China Eastern Airlines' Onboard Judicial System

A good friend of mine had an interesting experience a few days ago while flying back to Shanghai from NE China on China Eastern Airlines. He was awakened from a deep sleep by a stewardess that told him that there was a serious problem. "The woman seated behind you says you broke her eyeglasses with your seat," she said. My friend was puzzled because his seat was still in the full upright position and he hadn't moved it during the flight. "You need to pay for her eyeglasses," the stewardess told him. My friend, let's call him Francois, explained that he hadn't moved his seat and could not have broken her glasses and wasn't about to pay for them. The stewardess insisted that Francois give her his namecard and phone number so she could give it to the eyeglass woman so she could seek reimbursement. When he refused the stewardess left and the co-pilot came back and talked to the woman behind Francois and then returned to the cabin. Then the stewardess returned to tell Francois to prepare himself for trouble because the police would be called as soon as they landed.

Fortunately, there was no trouble as Francois left the plane but the whole incident was unnerving as well as puzzling. The stewardess took the word of the eyeglass woman and tried to extract money from my friend during the flight, dismissing his explanation outright. Was it a scam or was China Eastern Airlines just overstepping its authority? My friend said that if he really had broken the woman's glasses he probably would have helped her out but I can't help but wonder how someone could possibly have their face so close to the back of a seat that even normal seat movement would pose a threat. I suggested to my friend that he should have complained about the lady behind him repeatedly slamming her face against the back of his seat.

Sometimes in China one cannot avoid conflict, even while sleeping on a plane.