Hong Kong passengers affected by Cathay Pacific Airways’ flight cancellations complained about poor customer service and confusion, even as the flag carrier’s check-in counters operated as usual on Tuesday morning.
The airline’s check-in counters at the Hong Kong International Airport ran smoothly, barely 12 hours after the flight cancellations were announced.
The Post observed that nine Cathay Pacific flights deploying A350 aircraft were cancelled in the morning. They comprised three flights to Singapore, three to Bangkok, two to Japan and one to Taipei.
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The flag carrier on Monday said it had grounded its entire fleet of A350 aircraft for inspection after discovering what it called the first-of-its-kind problem with a component of the model’s aircraft engine.
As a result, Cathay said a total of 48 of its flights to and from Hong Kong would be cancelled on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Travellers told the Post they were informed of the cancellations at around 9:30pm on Monday, with many panicking to make last-minute travel arrangements.
Some of those who were supposed to travel on the cancelled flights to Singapore managed to rebook seats with the city state’s airline on the same day.
Hairstylist Shum Sai-cheong, who was travelling with six others to attend an expo event in the city state, said he had liaised with Cathay’s customer service until midnight.
“We were supposed to take the 8am flight to Singapore and were getting ready to sleep when we received notice of the cancellation,” he said.
“The email provided no alternatives and we were left waiting on the hotline for over an hour.”
Australian native Deone Masonga, 58, was looking forward to boarding her first flight with Cathay Pacific to Singapore, but the handling of the cancellation left a bad impression on her.
She said the customer service staff asked her to provide her booking details but closed the chat after 30 seconds when she did not respond, and only slept at 3am after settling the rebooking.
The tourist managed to find seats for her and her husband on a Singapore Airlines flight in the afternoon, but they were not too bummed by the switch.
“Now I get to take a better airline,” she said.
Heero Wong, who works in finance, said he managed to rebook a seat on a flight to Singapore on Wednesday.
“I have a summit to attend so I have to arrive today. I just booked another ticket on Singapore Airlines immediately last night,” the 36-year-old said.
“I don’t even know if I can get a refund for my Cathay booking.”
Cathay Pacific said it had identified the engine component failure after Zurich-bound CX383 returned to Hong Kong following take-off early on Monday morning
An Airbus spokesman said the company was working closely with Rolls-Royce and Cathay.
“At this time it would be inappropriate for us to comment further, pending further investigation,” he said in a statement to the Post.
Keith Brown, the Cathay Pacific engineering director, said on Monday that each aircraft was undergoing a rigorous inspection and apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused.
“Upon completion, the aircraft cleared for operation will return to service, while those identified with technical issues will undergo further repair and maintenance work,” he said in a statement on Monday evening.
“Meanwhile, we are liaising with the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department and the aircraft and engine manufacturers.”
Rolls-Royce is the sole engine provider for the Airbus A350. The engine comes in two sizes, which are the smaller -900 variant and the larger -1000 type respectively.
The aircraft, which is made partially of lightweight composite components, competes with the 787 Dreamliner and the 777 models.
Cathay has shifted its order to Airbus in recent years. Last month, it placed an order for as many as 60 Airbus A330neo twin-aisle jets. The last time Boeing had got an order from Cathay in 2013.
More from South China Morning Post:
- Hong Kong’s Cathay grounds A350 fleet due to engine component failure, axes 48 flights
- Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight aborts take-off in Taiwan after engine fire
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