Court Approves $1.55M Cathay Pacific Airways Class Action Settlement

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

Cathay Pacific Airways Class Action Settlement Overview: 

• Who: A judge has approved a settlement between Cathay Pacific Airways and passengers whose personal information may have been accessed in a 2018 data breach.
• What: The $1.55 million settlement will cover payments to Class Members, attorneys’ fees, and other expenses.
• Where: The Class includes all Canadians and anyone living in Canada whose personal information was accessed during the data incident disclosed by Cathay Pacific Airways Limited on Oct. 24, 2018.

A judge has approved a $1.55 million class action settlement resolving claims that 9.4 million passengers’ personal information may have been compromised during a 2018 Cathay Pacific Airways data breach.

The Class includes all Canadians and anyone living in Canada whose personal information was accessed during the data incident disclosed by Cathay Pacific Airways Limited on Oct. 24, 2018.

A website containing more information for potential Class Members has been established.

The lead plaintiff, British Columbia resident James Rodney McLean, claims the security breach, first detected in March 2018, exposed Cathay Pacific Airways passengers’ names, passport numbers, credit card numbers, and other personal information.

McLean says he and others were not informed of the data breach until late October 2018.

The Cathay Airways data breach was investigated, according to the class action lawsuit, and the investigators’ report found the airline failed to protect the sensitive personal information it collected.

Commercial airline Cathay Pacific Airways is based in Hong Kong and has a number of subsidiaries, such as Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited, which was also affected by the data breach.

“I am satisfied that the settlement agreement between the parties is fair and reasonable in the circumstances of the case and that is also in the best interests of the class members,” the judge wrote in approving the settlement. 

The Court received only five objections to the settlement.

“Class Counsel submits, and I agree, that these objections are based on misconceptions, or are otherwise without merit,” the judge wrote.

Class Members will be eligible to file claims for losses such as unauthorized charges on their bank or credit card accounts, unreimbursed expenses resulting from the data breach, and time lost to dealing with issues related to the breach. Claims must be filed no later than six months after the Court’s approval order

Top Class Actions will keep viewers posted on when a claim form becomes available.

Have you ever flown Cathay Pacific Airways? Were you alerted that your information may have been compromised during the data breach? Let us know in the comments below.

The plaintiff and Class Members are represented by Hammerco Lawyers LLP, Mathew P Good Law Corp., and Evolink Law Group.

The Cathay Pacific Airways Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is McLean, et al. v. Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, Case No. VLC-S-S-199228, in the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• American Airlines Website Inaccessible To Blind, Claims ADA Class Action Lawsuit
• American Airlines’ Customers Want Voice-Recording Claims Heard in Illinois State Court
• Spirit Sold Useless ‘Shortcut Boarding’ Upgrade During COVID, Says Class Action Lawsuit
• United Airlines Faces Class Action Lawsuit for Misleading Customers Into Buying Useless Travel Insurance