Cho Yang-Ho, chairman and CEO, Korean Air

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- It's one of the biggest airlines in Asia, but in the 1990s it was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. A spate of crashes at Korean Air raised worldwide concerns about safety issues sent the stock price tumbling and put an enormous strain on staff morale.

That's what Cho Yang-Ho inherited when he took over as chairman and CEO of the airline from his father in 1999.

More than eight years on, Korean Air has a new look, new routes, new awards -- for best economy class travel in the global Skytrax survey -- and even new plans for a budget airline.

Cho says a key to turning the airline around was rebuilding confidence, by making some promises.

Cho: I shared my vision with my employees and customers and investors, so excellence in flight, and improving our service, improving our operations, and innovating our company structure. And people start getting confidence in Korean Airline, from my employees, my customers, and my investors.

All we have to do is give more confidence to our employees and think positive, and overcome the crisis.

Stevens: Because you're making a promise to them aren't you, that it is going to get better, you're going to invest.

Cho: I'm not only one who makes promises to public. I make my employees have confidence and promise to the public and customers. That's the spirit of excellence in flight.

Stevens: Korean Air, although publicly listed, is very much a family affair and your late father remains your business model.

Cho: He's created the market rather than imitating. He's the first Korean to adopt container ships and container yards with private investments. He's the first one (to introduce) express bus lines in between city to city. His philosophy is creating new business, not imitating or competing, and get into the other business markets. That's the philosophy of his business.

Stevens: What do you think is the best piece of business advice he ever gave you?

Cho: Do not imitate other business when competing with existing business. Try to create new markets, go out and find a new market. Create a new market, that's all he told to me past my 60 years.

Stevens: Your children work at the airline; are your standards higher for your children than they are for other employees?

Cho: Yes. Korean Airline is a global company, and has to challenge for global airlines industries, has to be good quality of leadership, and I cannot give favor just because of my families. I have responsibility to maintain Korean Airlines as a global carrier, not as a family airline. E-mail to a friend