^^

One of the many privileges accorded business class pax is not being put in a head lock and force-fed...

Would not the pork -- bacon or ham -- on the omlette still be objectionable as the fat would have run into the plate while cooking? At the same time, would it not have been prudent to have requested the appropriate type of meal at the time of booking...that's what special meals are all about. And particularly when traveling on a carrier that comes from a part of the world where pork is pretty much the default meat substance after the universally-accepted chicken? Whenever i fly CX in Business or Economy, I always request a Kosher or Muslim meal so I will not have pork. In First, the selections are wider and one has a better opportunity to make appropriate choices.

As for lifting the pork with her fingers...well at least she didn't stick them into the congee to remove any chunks that might have been present. This is the reverse of FAs on QF who were the first to demand rubber gloves back in the 80s when the first stories of AIDS started to appear....ad made it a clause in their collective agreements. It is always interesting to observe how different FAs will approach picking up the used hot/cold towels: some with tongs, some with gloved hands, and some just with their bare fingers.

Right on!

This is disgustingly unhygienic (what other food is she touching in the galley given her appallingly low standards?) and disgustingly insensitive to possible religious issues. I could - almost - make allowances on a short flight in Y with a harried crew. Actually, no, I couldn't. But in J where one expects a modicum of charm to complement the efficiency, this is outrageously disrespectful.

And as for all the "he should have brought his own food" theorists: even given that we don't know all the facts, a passenger should be entitled to ask a question without having
a) his food handled by the FA
b) a meal thrust before him without asking whether this "enhancement" was in order.
It is his choice to accept or refuse, whether that be based on pure whim or religious conviction.

Applying your logic, it would be equally acceptable if she had used her toes, assuming she was deft enough.

^

Leaving aside the issue of whether the passenger could have eaten the omelette after it was being tainted by the pork (ie cultural insensitivity on the part of the FA), I don't see any problem with her using her fingers to remove it.

If there was a shred of paper on the top of my omelette and the flight attendant noticed it while she was serving it to me, am I really supposed to expect her to get a fork (which if serving in J class is not readily available on the serving trolley) when her using her finger works just as well provided it makes no contact with the food I end up eating?

I'm not so pretentious so as to demand something be done when in fact it makes no impact on the hygienic standard of the meal. It's not like she's grabbing the omelette off a main serving dish and plopping it on the diner's plate with her hand.

Doesn't surprise me one bit.

Oh wait...this is CX!

Agreed. Christep, as what you mentioned one may consider to write to this fellow if needed: Quince Chong, Director Service Delivery. quince<underscore>[email protected]

I think you're in a small minority here. In the situation you describe I would expect the dish to at least be returned to the galley for it to be sorted out with utensils, and probably for me to be given a different one.

Having met her I think I can safely say she is not a "fellow"

http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_...managementteam

I totally agree. As I always say, if I see that there is anything that really needs to be improved, I will have a private conversation with the ISM.

Agreed. I would expect a replacement dish. Imagined if this happened in an upscale restaurant and someone touched my food with bare hands in front of me, I'm sure anyone of us would raise hell to the maximum extent. Also I am quite sure the US FDA will be very interested as anyone with basic food safety training knows this is a big no-no to touch prepared food with bare hands.

Perhaps its CX's newest operating directive in cost savings: Pax requests Kosher/Muslim/Veg Meal? Mark on PNR, remove Ham/Meat from plate and serve.

Not only is this a gross form of conduct, but also a case of an absent brain in the form of basic sanitary knowledge especially one who has been trained to be qualified to serve food/beverage in a premium cabin. I can care less if she had washed her hands 10x prior to serving the pax because you just don't dip your bare hands into the tray making contact with the food portion. I can only imagine if she made finger contact with the omlette portion while she was removing the ham and potential germs from her nails penetrated into the egg dish. Even back in high school, the lunch lady serving sandwich wore gloves in putting the lettuces, ham and other ingredients into the bread.

I presume since it was breakfast omlette/congee selections, it was on the YVR-HKG sector in that this FA is highly to be a YVR based. Not sure these days if HK based crews are still rostered on the YVR flights.

Sounds like you would find it okay for pax to throw their rubbish into the aisle as well. I mean, it doesn't affect anyone's hygiene or safety so it must be okay to do.

While it's not exactly a classy thing to do I have to wonder just how out of touch you have to be to think that touching food with bare hands is the least bit unusual. What kind of bubble-boy sterile environments do you think your food is prepared in? Chefs handle food all the time with bare hands.

Most restaurants don't have waiters and waitresses touching food, firstly because it's just not classy and doesn't impress the customer. But mostly the real reason is just because then their waiters and waitresses would have to wash their hands repeatedly which would slow down the food service. It's just simple efficiency.