- Joined
- Aug 21, 2011
- Posts
- 16,170
- Qantas
- Platinum
- Virgin
- Platinum
- SkyTeam
- Elite Plus
- Star Alliance
- Gold
Cathay Pacific has banned an influencer that tried to demand a free upgrade, by showing a fake email at check-in from somebody at CX that supposedly promised her one.
viewfromthewing.com

Passenger Banned From Cathay Pacific For Trying to Trick Staff Into a Business Class Upgrade - View from the Wing
Self-described “social Influencer” Jacqueline Ng says she "filled out an online form. I emailed Cathay Pacific to try and upgrade to business class." She says she got an email back offering an upgrade subject to availability. She showed this e-mail at check-in, and it got her banned from the...
Passenger Banned From Cathay Pacific For Trying to Trick Staff Into a Business Class Upgrade
by Gary Leff on September 25, 2019
Self-described “social Influencer” Jacqueline Ng says she “filled out an online form. I emailed Cathay Pacific to try and upgrade to business class.”
She says she got an email back offering an upgrade subject to availability – telling her, “Because of your social network, we would like to formally extend a Business Class upgrade to you on the day of your flight, should any tickets still be available at check-in.”
She showed the e-mail at check-in in Taipei before her first flight. She was flying paid premium economy, via Hong Kong, to New York. The agent declined the upgrade, and she flew premium economy.
She went to the airport for her return flight. At the check-in desk she showed the email again saying that she could be upgraded. Things didn’t go well for her.
- The agent called over a supervisor. Everyone went away and returned back “30 minutes later” with a letter saying she wouldn’t be flying.
- Cathay Pacific had determined that the ‘sure we’ll upgrade you’ e-mail was fake, and they were cancelling her ticket due to fraud and banning her from the airline.