Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific bans couple over reclining seat argument
HONG KONG — Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has banned a couple for harassing a mainland Chinese woman who refused to put up her reclined seat.
HONG KONG — Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has banned a couple for harassing a mainland Chinese woman who refused to put up her reclined seat.
An altercation occurred during a flight from Hong Kong to London on September 17. The female passenger — who has not been identified but uses the online name Jin Yuelin — posted a video on Xiaohongshu, China's Instagram-like platform, which shows part of the confrontation with the unidentified couple.
NBC News has approached the passenger and the airline for comment.
"The lady behind me asked if I could put my seat upright because it was obstructing her husband's view of the TV. After I politely refused, she started stretching her feet onto the armrest, kicking my arm, and angrily cursing at me," the woman recalled, noting in the caption that the plane was flying smoothly at the time.
After realizing the video poster didn't speak fluent Cantonese — the language of Hong Kong — the couple began to use "very discriminatory" language towards her, including calling her a "mainland girl," she said. Most people in mainland China speak Mandarin Chinese.
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