Chinese tourists rob Singapore Airlines of tableware

[hawker9000]

IMO, a poor move by Singapore Airlines.

For $30 worth of flatware, they could have caused quite a ruckus and created some pretty bad will.

Instead, they could have had souvenirs bearing their logo floating around the homes of Chinese travelers, and being shown off to all their friends.

Great advertising and PR opportunity missed, to save about 0.1% of the cost of an airline ticket per head.

In fact, if it's that much of a grab for the Chinese, I'd be advertising the free flatware and buying it by the truckload from .... Chinese factories.

Oh yeah, great idea - 'so they can go home and help spread the same misinformation and make themselves even less welcome abroad. By working with the tour guide, I think the cabin crew handled the situation exactly right, and avoided setting an unintended precedent. IMO - a class act by Singapore Airlines.

Chinese tourists can adapt and "assimilate" into the world tourist population; not the other way 'round!

[KuhnPaen]

Hurting China's image abroad? They can build up Beijing and Shanghai til the cows come home, but the fact that 80% of China's population are peasants shines through in the way they act. Bumpkins are bumpkins all over the world and it doesn't matter if they are from Alabama, Bavaria, or China. I think little Chinese bumpkins stealing forks is kind of cute actually. Not as cute as the Chinese hillbilly I saw urinating in Angkor Wat though

[bubba]

Better hang on to the stainless tableware that you nicked from Thai Airways, as it might soon be a collectors' item. As of a few weeks back, they have downgraded to all plastic forks, spoons and knives in economy. Yes, more cheapness from Thai Airways, but when you consider than they also use aluminium foil containers for your meal, plastic forks and spoons are almost better than stainless on aluminium.

@ bubba - not sure what class you were seated in but I flew back from Australia just last week, on Tuesday, in cattle class, and I had beautiful stainless steel cutlery to eat with.

Perhaps they are being a bit selective with their "fighting gear"....................

Three regional flights in economy over the past week on Thai - all of them had plastic cutlery. First time I have seen that on TG, but the way they have been going downhill it's not entirely surprising.

Edited August 29, 2013 by bubba

[songhklasid]

Yes I have to admit I have a small teaspoon collection, thai, emarites, brunei, in my chaing-mai house,the best souveniring I came across was british airways, If you order scotch or bourbon they hand you a small genorous shot bottle, If you order a double they give you 2 bottles, therefore you pocket 1, drink 1, you end up with a few free spirits to enjoy or give away, thais appreciate them as gifts.

regards songhklasid.

[Shaksey]

I remember in the last few months of operations BA were losing anything that wasn't bolted down on Concorde flights. A few once in a lifetime flyers always took a few things on every flight which was tolerated as they were paying so much for the tickets but this was like a wholesale clearout People were even taking the safety cards which is where the crew drew the line and demanded them to be put back if people were seen swiping them.

[Shaksey]

The salt and pepper pots were always favourites to get nabbed on Virgin too. They then started putting "Stolen from Virgin Atlantic" on the bottoms of them!

[Minnehaha]

I admit it... I have lifted one or 2 of those little spoons they serve with coffee. They are kinda cute.

Reminds me of when McDonalds used to serve little plastic spoons with their coffee but they had to stop because they were the perfect size for a bit of snuff to snort

[anon210]

It is very hard to hurt the image of Chinese people.

 

They are the top level predators on the planet, eating tigers, sharks and rhinos. People are mere factors of cheap production.

 

Anyone who has anything to do with them will attest to this.

 

Stealing cutlery off a plane is absolutely expected behaviour.

 

I think they should just charge them SGD10 more before boarding

 

Your description makes them sound like locusts...

Somehow, that is how the inhabitants of Hong Kong view them...

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[impulse]

The salt and pepper pots were always favourites to get nabbed on Virgin too. They then started putting "Stolen from Virgin Atlantic" on the bottoms of them!

In many places, that makes them more desirable.

[impulse]

IMO, a poor move by Singapore Airlines.

For $30 worth of flatware, they could have caused quite a ruckus and created some pretty bad will.

Instead, they could have had souvenirs bearing their logo floating around the homes of Chinese travelers, and being shown off to all their friends.

Great advertising and PR opportunity missed, to save about 0.1% of the cost of an airline ticket per head.

In fact, if it's that much of a grab for the Chinese, I'd be advertising the free flatware and buying it by the truckload from .... Chinese factories.

Oh yeah, great idea - 'so they can go home and help spread the same misinformation and make themselves even less welcome abroad. By working with the tour guide, I think the cabin crew handled the situation exactly right, and avoided setting an unintended precedent. IMO - a class act by Singapore Airlines.

Chinese tourists can adapt and "assimilate" into the world tourist population; not the other way 'round!

I believe you have the basics of tourism backwards. You make money by catering to tourists- giving them what they're willing to spend their money on, not by making them conform to your idea of the way the world should be.

Edited August 30, 2013 by impulse

[kamahele]

IMO, a poor move by Singapore Airlines.

For $30 worth of flatware, they could have caused quite a ruckus and created some pretty bad will.

Instead, they could have had souvenirs bearing their logo floating around the homes of Chinese travelers, and being shown off to all their friends.

Great advertising and PR opportunity missed, to save about 0.1% of the cost of an airline ticket per head.

In fact, if it's that much of a grab for the Chinese, I'd be advertising the free flatware and buying it by the truckload from .... Chinese factories.

Tableware doesn't magically make an appearance in the kitchen, it has to arrive on an inbound flight, be cleaned and then turned around and put on another flight. While airlines of course budget for loss, 30 sets of silverware per flight is a bit high ( I worked in airline catering for many years). The crew did the polite and correct thing by asking the tour group leader to take care of the situation. All is well that ends well. Virgin Atlantic used to put on the bottom of their salt and peppers shakers something to the effect "this was stolen from Virgin Atlantic". Good sense of humor.

[KRaymond]

I once took a blanket. Not Chinese though... Don't tell any one Shhhhhhh...............

[impulse]

IMO, a poor move by Singapore Airlines.

For $30 worth of flatware, they could have caused quite a ruckus and created some pretty bad will.

Instead, they could have had souvenirs bearing their logo floating around the homes of Chinese travelers, and being shown off to all their friends.

Great advertising and PR opportunity missed, to save about 0.1% of the cost of an airline ticket per head.

In fact, if it's that much of a grab for the Chinese, I'd be advertising the free flatware and buying it by the truckload from .... Chinese factories.

Tableware doesn't magically make an appearance in the kitchen, it has to arrive on an inbound flight, be cleaned and then turned around and put on another flight. While airlines of course budget for loss, 30 sets of silverware per flight is a bit high ( I worked in airline catering for many years). The crew did the polite and correct thing by asking the tour group leader to take care of the situation. All is well that ends well.

And if this were a one-off occurrence, I may agree they did the correct thing.

But what I’m reading is that this is an oft repeated situation with the increase in new travelers from China. I’m sure they’re quite prepared for some pilferage. My suggestion is to make it work for them instead of against them.

The airlines’ options are to repeatedly put their staff in adversarial and potentially face-losing confrontations with their customers, or go with the flow and concede the flatware to those who want to keep it. (I don't know about Sing Air, but I imagine the last thing Richard Branson wants is demotivated flight attendants spending a long flight thinking "Crap, we have to fight for the flatware...again")

Given the ex-factory cost of budget flatware is about $1 per place setting, that seems a small price to pay to save wear, tear and awkwardness on their service staff, improve relations with customers and get their logo out into the traveling public.

Besides, given fully loaded (overhead and all) labor costs, I suspect it costs almost as much to collect, sort from the garbage, clean, sanitize, re-sort, collate and repackage the flatware as it would cost to plop down a brand new set on each passengers’ tray.

And as the novelty wears off, fewer and fewer passengers will bother to swipe the flatware and they’ll go from 40% replacement on any given flight to 5% replacement.

I’d actually be interested to see their statistics. Which city’s airports see the highest pilferage rate, whether it’s better or worse during the night, do they lose more on outbound flights than inbound flights, etc. Somebody can correlate that data and monetize it. (Not me mind you, I’m just curious).

Edited August 30, 2013 by impulse

[Hunter88]

You won't mind if I take a chair from your office?

[impulse]

You won't mind if I take a chair from your office?

If it means you'll toss me business amounting to 1000 times the cost of that chair, it's yours.

I'll buy more....happily. And they'll have my logo and phone number on them.

Edited August 30, 2013 by impulse

[hawker9000]

IMO, a poor move by Singapore Airlines.

For $30 worth of flatware, they could have caused quite a ruckus and created some pretty bad will.

Instead, they could have had souvenirs bearing their logo floating around the homes of Chinese travelers, and being shown off to all their friends.

Great advertising and PR opportunity missed, to save about 0.1% of the cost of an airline ticket per head.

In fact, if it's that much of a grab for the Chinese, I'd be advertising the free flatware and buying it by the truckload from .... Chinese factories.

Oh yeah, great idea - 'so they can go home and help spread the same misinformation and make themselves even less welcome abroad. By working with the tour guide, I think the cabin crew handled the situation exactly right, and avoided setting an unintended precedent. IMO - a class act by Singapore Airlines.

Chinese tourists can adapt and "assimilate" into the world tourist population; not the other way 'round!

I believe you have the basics of tourism backwards. You make money by catering to tourists- giving them what they're willing to spend their money on, not by making them conform to your idea of the way the world should be.

OH, I see. So when I'm traveling it's expected that I'll rip off the silverware, and maybe some of the left tips, from the restaurants I eat at, stash a few things in my pockets from the dept stores & vendor stalls I visit, buy some soda at a 7-11 and take whatever else I can get in my pockets for free, and in general act like a clepto everywhere I go. All those sitcom plots that I thought were supposed to be funny, were actually instructive. And it all falls under the category of being "catered to". Gee.

Wow, 'learn something everyday. I never knew... Thanks! I really DID have the basics of tourism backwards. And here I thought I was supposed to behave like a decent person, pay for things, and be considerate, not steal stuff 'n all. Yeah, your right - I always thought airline property was airline property. But if I'm a paying customer, I can just take anything I can carry off, eh? Cool. Those Chinese are just SO advanced! No WONDER I see all those street vendors selling luggage!

Now come on, who else here had these basics of tourism "backwards"? Come on. Be honest.

How DO they ever make any money in the "tourism business" that way?

Edited August 30, 2013 by hawker9000

[mikemac]

Three regional flights in economy over the past week on Thai - all of them had plastic cutlery. First time I have seen that on TG, but the way they have been going downhill it's not entirely surprising.

Did you fly with "Thai Airways" or an economy airline associated with them ? As I said, last Tuesday on the flight from Australia we used stainless steel cutlery.

You can say what you like about Thai Airways, but when it comes to international flights I would not fly with any other airline.

And if I can fly with them on a domestic flight I will.

Last Thursday I was in a hurry to get back to Chiang Mai from Don Muang airport. Nok Air had the first available flight so I bought a ticket for 2,000 baht. When I checked in my one bag they charged me 1,200 baht for excess baggage. The ticket ended up costing more than Thai Airways would have charged me, which was 2,800 baht if I had have flown from Swampy.

[mac1970]

And someone should be surprised about this? Yeah, I used to fly here, maybe 1-2 times/week. Now, eee, maybe not, better to take a train and not

risk to sit nearby these local, I have money but no manners cave people. Farting, spitting, burping, kicking, shouting, jumping ….whatever!!! And

top of all, hitting/kicking people behind check-in desk just because they actually had “wrong” date on the ticket and no free seats. There have been

lot of similar incidents around China and that’s not a secret at all here, just open TV and wait news.

So seeing this several years I decided to change my travelling and use high-speed trains instead, seem to work better on the 1^st class. People know how to

behave and stewardess takes care of the rest. I have no regrets after this change which keeps me out of red zone during the trip.

And at least trains keep their schedules better contrary to flights here.

But when facing average Chinese Joe/Jill, don’t be surprised if something strange will happen. He/she does not care what’re your behavioral expectations,

he/she does not like you(really), he/she does not think that it’s important to behave different way than back home, he/she thinks that everything which

is not clearly forbidden is allowed(even if it not allowed you can always try anyway and argue if someone sees), play ignorant if it brings benefit and saves

your face, fight is not forbidden and group will make you stronger(don’t tell it to lǎowài, they don’t know it yet), be the first everywhere and when you achieve

your goal – stop and start to crawl, everyone else need to follow you, …

So when all these people get out from China, these news are coming more and more often, which should not be surprise at all. But Chinese have hope, at least

younger generation seem to be more educated and behaves much better than older, excluding those my dad is billionaire kids who are more or less hopeless

and will cause lot of trouble in/out of China.

[impulse]

Chinese tourists can adapt and "assimilate" into the world tourist population; not the other way 'round!

I believe you have the basics of tourism backwards. You make money by catering to tourists- giving them what they're willing to spend their money on, not by making them conform to your idea of the way the world should be.

OH, I see. So when I'm traveling it's expected that I'll rip off the silverware, and maybe some of the left tips, from the restaurants I eat at, stash a few things in my pockets from the dept stores & vendor stalls I visit, buy some soda at a 7-11 and take whatever else I can get in my pockets for free, and in general act like a clepto everywhere I go. All those sitcom plots that I thought were supposed to be funny, were actually instructive. And it all falls under the category of being "catered to". Gee.

Wow, 'learn something everyday. I never knew... Thanks! I really DID have the basics of tourism backwards. And here I thought I was supposed to behave like a decent person, pay for things, and be considerate, not steal stuff 'n all. Yeah, your right - I always thought airline property was airline property. But if I'm a paying customer, I can just take anything I can carry off, eh? Cool. Those Chinese are just SO advanced! No WONDER I see all those street vendors selling luggage!

It's not theft if the airline allows you to "steal" it. And that's what I'd propose that Sing Air do. Like the JAL slippers, of which I have a dozen pairs, the dozens of sets of $0.50 headphones, the dozen or so China Air travel kits, the Korean Air ties I got sitting in the front seats, and....

Your comparison to theft of restaurant cutlery falls flat because the numbers don't work out. A $25 meal probably doesn't cover the cost of giving away a $1 set of cutlery as a purchase incentive. A $500 airline ticket does.

If the folks in the story were stealing cash, I'd answer to your totally inappropriate comparison of stealing tip money. But they did not so I won't.

[Ulic]

But it is such a nice souvenir with the Singapore airlines logo sign on it. All the friends can see they were successful and went

on vacation abroad, flying on the highly rated Singapore airlines. Lots of face.

[bangon04]

It is very hard to hurt the image of Chinese people.

They are the top level predators on the planet, eating tigers, sharks and rhinos. People are mere factors of cheap production.

Anyone who has anything to do with them will attest to this.

Stealing cutlery off a plane is absolutely expected behaviour.

I think they should just charge them SGD10 more before boarding

Your description makes them sound like locusts...

"Pigs on the loose" as the Chinese in Hong Kong call them....

[bubba]

Three regional flights in economy over the past week on Thai - all of them had plastic cutlery. First time I have seen that on TG, but the way they have been going downhill it's not entirely surprising.

Did you fly with "Thai Airways" or an economy airline associated with them ? As I said, last Tuesday on the flight from Australia we used stainless steel cutlery.

You can say what you like about Thai Airways, but when it comes to international flights I would not fly with any other airline.

And if I can fly with them on a domestic flight I will.

Last Thursday I was in a hurry to get back to Chiang Mai from Don Muang airport. Nok Air had the first available flight so I bought a ticket for 2,000 baht. When I checked in my one bag they charged me 1,200 baht for excess baggage. The ticket ended up costing more than Thai Airways would have charged me, which was 2,800 baht if I had have flown from Swampy.

Yes, I flew Thai Airways, economy class. All three flights were regional international flights (one was BKK- SIN), and all used plastic cutlery with the main course served in an aluminium foil dish. I find Thai Airways food to be most unappetising, so for short flights I just skip it.

On longer flights, I travel business class and the food is amongst the worst of any full-service carrier. They do still use stainless cutlery in business class, although the main courses are nearly the same as what you get in economy.

You can say what you like about Thai Airways, but when it comes to international flights I would not fly with any other airline.

Whatever floats your boat, and everyone prefers something different. I have had a TG Royal Orchid Gold card for around 15 years and ridden a considerable number of miles with them. I go out of my way not to fly them now, as they have truly fallen back to a second-rate airline in terms of service, seating, and catering. Seems to me that Thai's strategy is to become more of a budget airline and target large volume, budget tour groups. Perhaps that is one reason they are transitioning to plastic cutlery and have already transitioned to disposable aluminium foil meal dishes- no worries about their Chinese tour group passengers stealing it!

[hawker9000]

Three regional flights in economy over the past week on Thai - all of them had plastic cutlery. First time I have seen that on TG, but the way they have been going downhill it's not entirely surprising.

Did you fly with "Thai Airways" or an economy airline associated with them ? As I said, last Tuesday on the flight from Australia we used stainless steel cutlery.

You can say what you like about Thai Airways, but when it comes to international flights I would not fly with any other airline.

And if I can fly with them on a domestic flight I will.

Last Thursday I was in a hurry to get back to Chiang Mai from Don Muang airport. Nok Air had the first available flight so I bought a ticket for 2,000 baht. When I checked in my one bag they charged me 1,200 baht for excess baggage. The ticket ended up costing more than Thai Airways would have charged me, which was 2,800 baht if I had have flown from Swampy.

Yes, I flew Thai Airways, economy class. All three flights were regional international flights (one was BKK- SIN), and all used plastic cutlery with the main course served in an aluminium foil dish. I find Thai Airways food to be most unappetising, so for short flights I just skip it.

On longer flights, I travel business class and the food is amongst the worst of any full-service carrier. They do still use stainless cutlery in business class, although the main courses are nearly the same as what you get in economy.

You can say what you like about Thai Airways, but when it comes to international flights I would not fly with any other airline.

Whatever floats your boat, and everyone prefers something different. I have had a TG Royal Orchid Gold card for around 15 years and ridden a considerable number of miles with them. I go out of my way not to fly them now, as they have truly fallen back to a second-rate airline in terms of service, seating, and catering. Seems to me that Thai's strategy is to become more of a budget airline and target large volume, budget tour groups. Perhaps that is one reason they are transitioning to plastic cutlery and have already transitioned to disposable aluminium foil meal dishes- no worries about their Chinese tour group passengers stealing it!

'Guess they didn't really want to give the metalware away. Tsk, tsk, tsk. 'Guess they don't understand "catering" to tourists. 'Wonder if they'll ever reinaugurate the non-stop LAX-BKK run. 'Don't care much about the silverware thing, but a 17-18 hour trip instead of a 22hr one, at a competitive fare of course, would be nice.

[HerbalEd]

IMHO, the worst thing to happen to international travel and tourism ... esp. here in Thailand ... is the emergence of the Chinese nouveau riche and their newfound ability to travel outside of China. What a bunch of selfish, crude and rude bunch they are.

[HerbalEd]

A classic TV thread - giving the (overrepresented) bigots and xenophobes another opportunity to display both their ignorance, and their prejudices.

In this case, Chinese in the firing line, rather than Thais.

God give us strength.

ps not to forget the sexists of course.

Thanks to the OP.

Ya know ... I've many times bashed the Thai bashers here on TV ... and I'm a very liberal live-&-let-live kinda guy ... but, speaking broadly, and acknowledging a few exceptions, I personally find the nouveau-tourist Chinese to be very rude, ill mannered, arrogant, and a huge pain in the ass. I've been internationally traveling all over the world for forty-five years and I've never seen anything like it. Some may call this racism, but I call it stating the facts of what I see and experience.

Even the native Hong Kong "Chinese" are up in arms and publicly demonstrating against the new swarm mainland Chinese who piss on the streets and spit on the floor, and then get all hostile when anyone complains. Is it racism when a Hong Kong Chinese says these things about a mainland Chinese? Or are the HKers regionalists?

[mamba yuck]

Hopefully next time they wont steal the seats ................ They might have thought it was included in the ticket price.

what you mean a cheating stealing thieving airline ticket price?

Edited September 5, 2013 by mamba yuck

[anotheruser]

Yes I have to admit I have a small teaspoon collection, thai, emarites, brunei, in my chaing-mai house,the best souveniring I came across was british airways, If you order scotch or bourbon they hand you a small genorous shot bottle, If you order a double they give you 2 bottles, therefore you pocket 1, drink 1, you end up with a few free spirits to enjoy or give away, thais appreciate them as gifts.

regards songhklasid.

This is why we can't have nice things and the reason airlines are cutting down on such things.

[Tomtomtom69]

A classic TV thread - giving the (overrepresented) bigots and xenophobes another opportunity to display both their ignorance, and their prejudices.

In this case, Chinese in the firing line, rather than Thais.

God give us strength.

ps not to forget the sexists of course.

Thanks to the OP.

Ya know ... I've many times bashed the Thai bashers here on TV ... and I'm a very liberal live-&-let-live kinda guy ... but, speaking broadly, and acknowledging a few exceptions, I personally find the nouveau-tourist Chinese to be very rude, ill mannered, arrogant, and a huge pain in the ass. I've been internationally traveling all over the world for forty-five years and I've never seen anything like it. Some may call this racism, but I call it stating the facts of what I see and experience.

Even the native Hong Kong "Chinese" are up in arms and publicly demonstrating against the new swarm mainland Chinese who piss on the streets and spit on the floor, and then get all hostile when anyone complains. Is it racism when a Hong Kong Chinese says these things about a mainland Chinese? Or are the HKers regionalists?

On a Shanghai subway train numerous commuters complained (rightfully) when a bumpkin father allowed his young child to piss on the floor inside the train, right on the foot of a passenger. So it goes to show that in China itself, Shanghai is like a foreign country surrounded by other Chinese bumpkins. In other words, there are decent Chinese out there, but they are mainly from the larger, more developed cities. The countryside and smaller cities still have some way to go.