incompetent yet pretentious." [1]
Note: An internet slang phrase
23. 冰冻三尺，非一日之寒 bīng dòng sān chǐ, fēi yí rì zhī hán
It takes more than one cold day for the river to freeze three feet deep; a problem does not occur overnight
就像有网友评论的，“冰冻三尺非一日之寒，我不相信没素质、喜欢跪舔外国人的空姐，恰巧都聚集在了这一个航班上？！” - Just as a netizen commented, "It didn't happen overnight. I refuse to believe that flight attendants without manners who enjoy groveling to foreigners just happened to gather on this one flight?!" [1]
24. 一子错，满盘皆落索 yì zǐ cuò, mǎn pán jiē luò suǒ
one wrong step, and everything falls apart
一步错，满盘皆落索。疫情的到来，让其雪上加霜，亏损成了国泰航空的常态 - One wrong step, and everything falls apart. The arrival of the pandemic has made matters worse, and losses have become the norm for Cathay Pacific Airways. [1]
25. 一边吃饭还想一边砸锅 yì biān chī fàn hái xiǎng yì biān zá guō
eating the rice, and then smashing the bowl
近七成营收来自中国市场，一边吃饭还想一边砸锅 - Approximately 70% of the revenue comes from the Chinese market, and yet they want to smash the bowl while still eating from it? [1]
Related: 端起碗吃肉，放下筷子骂娘 duān qǐ wǎn chī ròu, fàng xià kuài zǐ mà niáng - eating meat from the bowl while cursing those who provide the food.
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