Flight attendants served a three-year-old boy sitting in business class wine instead of water on Cathay Pacific flight 255 from Hong Kong to London a couple of weeks ago. The child’s mother complained online after she found the airline’s response insufficient, and sharing concerns about her child’s long-term health from drinking alcohol so young. But the boy took only one sip, complaining to his mother that it was “too sour.”
His mom tasted the drink, realized it was wine, and flag down cabin crew – who immediately apologized, took the glass and brought back actual water. The woman escalated this to the purser, and the cockpit got Medlink involved for advice. They also sought passengers onboard with medical training, and a French doctor consulted – who said, look, five year old kids in France drink all the time and one sip is no big deal.
The boy has shown no immediate symptoms, but Wong and her husband are currently arranging comprehensive medical assessments with pediatric specialists seeking one who will support a claim for delayed neurological, developmental, and physiological effects.
Credit: Mother’s Post on RedNote
After the flight Cathay Pacific apologized and offered:
- a refund of the child’s ticket
- three upgrade vouchers to move to first class
- reimbursement for medical treatment
They also insist that they’re reinforcing crew training to prevent similar incidents in the future. However the mother is still not satisfied, claiming that the carrier should provide more of an explanation for how such a mistake happened (‘the flight attendant made a mistake’?) and accuses them of attempting to avoid responsibility. She feels that:
- the flight attendant should be following up directly to apologize
- the airline should provide concrete proof that new safeguards have been implemented
Credit: Mother’s Post on RedNote
As a result, she has filed formal complaints with Hong Kong’s Civil Aviation Department, the Tobacco and Alcohol Control Office, the Consumer Council, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Meanwhile, cabin crew forums discussing the issue argue that declining service standards and insufficient training for new flight attendants rapidly hired to support the carrier’s expansion are likely to blame. In this case, properly-trained crew might have marked the beverage to avoid delivering the wrong drink to the wrong passenger.
Greedy, money grabbing parents. No deal. Bye
This story seems beyond ridiculous.
The HK government should impose a serious fine…lets say 500.000 HKD on this mother for giving a bad reputation to the residents of the SAR….lol
Some people just don’t believe in karma.
Consulting my magic ball I’ve located this, probable, maybe, perhaps, ‘not headline’.
Parents who pay so little attention to their child and what he/she is putting inside it are suing the entire internet for highlighting things like “your child was more observant & self aware than you. Maybe you should of asked your toddler as they seem better at parenting” ( Jane Doe, WI, USA). This from a Mr Joe Blogs, Durham, UK who was very mean when he posted on FB. “If you’re going to try scam money out the airline you could’ve at least let the kid have the bottle. He’s gonna need it with you as parents! And the infamous viral meme of a drunk baby being shaken at cabin crew by a middle aged Asian lady and the text: One sip. Gimme moooneyyyyyy!.
Today those same parents are speaking out about what they say is unfair treatment. After the incident where crew called a medical team on the ground who assessed ‘no issue’ and a fellow passenger who was a Dr from France confirmed this whilst also suggesting the parents get a grip on reality. They say that having spent $50,000 on unnecessary tests & hoping they could find a medical practitioner incompetent enough to agree with them they have been left in huge debt.
Mr & Mrs Phone-it-in say they didn’t mind spending their life savings as they hoped to get upwards of $1M for their made up cr*p & were left devastated when CX advised them “That unfortunately we felt our initial offer was overly generous for such bollocks & that’s all your going to get, despite not deserving it”.
In other news Child Services in Hong Kong have announced they’re opening an investigation into child endangerment linked to two, currently undisclosed, parents for allowing a toddler to consume so ‘much’ wine apparently it could’ve done permanent damage.
Thrse “people” are oblivious looking to make a big issue out of nothing. Hawkers. I do hope it gots to court and the judge hives them a gine for wasting his time.
Clearly accidental and the child have distinguished the taste immediately so an insignificant quantity could have been imbibed.
Greedy persons really exists.
Complete overreaction. Ridiculious
Stupid
Easy to go after Cathay for a staff mistake. You got the apologize already. Now, dear passenger, do you date to publish your name? Should not be a problem if your claims are supported.
I hope the parents get embarrassed in court and have to pay court fees for frivolous lawsuit.
I’m pretty sure the poor kid will present delayed neurological, developmental, and physiological effects derived from an overprotective cash-hungry mom. The kid should definitely sue his mom once he’s old enough to do so.
Wonder if the women who enjoyed her flight so much she didn’t have time to look after her kid has spent time in the US?
Disgraceful people. One sip!!! Are all europeans who have experienced this in their youth out of control? Unreliable? Stupid with neurologic disfunctions? N O she is full of stupid nonsense
One sip is going to have zero effect. Someone looking for a payout. No judge would allow the case to proceed and no doctor will testify of any harm. Guarantee there’s more alcohol in some of the cough medicines. Just like the doctor said, there are some countries where alcohol is consumed by very young children.
Long time ago, when my kids were very young, we holidayed at a resort island. My kids ordered Iced Coffee. Later we found the kids in a very happy mood and wanting more. We found out that the resort adds a tot of wishkey when preparing iced coffee. We simply found it hilarious. Another time, when the kids were more grown up they emptied the mini bar. After that we made sure that the mini bar in their room had only juices and fizzy drinks.
Kids will be kids and parents should learn that these incidents is what makes life interesting.
Anyone with a working brain can see straight through the games that this mother is playing. Did a mistake happen? Yes. Of course it did. Did the airline apologize and.accept responsibility? Yes, they absolutely did. So quit with the ridiculous agenda already, mom. Also, it’s just as much your own fault as it was theirs. It is your responsibility to know what your child is ingesting. C’mon people, let’s use our brains on this one!
The mother is trying to cash on the mishap $$$$$!!! This type of passengers is found on any airline. Over reacting and greedy. My sisters and I grew up in a French household drinking some wine at meals as it is not uncommon in our culture. The wine is cut with water and as we grow older the water diminishes in the glass. So drinking is no longer a taboo and we do not need to make a show in public – like the young English students I saw in Cambridge – getting drunk at parties!
She is obviously looking for a payday.
Mistake happenes, if crew staffs are apologized for the same matter then mother should forgive them.
Suppose parents are drinking the alcohol at home infront kids and by mistake if that kids take one sip, to whom these parents will blame ? They can’t blame anyone and they don’t worry also because it’s just alcohol but if these incidents happened outside then it’s a big crime for these parents.
These is happening for over a decades, if someone goes to restaurant, hotel , airlines or any hospitality sector if these people find any mistake they treat as a big crime and end of taking lot of compensation from the company. Hospitality company will agree because they don’t want any bad advertisements the socal media.
Mother probably actually gave her own wine to the child. Then cried foul.
Reading all the above comments, fills my heart with joy, due to the simple fact that the vast majority still have common sense! CX compensated the family more than generously from my point of view!
I, as a parent also make sure that none of my 3 kids drink my glass of wine at the table and would never hold the waiter responsible. I also find it hart to believe that the flight attendant came with an empty glass and poured wine into it all while a 3 year old was sitting there alone!
I agree wholeheartedly with all the above comments .She is just looking for the jackpot payout . The airline should rescind the medical payments .This is what encouraged MissWong in the first place . Utterly Shameful. And I’m embarrassed by the greedy actions of said person. I hope to god No one will support her claims . .
Better than picking up soda cans from recyclable put out for garbage. Some groups of people are noted for this. ( make money, make money. )
Better than picking up recyclables from curbside pickup.Some groups of people do this to make money, make money!
We Italians grew up having wine on our diningroom table and we were allowed a small glass on special occasions and not one of us 6 kids became an alcoholic.
One day we were at Mike’s Kitchen and my son ordered coca cola. He was about 8 years old. He took a sip and spat it out, we tasted it and it was Brandy and Coke. Of course we complained to management but we never expected a free dinner or to take my son to a Dr!!! #$%^$#
She definitely over reacting
I agree with the comments, this mother is typical of her type trying to cash in on a harmless mistake, I live in France and our two children, now 21 and 24 yrs old, grew up with a little wine mixed with water at evening dinner. This ritual satisfied there curiousity of alcohol and now as young adults they do not consume alcohol that often, as to their health, excellent and no neurological problems,.
This mother should be held accountable for not supervising her child, probably enjoying her own drink, she has the bad American ethic of greed though legal action in a court of law so to line their pockets.
I fly Cathay to Hong Kong from JFK several times a year with my kids in Biz Class. The staff work hard and the service is exceptional. A sip of wine? My kids have all taken a sip of wine at times..you have to be joking or on a money grab. Catjay should ban these idiots from flying. Parents are responsible to monitor their children…not the flight crew. The crew has enough work catering to morons..like this family.
Wonderful comments from sensible, pragmatic and understanding parents. We also allowed our children in South Africa to have a sip of my wife’s wine or my beer. They didn’t like it! No problems existed later in their lives and drinking in moderation are their options now, with children of their own.
Out of interest not a medical recommend but parents use to put scotch on a babies dummy to ease the teething pain. Interesting to know, did the mother switch the drink as find it hard to believe the stewardess actually did this on CP, they are very professional.
The article did not explain that parents and crew let the three year old child sit across from an aisle next to the window. While the parents sat in the middle section together. 1-2-1 configuration.
If the child was often moving between the two seats it is conceivable the window seat was the original seat assigned to an adult?
A little over the top in my opiniin. With a mother like this, the kid could probably use a drink…
Looking for big pay day. Greedy person. Should take responsibility and check what 3 year old puts in his/her mouth.
This headline should read ” Woman seeks payout for silly mistake.” Greedy and unethical. Meanwhile, she probably gives her kid artistically colored Trix cereal and goldfish crackers. There’s the poison.
Beyond idiotic. Even if he drank the glass it would not hurt him. They are looking for a big payout. People make mistakes. That is what parents are for….looking after their babies. Mom caught it. Good on her…now let it go.
This lady is nothing more than a greedy money chaser. One sip… Really? So basically they are looking for a fake Dr to lie and say there are long term effects from one sip of wine so they can squeeze money from the airline. You just KNOW she’s absolutely unbearable in person.
I am Chinese and I can understand for the parents reaction. They both have Chinese spicy sausages up their rectum. Greedy!
I understand that this reply is just one in many lol. But I feel better having said it. Shame, shame, shame on those parents. Not for not watching the kid take a sip of wine, but for not getting off their judgmental high horse perfect pedestal, and stop trying to take advantage of something so silly. Who remembers nightquil as a kid? Why do you think it works so well? Alcohol LOL LOL. And depending on what the kid eats he could be getting a lot worse in his body than alcohol. Does he use hand sanitizer I bet you he absorbs more alcohol that way than he did from that little sip! There now I feel better.
I’d drink too if I had parents like that.
Meanwhile PARENTAL supervision of a 3 year old is overlooked. I know the culture of the country… once someone else is tasked with serving the child, the parents completely back off. Especially a male child.
Shouldn’t the parents be seeking professional help for themselves? Something is not right with them.
I do not agree with the comments that the parents were negligent in watching what their child drank. If you ask for water, and a cup comes back that looks like water (in the often not best lighting if an airplane), it is totally understandable. I did not go around tasting everything my daughter ate when we went out before giving it to her. However, making a huge deal of a sip or two of wine is ridiculous. There will be no long-term (or short-term) damage from a few sips of alcohol for a normal, healthy child.
Wow did she ever needlessly escalate this. The French dr was correct. And one sip will do exactly NOTHING! What a greedy pain she is.
This idiotic woman should be banned from flying.
I really thought this was a joke, but unfortunately, there are a lot of ridiculously stupid entitled people to think they have no responsibility and that everybody else has to serve them.
I agree with prior comments that the child will have much more psychological and long-term damage from having a mother like this
Well is so nice to read all the comments on this portal . It’s clear to read this greedy mother was on a roll to achieve the best pay day deal she could get . Folks we all know common sense is the best policy served on a plate . Lady if you are reading the comments on here you might just learn something. Be kind .
As Chinese American myself this Chinese American parents definitely earn the “Ugly American” image of litigious Americans mentality out for free stuff like free upgrades, discounts, etc. when an worker made a simple mistake the damn kid took only one sip even the French passenger doctor told them French kids drink wine which is damn high end grape juice! Cathay Pacific should ban them from flying their airlines because these are TROUBLEMAKERS FOR ALL BUSINESSES so they will not go overseas!!! Shame to all nice Asian who are usually reasonable, nice customers of businesses!!!!
Geoff Wills, where did you read that the mother is American?
I’m sure the baby is fine and was at the time of digestion. Not sure how this could have happened in the first place and I can’t understand why the parents didn’t recognize the slight color change if it was white wine in the cup. Water is clear and white wine absolutely isn’t clear as water. I didn’t read the entire article but it sounds like they are sue happy and they will not be satisfied at all. Also was wine served to the parents? Is there a possibility that the water was drank and a parent put some of their wine into the child’s cup? People today stop at nothing if they see a huge payout at the end.
Well the story may not happened literally as it’s told. I doubt a flight attendant would intentionally give wine to a 3 year old Alcohol. Each seat has to be purchased. And the parents likely purchased a seat and and a flight attendant Probably didn’t realized a kid was sitting in that seat since many flights attendants are on a flight. It’s the job of the parents to feed the kid. Maybe 21 and older should be in business
As an American i’ve seen far to mamy frivolous lawsuits and it makes me sick. When my son was 3 he somehow managed to uncork a wine bottle with maybe 2 drinks in it. I turned to see the empty bottle in his hand and realized what had happened. He was happy and quite relaxed. I just had to laugh. No damage done.
OMG, you can tell they just want money, and that’s why air flights cost so much because stupid people Sue everybody and anybody. In Europe children drink wine all the time with meals or celebrations because they have the right mindset knowing a little bit won’t hurt and it teaches the children that alcohol consumption done at a celebratory level is perfectly okay otherwise children who never see it never touch it never taste it grow up to be alcoholics because once they get a hold of it it’s a big deal. These parents are despicable, and they are not teaching that child the correct way to do things except the apology and Let It Go. A sip of anything unless it’s bleach or cleaning item is not going to hurt a three-year-old.