Believing that China Southern has infringed his rights, a passenger surnamed Wang has filed a lawsuit against the airline company, asking it to pay him RMB901 in compensation, give a written explanation and make a public apology to him.

On October 9, 2007, according to local media reports, Wang booked a first class seat for China Southern's CZ3844 flight which was scheduled fly from Hangzhou to Zhengzhou on October 11, but when Wang arrived at Hangzhou Airport to check in, he was told that his reservation was not in China Southern's system so he couldn't exchange the e-ticket for an boarding card. He was also told by China Southern that he couldn't take the flight as the seats were all occupied. As a result, Wang had to take a flight to Beijing and transfer from Beijing to Zhengzhou.

China Southern later admitted that it was their own mistake that resulted in the cancellation of Wang's seat, but it reportedly did not take any measures to arrange suitable compensation for Wang. His lawyer, Wang Hongbo, says that they hope to make consumers rights better protected through this lawsuit.