Cathay Pacific Airway Flight Attendants May Withhold Booze And Smiles From Fliers

Passengers on Cathay Pacific, the Asian airline best known for its excellent in-flight service, may have less than hospitable service on their upcoming flights.

According to ABC News, the flight attendants on the airline are considering providing services on a selective basis. This could include withholding smiles and meals from from their passengers.

Why would they do this, you ask?

The Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union is currently in a dispute with the carrier over a salary increase. The flight attendants are looking for a five percent raise. However, Cathay announced last month that it would only give a two percent pay raise to its employees in 2013 in addition to a discretionary one-month bonus for 2012.

This still fell short of the union’s demands.

The union voted on Monday in favor of labor action. The form and date of the action has yet to be determined.

Union general secretary Tsang Kwok-fung said:

“We will be selective in providing our service. This could include not smiling at passengers, not providing certain types of beverages — such as alcohol — or stop serving meals.”

Tsang continued by saying:

“In a nutshell it means passengers will still be able to reach their destinations, except they are paying a five-star price to get a three-star service.”

Cathay Pacific Airways has yet to be reached for comment.

Do you think the flight attendants deserve the raise that they want, or should they be happy and content with what they have now?