China Law Blog

A few weeks ago, I posted on the problems with China air traffic.  Today, Reuters did a story, entitled, "Stop complaining, China tells airline passengers" describing how China's civil aviation authority is asking fliers to stop complaining about air travel (h/t to USA Today's Today in the Sky Blog) despite all its problems:

"The food's bad, the airport coffee costs too much, the in-flight service is terrible, the flight's delayed and your suitcase got destroyed in transit -- well, it's your fault for having unrealistic expectations." Indeed, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China is trying to quell a rising tide of passenger complaints there by adjusting expectations. "We hope to increase consumers' understanding about the special nature of the civil aviation industry, so that together we can create a cosier, more harmonious aviation travel environment," the agency says on its website.

"What must be stressed is that safety is at the root of airline travel, and on-board service revolves around this," it adds. Reuters says that fliers in China "have long got used to surly cabin crew, decrepit in-flight entertainment systems and mysterious delays where aircraft full of people are just left on the tarmac."

The Chinese airlines attribute the complaints to passengers who are unfamiliar with flying.  I attribute it to passengers who have schedules to keep and who know how food is supposed to taste. 

In any event, this attitude of the airlines and the civil aviation authorities obviously does not bode well for rapid improvement.