Asiana Airlines in hot seat over poor response to passenger injury

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Tue, September 26, 2023 | 05:23

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Asiana Airlines in hot seat over poor response to passenger injury

Posted : 2023-05-10 16:46

Updated : 2023-05-11 14:26

An Asiana Airlines passenger posted these photos on "Susasa," Naver's online community dealing with travel information, Tuesday, claiming pieces believed to be from a broken coffee cup were in the in-flight meal, causing dental injuries. Captured from Naver

By Jun Ji-hye

Asiana Airlines is facing online criticism for its bungled response to dental injuries suffered by a passenger who claimed they were caused by pieces of a broken coffee cup found in an in-flight meal offered by the carrier.

The passenger boarded the aircraft departing from Honolulu International Airport on April 16 and suffered injuries to three teeth while eating an in-flight meal.

In a post uploaded, Tuesday, on "Susasa," Naver's online community dealing with travel information, the passenger said, "I notified a flight attendant of the incident right away but the flight attendant just rushed to take the meal back."

The passenger could not eat properly during the rest of the flight due to pain.

What enraged the passenger more was the airline's response after landing.

The airline's customer service center said, according to the passenger, that it would offer 5,000 miles in compensation, but only if the passenger agrees not to report the incident to the press.

A few days later, when the passenger informed Asiana of the details of the injuries, the airline suggested it could increase the compensation to 20,000 miles.

"A staffer in charge called me and said the company can only compensate the costs for treatment in April and May, but not for the future treatment due to an unclear causal relationship," the passenger said.

The passenger claimed the in-flight meal in question was the beginning of the causal relationship.

Amid growing controversy, an Asiana Airlines official said, "We will fully cover costs for immediate medical treatment for the passenger. But it is difficult to cover costs that would occur in the future as it is difficult to prove the causal relationship between the meal and future injuries."

The official added that the carrier had launched an internal investigation into how the pieces ended up in the in-flight meal.

jjh@koreatimes.co.kr