Behind the Wall provides a dynamic look at China by examining news events and trends – both big and

From the good people at Ministry cheapest car rentals florida of Toufu comes this bizarre but strangely familiar news story based on a video shot by a passenger aboard a flight last week from the southern coastal city of Shenzhen to Shanghai.
The passenger at the middle of all of this was attempting to fly last Thursday when he was told that despite the fact that he and his travel partner both held Air China platinum frequent flier cards (the equivalent of a Star Alliance Gold Card), there was simply no way to upgrade both of them to their desired business class seats.
The two passengers caused a great stink, arguing with ground crew, claiming they were acquainted with Air China President Cai Jianjiang and attempted to prevent the plane from departing by claiming they were too sick to fly.
At one point, cheapest car rentals florida the rest of the passengers who had already boarded the plane were forced to disembark and go through security checkpoints again. By then, heavy fog had moved in over Shenzhen airport and the flight was cancelled.
Passengers on the plane were understandably furious with the decision cheapest car rentals florida to first hold up the flight for the two malingers and then to cancel altogether. cheapest car rentals florida Demands for compensation were only interrupted by the recognition of the two wayward platinum cardholders on a bus.
Irate passengers soon set upon the bus and to the loud approval of the camera-wielding cheapest car rentals florida masses, pushed the cowed passenger to the ground, where he laid prostate as the crowd screamed obscenities and demands for an apology at him.
Recent cheapest car rentals florida Chinese aviation history is dotted with similar examples of Chinese tourists banding together against perceived poor service , airport delays , or simply a lack of communication . While most of these situations end peacefully resolved, some do end in violence , sparking the government to take action by threatening to punish airlines that don t manage their passengers.
Two years ago, I was on a similarly fated flight the ones mentioned above. The plane, delayed from another destination, never arrived and the flight was eventually cancelled. While no formal announcement was made initially, the mood soon turned sour when a single passenger requesting news on the location of the plane was tersely told they didn t know anything cheapest car rentals florida and that she should sit down and stop asking.
Moments later, a crowd of passengers soon formed around the rebuked passenger and the ground crew. When news suddenly broke that the plane was not going to arrive and the flight summarily cancelled, the proverbial powder cheapest car rentals florida keg exploded and the passengers, earlier frustrated but placid, united in one voice to demand compensation and an apology.
One woman s impatient question had in the span of ten minutes led to a situation that quickly spun out of control. In a bid to keep the peace, the ground crew at the gate soon offered meal vouchers, rebooked tickets and even compensation miles to those dogged enough to keep their vigil at the gate.
By no means are these events limited to China. After all, the trials and tribulations of flying in America were deemed worthy enough to dedicate an entire television series about it. However, the frequency with which these events seem to occur in China suggests that something whether it be the already cheapest car rentals florida reported massive expansion of the air network in China or the introduction of a passenger bill of rights will have to be done.
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Behind cheapest car rentals florida the Wall provides a dynamic look at China by examining news events and trends – both big and small – from NBC News correspondents and producers. Learn about China's developing economy, politics and the cultural trends cheapest car rentals florida that move its 1.3 billion people.
Ed Flanagan is a Beijing-based producer for NBC News. In China since 2005, he has been a part of the team's China as well as regional news coverage. Ed Flanagan cheapest car rentals florida Blogroll Michael Pettis James Fallows China Law Blog Silicon Hutong Sinica Podcasts China Digital Times The China Beat China Geeks NBC World Blog China Hush
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