Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Korean Air's brand value plunges after 'nut rage'
By Kim Rahn
Korean Air’s brand value plummeted in the first quarter of this year following the “nut rage” incident, according to a survey released Tuesday.
Brandstock, a research firm specializing in brand assessment, said the carrier ranked 45th in its survey of the nation’s top 100 brands, with 860 points out of 1,000.
Korean Air’s ranking was down 39 notches from sixth last year.
The firm’s rival, Asiana Airlines, ranked first among carriers and 19th overall with 883.9 points, up from last year’s 22nd. It is the first time Asiana has overtaken Korean Air in the survey.
“It was widely expected that Korean Air’s brand value would fall because of the ‘nut rage’ that damaged the carrier’s reputation,” a Brandstock official said.
“However, the plunge was so huge, even beyond expectations. We think it’s because brand values are sensitive to various issues in rapidly changing market situations.”
In the survey, Samsung’s Galaxy topped the list with 936.4 points.
Korean Air has faced public criticism since December when former executive Heather Cho abused her authority on one of the company’s flights.
On Dec. 5, Cho, the daughter of Korean Air Chairman Cho Yang-ho, ordered a plane bound for Incheon to return to the gate from a taxiing area at JFK International Airport in New York and kicked a chief flight attendant off the plane because she was dissatisfied when a junior attendant served her macadamia nuts in a bag, not on a plate.
Cho was indicted and sentenced to a year in prison for forcing the aircraft to return to the departure gate, committing violence that disturbed flight safety, coercion and interfering with business.
Since the incident was made public, Korean Air’s passenger numbers have decreased compared with previous years.
In December, about 482,000 people used Korean Air flights for domestic routes, according to airport authorities. The figure was down 36,000 from a year before, while Asiana Airlines and local budget carriers increased their passenger numbers.
In January, about 518,000 people took Korean Air, down by around 21,000 from a year earlier.