Cathay Pacific to hire more cabin crew from Chinese mainland

Cathay Pacific chief executive Ronald Lam on Monday sent an internal memo to employees, unveiling a new plan after three staff members were fired last month for allegedly mocking passengers who could not speak English.

The plan focuses on enhancing service culture training, improving the use of Mandarin on flights, and recruiting more cabin crew members from the Chinese mainland.

The objective is to ensure that all passengers receive consistent and attentive service while promoting a culture of diversity and inclusivity.

In addition, the airline will increase the Mandarin-speaking crew on mainland flights. From August, all round-trip flights to and from the Chinese mainland will have Mandarin cabin announcements. Cabin crew name tags will clearly indicate the languages they can speak. The cabin crew members who are proficient in multiple Asian languages will be eligible for a monthly allowance.

Furthermore, Cathay Pacific intends to launch a recruitment drive for cabin crew members on the Chinese mainland starting in July. This move aims to further expand the Mandarin service team.

The airline emphasized that, as an international carrier rooted in Hong Kong, the majority of cabin crew members would still be recruited from Hong Kong. However, the recruitment strategy would be adjusted to meet the overall demands of customers by recruiting employees from regions beyond Hong Kong.

The alleged incident occurred on flight CX987 from Chengdu in Sichuan Province to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on May 21. A passenger on the flight shared a recording online, in which the flight attendants said in English, "If you cannot speak blanket, you cannot have it," and "carpet is on the floor." The incident sparked widespread anger online about the treatment of Chinese mainland passengers on Cathay flights.