A CATHAY Pacific passenger was kicked off a flight and banned for life after attempting to get upgraded to business class.
An influencer called Jacqueline Ng claims she was sent an email which allowed her a free upgrade from premium economy.
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She explained that before travelling, she emailed Cathay Pacific asking for an upgrade on her return Taiwan to New York ticket.
After this, she received an email “confirming that I was eligible for a business class seat” if tickets were available at check in.
While travelling through Taiwan Airport on May 30, she showed the email, only to be declined the upgrade at the airport.
On her return journey from New York on June 7, she tried again, only to be told she was not allowed to board.
She said that she waited at check-in for 30 minutes, to which a member of staff accused her of trying to get an upgrade with a fake email.
They then cancelled her ticket, citing fraud, and banned her from ever flying with the airline.
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She told consumer advice website Elliott: “[The supervisor] proceeded to give me a ‘refusal of carriage letter’.
“He stated that security said that Cathay Pacific did not send that email and that I had committed fraud.”
Jacqueline was then forced to pay another $1,400 (£1,132) for her return flight home.
After returning home, she contacted the airline to clear up the “misunderstanding” and asked them to refund the cost of her new flight.
However, Cathay confirmed that the email was fraudulent and that the only way they could review the case was if she could provide the embedded information of the email so they could trace it.
Despite the request, the influencer failed to send over the “fake” email and instead claimed she would be taking legal action – which the airline accepted.
Cathay Pacific refunded her original flight ticket, but had reviewed the case and were holding in their decision.
Jacqueline confirmed she was suing the airline, in a bid to show that she didn’t create the documents for a free upgrade.
A spokesperson for Cathay Pacific told Elliott: “We reviewed the case in question thoroughly.
“We certainly do not take any decisions we make with regards to our customers lightly; however, we do not comment on individual cases.”
An Instagram influencer was mocked after taking fairy lights with her on a Cathay Pacific flight for photographs.
Another influencer was called out after she was spotted using the same cloud formations in all of her pictures.
Sun Online Travel has contacted Cathay Pacific for comment.
