Dennis

Hi taipeiflyer,

thank you for sharing your side of story.

I´m really glad you told it, so I was able to revise my opinion on you.

That short video (and your statement afterwards) was (fortunately again) a clear proof, that there are always two sides to every story.

Don´t bother yourself with people dragging you into discussions about timing and request for a buggy...

That was never the question nor the point.

So, thanks again and good luck for your next trips!

Soccerdad1995

So you have memorized the local emergency numbers to summon police, in every country you visit, including for flight connections? Have you also ensured that your cell phone will work in countries where you are connecting? Surely you have also learned how to tell the police what happened to you in every local language as well?

The person was assaulted. In most countries that is a serious crime. The victim of that assault was rude to a person with apparent authority who refused to provide even minimal assistance. That is understandable given the situation IMHO.

I don't understand how people can downplay a violent crime and then act like the victim of that crime is a terrible person for being somewhat rude to someone who is grossly negligent in refusing to summon authorities. Would you all have preferred for the guy to grab the Cathay employee by the throat?

itsmeitisss

Most cellphones will call the local emergency services no matter whether you use the local number or the one you use at home. If you dial 911 on your phone in Berlin, it will still call the police even though the number there is 112. It will do this when your phone has a connection to ANY network.

Andriyko

Sometimes it is very hard to control oneself in a situation like that. It is very easy for others to pass judgement from the safety and comfort of their homes or offices and say how language like that should never be used. Well, it does get used. And the person who used it may regret it very much afterwards (which I am sure you did) and apologize. But in that moment I can only imagine that it was hard to control yourself. Everyone can be a gentleman and a knight when they are removed from the situation but put them right in the middle of it and we'd be much surprised what language they know and can use. I don't understand why some people are jumping on you - yes, it was not a nice situation, but you handled it as best as you could under those circumstances.
I was once in a similar situation where staff refused to call police after a brutal fight trying to sweep what happened under the rug not wanting to attract attention. Well, those members of staff were criminals as far as I was concerned, and a few swear words was the least that they deserved.

Agree. I don't understand why some are hung up on that. Not the issue at all here.

Matthew_22

Am I the only person who thinks taipeiflyer's account doesn't really fit what's actually happening in the video?

In his version of events, he claims he's justifiably upset because of a staff members inaction to the assault and unwillingness to do anything about it. Yet in the video he's clearly yelling & swearing about a mistake (presumably his buggy fiasco) which has caused him to be late, and demanding that this be 'fixed'


I'm not saying the assault didn't happen, or that CX probably didn't try and sweep it under the rug somewhat, but it would quite clearly seem that this particular part of his tantrum is due to his anger at missing his flight/being late, and his view that it was a CX's incompetence which caused it. And maybe it was, but none of this is justification to arrogantly yell obscenities at a staff member like that.

Steve in Olympia

Very cogent points. By his own words, the wild rant in the video had nothing to do with the alleged "assault," it was all about the missed flight, for which taipeiflyer accepted absolutely no responsibility. Oh, the entitlement. Since he wasn't ranting about the alleged assault, we have to be skeptical about his description of the incident. Just as taipeiflyer tells us that the video doesn't tell both sides of the story, we have only his description of the events that preceded the video. We will never know what actually happened.

cxfan1960

It is difficult to say what happened other than that shown in the video:
* I must assume the poster doesn't travel through HKIA often as he waited very close before boarding, and wasn't familiar with the buggy system.
* Per the poster's explanation, I feel that the lounge agent was not properly trained as he/she should direct them to the buggy station other than letting them wait.
* Both assault and profanity were uncalled for and are never justified. Assault is a crime, and profanity is probably also a crime in HKIA. CX should not tolerate these to ensure a safe and quiet place for the other passengers.

FlyPointyEnd

Just saw that the video was posted last February...wonder if it was one of the reasons why now ISMs need to make a special announcement on arrival aborts being at the brooding gate 20-30 minutes before departure.

Matthew_22

The whole buggy thing is a red herring.

Finkface

I didn't want to wade into this but since you raised it, these were exactly my thoughts as soon as taipeiflyer posted his original explanation. Why yell 'fix it' over and over again when demanding police be called? Clearly, to me anyways, he was talking about the mistake that caused them to miss their flight and to 'fix it'. If it was to have the police called was truly what he was yelling and swearing about, it would seem to me that one wouldn't yell 'fix it', as if there was a problem the other party caused that they needed to fix. One would be yelling something along the lines of 'call the police', 'get the police', 'call them now', 'he tried to choke me' or something in that vein. Not 'fix it'.

Again, not diminishing an assault in the slightest, but to me, this doesn't seem to be what the yelling and swearing on the video is about. So it does make me doubt his explanation. Perhaps the tantrum, and this video, happened before the assault and this behavior is what caused the alleged assaulter to get involved?

nightkhan

At the end of the video right before it cuts out, the person recording (or someone close to the camera) mentions something about taipeiflyer getting assaulted, and if anybody saw that, or something to the effect (watched the video once yesterday, details are hazy for me right now).

sebastiansw3

++1

Steve in Olympia

In the case of this particular flyer, "brooding gate" is a very appropriate typo.

taipeiflyer

still laughing at all of the conjecture, innuendo, and flat out falsities being propagated, but that is par for the course on FT, where an airline can do no wrong, and it is always the fault of the passenger. why i very rarely post on here anymore- mob mentality takes over, and everyone who has a grievance is castigated. there are plenty of FT'ers here who can verify my countless trips through HKG.
1) one can travel through HKG multiple times and still not be aware of the details of the buggy service to the smallest of minutiae. I made it clear I had only ever used the buggy system once.
2) requesting a buggy 25 mins before your flight time is more than ample time to reach the gate
3) i already apologized for the profanity. if you want a pound of flesh as well, not gonna happen
4) i only mentioned missing our flight when he said "this isn't our fault," which can be heard in the video
5) it is equally clear in the audio at the end that an assault did occur (my mate who i was traveling with on the flight calls that out, and then says "did you see that? DID YOU SEE THAT?" because we were all so incredulous.)
6) the two other people sitting at the table were also my friends, and were traveling elsewhere later in the day. i had NO PROBLEMS being rebooked on to the later flight as it meant we would get to hang out for another couple hours before meeting up again in a couple of days. missing the flight was of no concern to either of us- but i did want to bring it to the attention of the agent that she should have given us better information upfront
7) we were about the most chill people in the whole lounge until i was literally choked (not pushed on the shoulder, not poked in the chest)- CHOKED. even after it happened, my friend who is visible throughout the video can be heard calling me by my initials in order to calm me down after i first cursed. to that point, no one had made a scene whatsoever outside of the "BS" comment. none of my other 3 friends at the table are in any way making a scene at any point in the video.
8) when i was saying "fix it" i already stated earlier i simply lost it. i obviously was not getting my point across at that moment because i was really upset and not thinking clearly. i just wanted them to do something. i had already asked for them to call the police twice.
i invited people to form their own conclusions (not jump to conclusions by insinuating facts that are not true), and many have- some in favor, some not. to be honest, i don't really care. it was two years ago and has never been an issue between me and Cathay since. to the keyboard gangsters, i hope you are never put in the same position- but if so, i will be sure to give you the benefit of the doubt. i'm out.

Finkface

Right at the end the friend says 'he laid his fingers on you, did you see that?' I would have thought if he had been choked, the friend wouldn't have said he 'laid his fingers' on him and asked if he saw it. How wouldn't he have seen it if he was being choked? But again, not discounting that anyone laying hands in you is unacceptable under any circumstances, the video clearly shows that this is not what taipeiflyer was yelling at the staff member about. He was clearly talking about missing his flight. There was no mention of police or assault by him at all. It was all about missing the flight.

I watched the video again and this is what was said (yeah, I have way too much time on my hands, I know):

Taipeiflyer: You know what? You guys are the ones that screwed up, not me. Do you understand that? No, I am not going to take a seat. You f-ing answer me.

Staff member: Sir, we cannot....

Taipeiflyer: Then fix it. Fix the situation. You guys screwed up.

Friend: We missed our flight.

Taipeiflyer: We're two hours late - that's what you need to fix.

Staff member: We cannot do anything right now.

Taipeiflyer: Yes, you can. You can fix it. So fix it. I didn't fly on a f-ing first class from San Fransisco to f-ing deal with this sh--. You understand that? So fix it. You know what. Fix it.

Friend: He's got an assault charge right now, the other guy, too. He just laid his fingers on you. Did you see that? Did you see that?

So the friend mentioned the assault for the first time at the very end of the tape. Like he was pointing out to the others that the guy 'laid fingers on you' and asking if they saw it. If you watch the video, a guy sitting in the group in front of them says 'excuse me', seemingly in response to the swearing, and the guy sitting in the chair right in front of them reaches back and seems to touch him. He then kind of stretches his arm up a second time, not touching him this time. Is that what the friend is referring to when he says 'He's got an assault charge right now, the other guy, too. He just laid his fingers on you. Did you see that? Did you see that?' That little touch is what he was referring to? I think so.

You can all draw your own conclusions about what he was really yelling about in the video. Me, I don't believe for a second it was about calling the police. I am even starting to doubt the whole choking excuse as it seems to me that the friend was referring to the other guy just barely touching him with his fingers during the exchange with the staff member. This is just my opinion and maybe I'm wrong but the video is pretty clear, at least to me. The tone, the behaviour and the language is inexcusable. In my opinion, taipeiflyer needs to own what he did. If he truly was choked at some other point, ok. That's another issue. But that isn't what I'm seeing in this video.