Cathay Pacific's Niki and Betsy Awards – named after the airline's first two DC-3 aircraft – are annually awarded to staff members for outstanding acts of dedication and professionalism. The Betsy Award recognises excellent customer service, while the Niki Award acknowledges exceptional contributions behind the scenes. Last year, 10 winners for each award were selected from 1,566 nominations.
Niki Lee, Sonal Sud, and fellow crew members on a flight to London were amongst recipients of the 2023 Betsy Award for the outstanding care they provided to a three-year-old boy who suffered a severe asthma attack during the flight. Unable to divert the aircraft to another city because of the ongoing pandemic, the crew contacted MedLink and over eight hours provided constant care and attention to the boy: administering oxygen from an overhead mask, soothing the distressed child, and comforting his panic-stricken parents – all while minimising disruption for other passengers.
Meanwhile, cabin crew members Barbara Cheung, Moni Manmohan, and Belle Chan were presented with a Niki Award for helping to revive a male colleague, who collapsed in the terminal soon after disembarking from the aircraft. The team administered CPR, then used a defibrillator on the colleague, who is believed to have suffered a heart attack, before giving him oxygen.
Both instances illustrate how Cathay crews' training in essential first-aid techniques and how to stay calm and make the right decisions under pressure, coupled with sincere compassion and empathy, can help save lives.
