Flight Attendant loses Job for Threatening to throw Coffee on Thaksin’s Daughter

Thaksin Shinawatra looks on with two of daughters Pintongtha, left, and Peathongtarn, centre, prior to the Barclays Premiership match between West Ham United and Manchester City, which he then owned, in 2007

 

BANGKOK  – A Cathay Pacific flight attendant has ended her job after threatening to throw coffee in the face of the youngest daughter of Thailand’s ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a flight.

The attendant, known only by her Facebook moniker Honey Lochanachai, was serving on a on November 25 flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong when she realised Paetongtarn Shinawatra was a passenger.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra is the youngest daughter of ousted Thai prime minister and former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra. Here they pose at her graduation day at a Bangkok university in 2008

She claimed she told her cabin manager that she could not serve ‘the daughter of her enemy’ but was told to carry out her duties.

Following her encounter with Miss Shinawatra, the hostess posted a series of hostile messages on Facebook, including a picture of Ms Paetongtarn’s seating number.

Then she wrote: ‘Paetongtarn, I didn’t throw coffee in her face today but she had no clue that I will keep on fighting until your clan can no longer live like fleas on the Thai soil.’

The Hong Kong-based airline said on its Thailand Facebook page that the stewardess was ‘no longer an employee’.

It did not release the name of the attendant, but she said on Facebook that she resigned to take responsibility.

Describing the incident on the social networking site, Miss Lochanachai wrote: ‘I immediately told my flight manager I could not work knowing the daughter of my enemy was on the plane.

‘I called my personal adviser asking if it would be all right to throw coffee at Paetongtarn, but was told that this could breach Hong Kong’s laws.’

In a passage written in the ‘favorite quote’ section of her Facebook page, she says: ‘While it is clear that physically, we belong to the animal family, it is our behaviour that define our humanity, not the fact that we stand upright or have more developed brains.’

On the page, she also makes reference to ‘yellow patriotism’ – originally a coalition of protesters against Thaksin Shinawatra responsible for various political uprisings in recent years.

A spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific would not confirm whether the attendant, who the airline declined to identify, resigned or was sacked when contacted by the press.

“We have investigated the matter thoroughly,” Cathay said in a statement, adding that it confirmed the attendant’s Facebook posting was unauthorized.

“We can also confirm that the cabin crew concerned is no longer an employee of the company,” the statement added.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Thai stewardess had posted the original comments on her Facebook page after she had discovered Paetongtarn was on board a November 25 flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong.