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Chinese Passengers, JAL to Reconcile
A reconciliation agreement to be signed before the end of July will hopefully end the five-month-long dispute between some Chinese passengers and Japan Airlines (JAL).
Li Hao, representative of the Chinese passengers, said despite the unhappy experience, he was satisfied with the reconciliation proposal and was willing to accept JAL's compensation.
"Our purpose is very clear. We want to preserve the dignity and rights of Chinese consumers and make sure that they get quality services when they fly with world-renowned airlines. We don't care much about the amount of compensation," he said, quoted by Thursday's Beijing Youth Daily reported.
The reconciliation agreement will include a plan for JAL executives from the Tokyo headquarters to come to China and apologize to the passengers, the amount of the compensation and a proposal on JAL's improvement of services, said Wang Xiaobin, JAL' s attorney and spokesman.
Wang refused to disclose the details of the compensation£¬saying that it will be no less than the 1,500 yuan (about 180.7 US dollars) paid to each Chinese passenger by All Nippon Airway (ANA), another Japanese airline accused of treating Chinese passengers unfairly in early March.
"The amount should be decided in line with relevant laws£¬international practice and the practice of the civil aviation industry," he said.
Wang added that JAL highly values the Chinese market, as the surging number of Chinese passengers in recent years has accounted for half of JAL's total customers.
According to the report, Li and Wang will have further discussions Thursday to finalize the agreement.
Over 90 Chinese passengers were on board Beijing-Tokyo flight JL782 on January 27, but were forced to divert to Osaka after the Tokyo airport was closed due to snow.
The passengers from the Chinese mainland complained that they were treated differently from other passengers holding passports of other countries and regions.
All of them were confined to the waiting hall overnight, provided with no water or food except for a small sandwich at about 3 am £¬ while all other passengers were transferred to local hotels or to Tokyo by train that night.
On February 19£¬ Li Hao lodged a complaint with the China National Consumers Association, demanding an apology and compensation from JAL.
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