Daughter of Korean Air Chairman Orders Plane Back to Gate Due to Macadamia Nut Incident
Via a reader tip comes this news that the daughter of the Chairman of Korean Air decided to have a airplane returned to the gate to boot a stewardess she was unhappy with:
The daughter of Korean Air Lines Co. Chairman Cho Yang Ho ordered a plane back to the gate so she could remove a crew member who gave an incorrect answer to a question on how to serve macadamia nuts, the airline said.
Heather Cho, 40, a vice president of the airline, ordered the head of the service crew on Flight 86 from New York to Seoul to deplane after an attendant earlier had served Cho macadamia nuts without asking, the carrier said. Cho then summoned the purser to ask a question about the airline’s policy on serving nuts. Cho ordered the man to leave the plane when he couldn’t answer. Under the carrier’s rules, passengers must be asked first before serving.
The purser didn’t know the company’s procedures and “kept on making up lies and excuses,” Korean Air said in a separate statement late yesterday.
The aircraft had already left the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport for takeoff on Dec. 5. It took no more than 2 minutes to return to the gate to deplane the crew member, according to the airline. The flight was 11 minutes late when it arrived in Seoul on Dec. 6.
Korean Air in its statement late yesterday apologized to passengers for the inconvenience the incident caused. It noted the plane was less than 10 meters from the gate at JFK when the decision to return was made. [BusinessWeek]
You can read more at the link, but I can understand her unhappiness because serving nuts for example to a kid without asking could cause an allergic reaction and open the airline to a lawsuit. So I understand where she is coming from, but with that said what gives her the right to turn around a plane? Shouldn’t the pilots due to an emergency be the ones to make that decision? I would not classify this as an emergency and just something that the airline could of took care when the plane arrived back in Korea.
Cho Yang Ho has resigned her position. No link sorry, just saw it on TV. 😮
Best I could tell, she resigned her responsibility but not her title… not sure what that means… don’t have to show up to work but still get paid?
Korean Air has its own welfare program apparently.
Maybe because it shined a light for the outside world to observe aspects Chaebol nepotism and disregard for how their actions affect the common people. Michael Sandel may be right. We really are living in two different worlds.
The follow up article, where Ms. Cho resigns:
http://news.yahoo.com/korean-air-says-executive-involved-cabin-incident-resigns-101639789–finance.html
Apparently one passenger is also a Yahoo commenter, and he had this to say:
“I was seating three fourths of the way back in economy class and could hear her screaming from where I was sitting. It’s hard to believe it was over a package of nuts. We didn’t know what was going on. One guy who I assume to be an air marshall went running up the aisle toward the commotion in first class. He probably thought we were getting hijacked. I was wondering it myself.”
No, say it ain’t so! A Spoiled Rich Princess Executive? I thought that only happened on K-Dramas.
I am willing to bet she will be reassigned to an important position within the airline by her daddy once the media attention from “Macadamia-gate” blows over.
The crew didn’t know the Chairman’s daughter was on the plane?
Of course, if they didn’t know what she looks like and were only going on “be on the lookout for a 40 year old Korean women,” I can understand why they missed her because she doesn’t look a day under 55 in that picture.
Another Psycho Asian chick having a meltdown…go figure.
LIMERICK
For poorly served nuts, she has been
yelling at cabin crew men.
It is good he got fired
as I want to be hired
to correctly serve nuts on her chin.
Lol!
Here is the latest on Macadamia-gate, it was all the pilot’s fault!:
Also according to the article she will keep all her other executive positions within the Hanjin Group.
“Resigned” her position. An act to save face, to be sure. Actual ownership or stock of the company is obviously unaffected. So, really, this means ziltch.
“…the manager made excuses and lied…”
Didn’t she understand his unique situation?
Hell, I’ll be her NuttyBuddy.
#NoNutDishDontShoot #HandsUpNoDish
A photo of the incident:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/smothers/371237144/in/photostream/
Jeeper44, nice find. Smother’s photostream has some pretty interesting photos of Korea in the 60’s.
I wonder if Cho will check herself into a hospital and then arrive to meet the investigators in a wheelchair with an IV bag attached to it?:
GIKorea: Yes,those Smothers photos on Flickr are fascinating. If you liked those, Here’s an album I’ve made of Korean War era photos:https://www.flickr.com/photos/58451159@N00/sets/72157631741216637/
This woman is a disgusting woman. She was acting like a typical American GI in Itaewon every night. Drunk, mad, irrational, confrontational, physically and verbally hostile nut that would describe an average American on the prowl of Itaewon at night. I say fire her a$$ and make her work at USFK Yongsan.
Women, GI’s, and Itaewon. Things Tom apparently doesn’t know anything aboot. Side note, it’s USAG Yongsan. Sheesh do you do any research for your comedy? You’re setting a bad example to young Canadian-Korean-Chinese kids who aspire to one day troll the net like a true netizen.
“She was acting like a typical American GI in Itaewon every night.”
No, Tom. GIs don’t care how their nuts are serviced.
Yangkee Itaewon whities, I’ll explain it’s like this. The Korean Air puts much pride in flight service and passenger care. The standards are extremely high for service and passenger comfort. Obviously this woman cared very much because she was charge of the flight service quality. It’s not coincidence that Korean Air is highly thought of as having very good service, especially compared to s*itty American airlines who have old hags barking and ordering around the passengers to do what the crew wants them to do.
OK, one Tom or two? You are creating confusion. One calls her a disgusting woman, the other says she puts pride in service. Either we have two Toms, or Tom has become a split personality.
Another failure. Does President Park now disband the Korean Transportation Ministry? Since this is obviously how things are “fixed” in Korea, they will soon lack any government ministries. A true win for the libertarians out there.
Removed from her remaining positions
“Asked by reporters how the incident could have happened, the company chairman blamed himself, saying he’d raised her badly.”
The no fly list might be appropriate. People have been put on it for less. Er, I mean, non-wealthy people have been put on there for less.
I thought Asian women aged well. She looks horrible for her age.
Especially considering she’s rich and has access to the best/newest ‘age defying’ stuff.
Maybe the evilness invaded her pores. In another ten years, the transformation to evil clown face will be complete.
do not… do not underestimate the powers of the dark side.
This story keeps getting worse and worse for Korean Air. Here is what the flight attendant said happened and how the airline wanted him to lie to investigators:
Her dad must be seriously concerned about the PR and possible legal consequences for the airline considering how he apologized and even said he raised her poorly.
So let me get this straight.
Someone wasn’t raised properly and then later behaved irrationally and irresponsibly causing a scandal.
Then their parent didn’t blame someone else for their actions?
I don’t…….I can’t………..this does not compute.
Tom, fck that, she should work in Itaewon, then I’d give her the royal treatment I give all the other nice “working girls” that work there, when they’re face down and taking the big white meat like a champ.
An amusing side-effect of this is a spike in the sale of Macadamia nuts- people who have never had them are trying them. They must be good,if they are served in KAL First Class!
LIMERICK
If I was some CEO hack,
my plane would never turn back.
And we wouldn’t be late
due to nuts on a plate
since I prefer my nuts here in my sack.
Here is the latest on the Korean Air issue where the airline is facing the suspension of its Incheon-NYC route for 21 days due to this incident:
“If the charges are confirmed, Korean Air could either be banned from operating its Incheon-New York route for 21 days, or face fines of 1.44 billion won ($1.32 million).”
Wow, they’ll probably take the fine.
21 days of banned operations would surely cost them a lot more than 1.32 million.