Korean Air Exec Resigns After Flipping Out About Nuts on a Flight
A Korean Air Lines executive resigned this week and issued a public apology for a completely bonkers incident where she kicked a crew chief off a flight at JFK because she was served macadamia nuts in a bag, not a dish. The flight was delayed 20 minutes while officials decided whether to proceed without the ousted employee.
The disgraced executive, Heather Cho, was the vice president in charge of in-flight service until she stepped down this week. She's also the daughter of Korean Air's chairman, Yang-ho Cho.
"Please blame me; it's my fault," the elder Cho said at a press conference Friday, according to the New York Times, "I failed to raise her properly."
Heather Cho, stripped of her VP title, may also face prosecution for violating aviation laws when she "raised hell" on the December 5th flight, the Times reports. Korean Air is also under investigation for allegedly conspiring to cover up the incident.
The airline, part of the much larger Hanjin Group megacorp, has turned into something of a national joke since the Dec. 5 debacle. Sales of macadamia nuts are up, consumers are threatening to boycott Korean Air, and this parody video exists:
A partial translation, according to Koreabizwire: "We at Peanut Airlines serve fresh peanuts harvested in specially contracted farms on a plate. If any of our executives are on board in the first class cabin, we grind the nuts right on site and serve them."
Despite her apologies, Cho has been stripped of her VP position. The backlash from the "peanut incident" may scuttle Hanjin's campaign to build a giant new hotel in downtown Seoul, the Times reports.
