They turned water into wine.
A business class passenger flying Cathay Pacific was horrified upon discovering flight attendants had served her three-year-old son a decidedly adult beverage — and the protective parent isn’t letting the airline get away with a standard “sorry.”
Shelling out the extra cash for the exclusive seats proved to be inadequate travel insurance against crew carelessness on a recent long-haul flight from Hong Kong to London, View From The Wing reported.
The sipping scandal unfolded after the young traveler took a sip of the vino he was handed, instead of the water he was supposed to get. The kiddie critic is said to have pronounced the drink “too sour” for his tastes.
His mother took a gulp, realized what had happened, and flagged down the servers for an explanation.
Cabin crew immediately apologized and replaced the glass with actual agua — but the miffed mama bear was just getting started.
She escalated her concerns to the flight’s purser, who even got the cockpit involved — as well as passengers on board with medical training.
One, a French doctor, shrugged off the incident, saying that children in France “drink all the time and one sip is no big deal,” the outlet stated.
After the flight, Cathay Pacific apologized to the family and offered a full refund of the child’s ticket, three upgrade vouchers to move to first class, as well as reimbursement for any necessary medical treatment the child might require.
However, the mother has made clear she believes that the airline owes them more of an explanation for how such a mixup happened — apparently feeling that they are trying to avoid responsibility for their actions.
According to reports, she has now filed normal complaints with Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, the Consumer Council, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Among her demands — the flight attendant should directly follow up and apologize. The airline should provide tangible evidence, she said, that new safeguards are being implemented to prevent this from happening again.
The airline said that they are reinforcing crew training — to make sure another switcheroo doesn’t happen in the future.
And though the boy showed no immediate symptoms, the mom reportedly has been complaining online — expressing her concerns about the potential risks to her child’s long-term health.
The parents are currently seeking out comprehensive medical assessments with pediatric specialists — particularly one who would support a claim for delayed neurological, developmental and physiological effects from drinking alcohol at such a young age.
According to Poison Control, alcohol consumption can cause seizures and coma in small children — and they could die as a result.
The amount poisonous to children varies, the agency stated.
Adults who give children alcohol, even inadvertently, can wind up with a hell of a legal hangover, too — a Texas woman who gave kids Jell-O shots at an elementary school party last month earned herself a trip to the clinker after one of the tot-sized tipples caused a young guest to “pass out.”
Teresa Isabel Bernal, 33, of Tyler, claimed she only realized what she’d done after the tots began responding badly to the parents-only party favors.
