Cathay Pacific flight attendants will continue to provide service with a smile - for now - but will take their pay dispute to court.
The airline, which has 5,500 attendants, last month asked them to fly four more hours per month in exchange for a 3.5 per cent pay rise; work the same hours and take a pay freeze; or take voluntary redundancy.
Union leaders said the options were unacceptable because they meant, in effect, an end to the automatic pay rise enjoyed by attendants for 35 years.
Members made no decision last night on a suggestion to stop smiling for an hour on each flight in protest at the overtime.
Union chairwoman Becky Kwan Siu-wa said: 'The outcome of today's meeting is that members unanimously rejected the company's offers.' Union leaders said they would ask a judge this week to rule on the pay rise. They said lawyers had told them they had a reasonable chance of success.
Cathay said an automatic pay rise was not part of contractual terms and it would fight the possible legal challenge.