HONG KONG - THREE Cathay Pacific Airways flight attendants have won the right to have certain allowances included in calculating their holiday pay, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

The ruling by Hong Kong's Labour Tribunal, said the Post, could affect 4,000 similar claims worth about HK$100 million (S$19 million).

However, the airline has indicated it plans to take the matter to a higher court.

Ms Becky Kwan, Ms Vera Wu and Ms Jenny Ho won a first victory in their claims against the airline over their holiday pay entitlements from 2002 to 2008.

The Labour Tribunal said on Monday that Cathay should take into account two types of allowances - line-duty and ground-duty allowances - when calculating holiday pay even though these allowances are not strictly defined as 'wages'.

These two allowances are paid on on top of the attendants' normal salaries and vary according to the number of hours put in.

The tribunal held that Cathay should not include other types of allowances such as the overnight and out-port allowances when calculating the holiday pay.

This means that the women are likely to receive less than the HK$280,000 in holiday pay they were claiming. The Chinese-language Apple Daily said they are likely to receive around HK$110,000.

Monday's ruling, said the Post, dealt with only liability.

The exact amount of compensation due to the claimants would need to be worked out later, added the newspaper.

But the ruling would set a precedent for about 4,000 similar claims filed against the airline.

The combined value of all the claims is believed to be worth more than HK$100 million, reported the Post.

Cathay said on Monday it was disappointed with the judgment and still believed the company had done nothing wrong.

The law was unclear, it was quoted as saying by the Post.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest carrier, has offered staff unpaid leave to reduce costs amid the global recession.