[News Focus] Service over safety at Korean airliners?

A recent incident involving an unruly passenger on a Korean Air flight has sparked debate about the capabilities of Korean airlines to ensure the safety of their passengers, as well as the leniency of Korean laws regarding in-flight disturbances.

On Tuesday, a drunk 34-year-old male passenger surnamed Lim caused a scene aboard the Prestige (business) class on the Korean Air Flight 480 bound for Incheon from Hanoi, Vietnam. He slapped the passenger next to him and was eventually restrained by the cabin crew with the help of surrounding passengers including international pop star Richard Marx, who posted photos of the incident on social media along with criticism about the airline.

“The all-female crew was clueless and not trained as to how to restrain this psycho,” Marx wrote. “Korean Air should be sanctioned for not knowing how to handle a situation like this without passenger interference.”

A video of the incident was circulated widely online and showed the female crew members tying up Lim in a rear seat as he kicked and screamed at them while being held down by a male Korean Air engineer who was coincidentally on the flight for a business trip. Online commenters were quick to note that if they had been left on their own, the female crew would have struggled to subdue Lim.

“We are trained to subdue unruly passengers at safety trainings each year. We learn how to tie knots and how to use stun guns through role play, but it is not intensive training,” a Korean Air flight attendant told The Korea Herald under condition of anonymity. “We do not receive any other self-defense training.”

Korean Air officials declined to provide details about the training process or any manuals used.

The airline also came under fire for having allowed Lim on the plane in the first place. He had not only had alcohol before he boarded the flight, but had also been booked on a previous disturbance charge in September. Despite his record, Lim was not prevented from boarding the plane.

According to an anonymous source, Lim is also booked for a flight on Korean Air for Dec. 29, with staff advised to “exercise caution” rather than to prevent him from boarding.

Much of the public criticism about the incident highlighted the tendency of Korean airlines to place significant importance on the looks of their flight attendants through a process that some have described as being a “beauty pageant.” Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are well-known for their friendly, and mostly young, flight attendants. During hiring season, their job applicants often visit beauty salons and specialized academies, hoping to fit the airlines’ image.

“I agree that there is an overemphasis on appearance when hiring flight attendants,” said the flight attendant. “Even as safety becomes a larger part of the concept of service, appearance is still a very large part of how attendants are chosen.”

Flight attendants in Korea are also nearly all female. Less than 10 percent of flight attendants at both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are male. In comparison, nearly 22 percent of American flight attendants are male, according to data from the US Census Bureau.

The focus on flight attendants’ appearance and service quality is a point of concern when considering that “no Korean airline has safety officers onboard,” according to a spokesperson at a Korean carrier.

In addition to the in-flight response, the response by local law enforcement to last week’s incident was also criticized as being weak. The police had handed Lim over to his father, saying that Lim was too inebriated to be questioned. Although the police asked Lim to return for questioning by Friday, he notified the police via legal representation that he would return on Monday this week.

The police’s response was widely compared to a similar incident involving a drunken unruly Korean passenger surnamed Kwon, who was taken into custody by American law enforcement earlier this year after he landed at Guam Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport. Kwon was sentenced to three years in prison.

Under the current Aviation Safety and Security Act, Lim could face a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,300). If the incident had occurred in the US, he could have faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 according to the guidelines of the Federal Aviation Administration. 

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)