I'm normally a stick-it-to-the-airline type, since over the years, they have been so inflexible and nickel & dime everything. However, CX is not one of those airlines, in my opinion. Comparatively, I find they are reasonably flexible and accommodating by airline standards, especially for status-ed passengers. Regardless of whether you think they should honour the fares or not, I'm impressed by how quickly and professionally they acted to resolve this embarrassing episode.