Korean Air Executive Delays Flight Over "Nut Rage"

An Executive of Korean Air Lines is under heavy criticism after delaying an entire flight over improperly served macadamia nuts. Heather Cho, a Vice President of the airline, forced an A380 jumbo jet that had already pushed back from the gate at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, to return to the terminal in order to expel the aircraft's chief purser after an issue was encountered with a member of the cabin crew in a fit of "nut rage." The incident caused the flight to depart twenty minutes late.

Image Source: Bernd/Flickr
Cho, the 40-year-old daughter of the Korean flag carrier's chairman, Cho Yang-ho, was seated in first-class when she encountered an issue with a flight attendant that had handed her macadamia nuts in a packet, rather than in a dish. As a result of the incident, Cho summoned the chief purser and asked whether the flight attendant had followed the in-flight service manual properly.

When the chief pursuer did not answer the question correctly, Cho questioned the qualifications of the chief purser and insisted that the pilot return the aircraft to the gate to expel the purser from the aircraft.

Although the aircraft only arrived eleven minutes late at Seoul Incheon Airport, the incident sparked outrage in South Korea and worldwide media attention. Both Korean Air and Cho issued a public apology, with Cho stepping down from her current position, where she is responsible for overseeing in-flight service. However, Cho will remain a Vice-President at the carrier.

"I am sorry to our customers and the Korean people that I unintentionally caused social uproar and I ask forgiveness from anyone who has been hurt by me," said Cho. "I take responsibility for the incident."

Korean Air stated that although Cho was responsible for the supervision of in-flight service, her behaviour in this situation was "excessive" when she forced the plane to return to the gate to expel a member of the cabin crew in a non-emergency situation.

Cho is the eldest child of three siblings, who all serve in executive positions at the Korean flag carrier, which is Korea's largest airline. The incident sparked outrage in Korea as it was viewed as an example of improper behaviour by the privileged offspring of a wealthy elite family.

Like the Philippines. the economy of South Korea is dominated by family-controlled conglomerates, where family members often enjoy greater power and influence over major companies compared to shareholders and executives that do not have any blood relation to the founding family. In South Korea, these family-controlled conglomerates are known as chaebol.

However, the Cho family only own approximately ten percent of Korean Air Lines, which serves as part of the family's empire that includes business interests in logistics, travel, hotel, and leisure industries.

Although Cho is accepting blame for the incident, Korean Airlines says that the decision to delay Flight 86 was made by the aircraft's captain, who apparently agreed with Cho. The Transport Ministry of South Korea is investigating the incident to determine if Cho violated aviation safety law. If it is found that she endangered safety or interrupted the flight using threats, status, or violence, the ministry said that she will be dealt with sternly and could face legal action.

Korean Air, in an earlier statement, defended Cho, suggesting that it was "natural" for her to fault the ignorance of procedure by the crew. In addition to being served nuts in a packet, rather than a dish, Cho also took issue with the fact that the crew served her the nuts without being asked.

According to Korean Air, the airline's cabin crew are required to ask first class passengers if they want nuts in order to avoid serving them to passengers with allergies. The airline claimed that the purser that was deplaned did not know the company's procedures and was "making up lies and excuses" when questioned by Cho. As the executive doubted the qualifications, citing that the purser was "incapable" of ensuring the safety of the passengers, she ordered the aircraft to return to the gate to disembark the employee.

Korean Air claimed that the aircraft was less than ten meters from the gate, though some media outlets reported that it was already taxiing towards the runway. The airline stated that it took no more than two minutes to return to the gate to deplane the purser. The A380 aircraft was carrying 250 passengers and 20 cabin crew.

According to the South Korea Transport Ministry, Cho was not entitled to preferential treatment as she was a passenger at the time. "We'll see whether her behaviour was against the law. It is an unprecedented case, so we need to see the related regulations," said an official from the ministry in an interview with The Korea Times. "Even though she is senior vice president at the company, she was a passenger at that time, so she had to behave and be treated as a passenger. She could have taken other measures after coming back to Korea, such as strengthening service training."

Korean Air claimed in its initial statement that it was "reasonable" for Cho "to raise a problem in service," though it also admitted that it was an unreasonable delay. The airline followed up in a later statement that it would increase its training in order to enhance guest service and safety on board the aircraft.

Image Source: BBC News
Cho attended Cornell University and became part of Korean Air in 1999. She is currently a member of the advisory board of Singapore's Nanyang Business School. Prior to her resignation, Cho oversaw Korean Air's in-flight sales, cabin service, catering, and hotel business divisions. Her father is also the President of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Committee and Chairman of the Hanjin Group.

The public outcry and media backlash in South Korea and around the world has been extensive. According to an editorial in the Maeil Business Newspaper, "This ugly behaviour by the Korean Air boss' daughter puts the entire nation to shame. This is a global embarrassment for South Korea. Korean Air should punish Cho and she should apologise to the public for disregarding passenger safety."

An official in the South Korean transport ministry was quoted stating that the action was "totally inappropriate," while the main opposition party in South Korea, the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, released a statement questioning, "Why did she have to make all that fuss because over some stupid macadamia nuts? She soiled the reputation of our flag carrier." The opposition party added that it wanted a full probe and that the daughter had a responsibility to protect the image of the carrier.

Many publications went on to lash out at Cho referring to her behaviour as petty and arrogant. In the Dong-A Ilbo Newspaper, they described Cho's behaviour reflected the "sense of entitlement and supercilious attitude" prevalent among the rich. It added that, "Apparently some members of owner families like Cho see their companies like their own kingdom."

Korean Air CEO Cho Yang-Ho accepted Cho's resignation immediately. However, the carrier stated that she would retain her title of Vice President, though she will not have any official role within the company any longer. It remained unclear what responsibility she would hold with the airline in the future.

Meanwhile, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a Seoul Civil Group, stated that it would file a complaint against Cho through prosecutors, asking them to investigate a possible breach of aviation safety laws and disruption of business.

"The anger and the concern from the public were so big because safety and procedures related to important services were simply ignored," said the group. "Given the suffering of the cabin crew who were subject to such insult and abuse, the prosecutors should launch an investigation immediately to prevent similar abuse by high-level company executives in the future."

Do similar displays of abuse from the privileged class happen in the Philippines? Tell us what you think!

22 comments:

  1. Srsly? Must you ask?

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  2. An example of nepotism..

    The above mentioned executive had just resigned ..:
    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30390724

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    1. Only in the Philippines this won't happen! Why? Coz people in the upper echelon have a thick skin ika nga makapal ang Mukha! Medically, May facial paralysis! Instead of admitting mistakes, magpapalusot pa!..

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    2. Give me a thunderous high five, baby!!!
      I love to see the Manila elites embarrassed!

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    3. No me importa! (meaning, I do not care). This won't affect Korean Air's prestige because it is truly a fabulous airline compared to the likes of DL, PR, UA, JL and Eva Air which all serve NYC to Manila route.

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  3. An example of western-educated brats! What a shame to a polite and mellow Korean culture. Definitely a blow to Korean Air's prestige. Asiana Air must be "giggling".

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  4. Rage over macadamia nuts in serve in a pack? OMG most business class doesnt care and many prefer on pack for a paranoia reason(microbes or poison contamination)

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    1. Exactly, baby! I even prefer a bottle or can of beer opened by the crew in front of me or I'll be the one to open it.

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  5. The good side of it is that KE is reminding East Coast passengers that it now flies the A380 non-stop to Seoul. That means it is more comfortable, wider seats and spaces, better and improved inflight service and less aircraft noise compared to the A340. Thank you (for the reminder) KE, I will be going on vacation to Manila in April, 2015 (with earlier plans to take the new PR flight) but I changed my mind again. Like what I have been doing since 1983, I prefer to fly those 5-star airlines like KE and OZ.

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    1. The U.S.-educated Korean executive knows her stuff well...this can be her ploy to get attention to customers as Korean Air has never been involved in banner headlines (except flight accidents) in the past. What a way to advertise Korean Air to an east coast USA market where competition Is really "crazy" and "stiff".

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  6. If I was one of the passengers on that plane and knew who she was and what was happening, I would've walked up to her and said to her "BITCH!". But I guess no passengers knew what was going on.

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  7. Feisty one. She can have my nuts anytime.

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  8. This is off topic but ... that plane must have been very empty! Only 250 passengers?

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    1. Jst about 60%... Only 2 in J class out of 12 seats..

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    2. That's why KE needs more passengers and this "scripted (or not) mess" can attract public or passengers attention. I can foresee that KE will survive this mini-fiasco! I will never exchange its services and punctuality with other legacy carriers! It has earned its good reputation since late seventies, I know for sure.

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  9. And flying long-haul with a modern jet like A380 is comfortable, safe and sane. You will not make multi-stops if your destination is Manila, Bangkok, Hongkong and other major cities in Asia. Besides, making connections at Inchon Airport is very convenient; and while making your connection, you can shop or eat inside the best airport in the world!

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  10. KE flights to JFK might b suspended for 21 days or levy fine of 1.3 million USD due to the above incident...

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    1. Kudos to South Korean government's strict imposition of their rules and laws! I am now thinking about all past Spanish-colonies employing corruption and other dirty tactics just to get away from such embarrassment. No wonder all the above Spanish colonies/countries (including Philippines, of course) are still poor, backward and corrupt. It's reality, for sure! On the one hand, I will still fly Korean Air and Asiana. I am not Korean, I am Pinoy!

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    2. Airlines with disciplined and industrious employees are making money. Example: SQ, OZ, CX, KE, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, LH.

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    3. There goes strict quality control vs pinoy's bahala na or pwede na mentality!

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