Air France - An Airline Where Chinese Bully Chinese

Air France - An Airline Where Chinese Bully Chinese

In early October, I took my 2-year-old daughter on Air France from Paris to Shanghai. Our seats were in the rear cabin, and unfortunately, they were right in front of the translator's designated seat. (To improve service quality, Air France had specially hired Chinese translators to assist the cabin crew in communicating with passengers.) Little did I know that my nightmare was about to begin.

I ran into an acquaintance and we exchanged a few quiet words. Suddenly, a stern voice said, "Stop making so much noise, you're disturbing my rest." This was a complaint I had never encountered on any flight before, and the cabin was brightly lit. Moreover, we truly hadn't been loud. It turned out to be the young lady translator sitting in the translator's seat who had spoken. We had no choice but to part ways.

The cabin lights were dimmed, and most passengers began to rest. On a journey of over nine hours, all passengers reclined their seats. I was holding my sleeping daughter, and the seat in front of me was almost resting on her head. I adjusted my seat only slightly, afraid to inconvenience the passenger behind me. After holding her for three or four hours, my back was very sore, and I discreetly shifted a bit. My shoulder was tapped rather rudely several times—it was the translator behind me. I couldn't hear clearly what she said, but I assumed I had done something wrong, so I quickly apologized. The cabin air conditioning was turned up, and my daughter felt cold. I bent down with difficulty while holding her to retrieve a blanket from under the seat, and also found a small pillow to make her more comfortable.

Suddenly, my waist was violently hit twice by the translator's knee from behind—it was very painful, and I was stunned. Then my shoulder was slapped hard, and I heard, "What's wrong with you!" I saw a fierce face. Only then did I understand: she was annoyed that I was moving around in my seat.

My seat was reclined less than ten degrees, and the translator was a slender girl about 1.6 meters tall. I couldn't understand how I was bothering her, or why I couldn't move my body while sitting in my own seat, especially since I had been holding a two-year-old child for nine hours.

The surrounding passengers were outraged and spoke up for me.

I didn't want to complain about a fellow countryman in front of foreigners, but I simply couldn't take it anymore.

The Air France chief purser couldn't discipline the translator, as she belonged to a different department. I filled out a customer complaint form, noting my address, phone number, mobile number, and email. The polite French chief purser promised to forward it to the appropriate department and also moved the translator to the crew rest area.

In the five months since filing the complaint, my expectations turned to disappointment. To this day, I have not received any response from Air France.

Perhaps, to the esteemed Air France, the complaint of a Chinese mother who only flies once a year is something to be tossed directly into the trash. And the translator under the banner of the noble Air France must be more noble than us ordinary Chinese.

I am of little importance, so I can only tell my friends and relatives: "Don't fly Air France—there, Chinese bully Chinese."

I also want to say to those reading this post: Let's support Air China. I really don't know what Air France thinks of ordinary Chinese people.

Everything in this post is true. I dare to confront anyone about it in any setting!