Passenger who says he choked in the Qantas lounge wants ‘more than an apology’

A PASSENGER who says he choked on food in the Qantas lounge and was hospitalised says people who lose their luggage are treated better than he was.

QANTAS Food Poisoning

A MAN who claimed he was hospitalised after choking on a dodgy crustacean in the Qantas first class lounge has told news.com.au the experience was “frightening and life changing” and he wants more than just an apology.

Luca Donati, a Hong Kong-based sales director, said people with lost luggage are treated better than he was as he hit out at both Qantas and partner airline Cathay Pacific, claiming they had dragged their feet on the issue.

But both airlines appear to have blamed the other carrier for the lack of action following the incident which occurred almost a year ago.

Mr Donati was due to travel on a Cathay Pacific flight from Sydney to Hong Kong last December to reunite with family. As both Cathay Pacific and Qantas are part of the Oneworld alliance, he was entitled to dine at the Australian airline’s lounge.

At the lounge, Mr Donati chose the spaghettini and Moreton Bay bugs from a menu inspired by celebrity chef Neil Perry.

Hong Kong businessman Luca Donati says a full investigation is needed into how he came to choke on food at the Qantas lounge.

“I had to ask what the bugs were and they told me they were crayfish with the shell removed,” Mr Donati told The Daily Telegraph. “I was on the third mouthful when I felt something very sharp in my throat and started to choke.”

Fearing for his health, Mr Donati says he called over the lounge nurse and decided to take himself to St George Hospital in nearby Kogarah. No one went with him to the emergency department.

“I woke up five days later in intensive care,” Mr Donati said. Doctors operated on the 39-year-old but were unable to remove two shards, possibly part of the shell from the bug.

News.com.au understands the bugs are supposed to be shell free when delivered to the lounge for serving.

Mr Donati told news.com.au he was shocked by the unexpected injury which saw him being fed by a nasal tube for 13 days. “The whole experience was frightening and life-changing. I missed almost one month of work due to this whole incident.”

“The two foreign objects are still lodged in my throat and doctors don’t for sure what will happen in the future. We don’t know what they are exactly, but as long as I have no symptoms I just live life as usual,” he said.

Interior of the Qantas first-class lounge at Sydney International Airport, designed by Marc Newson.

He eventually flew home on Christmas Day last year.

Mr Donati said he had spoken initially to Qantas but had heard nothing from it since. He has also been liaising with Cathay Pacific for over a year.

“I feel this incident hasn’t been addressed properly, it’s not up to me to keep chasing them.

“If you lose your suitcase, there’s a process you go through but when something like this occurs nothing happens at all.”

Qantas told news.com.au that it had contacted Mr Donati and his family immediately following the incident but once he left for Hong Kong the matter was taken over by Cathay Pacific who is based in the city-state.

“We can understand Mr Donati’s frustration regarding the delay to settling this matter,” a Qantas spokesman told news.com.au. “We have been advised that Cathay Pacific will be reaching out to Mr Donati today to provide him an update.”

But a spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific appeared to suggest the delay lay with Qantas.

“We have been working with Mr Donati and other relevant third parties to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”

A crate full of fresh undressed Moreton Bay bugs Pic Mark Calleja

“Owing to the involvement of those other parties, things have not been moving as quickly as we would have hoped,” she said.

Mr Donati said “coincidentally” he received an email yesterday from Cathay to say he could now contact an insurance company to make a claim.

“However I question why it has taken so long and this is not the gesture I was looking for,” he said. “It’s not just an apology that I am after, but a full investigation and explanation into how this could have happened.”

Mr Donati said management should also be tightened up and menus reviewed.

“Should you really be serving Moreton Bay bugs in a first class lounge that still has to cater for hundreds of passengers a day?”

He said he flew to Australia recently but he didn’t fly with either Qantas or Cathay Pacific because he “no longer feels comfortable” on those airlines.