Cathay Pacific scrambles to contain fallout from discrimination scandal as union blasts management
- CEO Ronald Lam vows airline will learn lesson from incident that led to three staff members being sacked for mocking non-English speakers
- Cabin crew union says management ignoring shortages of manpower and resources, which have sapped staff morale
Cathay’s CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por on Wednesday apologised in Mandarin to affected passengers and the public, the company’s fourth apology in three days, soon after a visibly upset city leader expressed outrage over the incident as he revealed he had personally instructed the airline’s management to review its staff training and improve its customer service culture.
“These disrespectful words and deeds have hurt the feelings of compatriots in Hong Kong and the mainland, and also undermined the city’s existing culture and values of respect, courtesy and inclusiveness,” Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said at the opening ceremony of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Cooperation Week in Guangzhou on Wednesday.
“I am outraged and disappointed by the fact these bad deeds happened on a Hong Kong flight.”
Lee said he had pointed out to Lam the seriousness of the incident, which had damaged Hong Kong’s image.