I was struck today by an advertisement when I was searching for airfares on the airline we use most often for travel the U.S. and within Asia - Cathay Pacific. As Hong Kong's airline, they have a lot of direct flights from Hong Kong to places around the world.
What struck me so much was their advertisement for "Exclusive Labour Fares to Manila" and "Exclusive Labour Fares to Jakarta / Surabaya." These are discount tickets for the maids that live in and support so many Hong Kong families. The fares are to be purchased by employers for Filipino / Indonesian labour working in Hong Kong and are open only to maids.
The "labour" lines are often apparent here, but I can't imagine a company in the U.S. offering a fare that was only for service-employees. Perhaps I am wrong. Also, these flights must be subsidized either by the airline who receives a great deal of business trafffic from the employers of the maids or the government, as these prices are very reasonable by Hong Kong standards. Also, notice that they make a special point of allowing extra luggage.
http://www.cathaypacific.com/hk/offers/online/0,,41094-70048,00.html?WAcampid=HKO_Offers_LabourfaresJan
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