"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to your friends,” is a line about Matthew Lewis’ character, Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter. Well, in real life, the actor proved that he does stand up against his enemies as he called out Air Canada as the “worst airline of North America” for overbooking his flight.
There are a lot of issues with airlines all over the world, including cancellations, delays, or overbooking. Some airlines work better than others, but British actor Matthew Lewis wasn’t that lucky.
The 33-year-old Harry Potter actor has just taken it to social media to call out Air Canada for bumping him to economy class, although he had a first-class ticket for his flight from Orlando, Florida to Toronto, Canada, calling them “the worst airline in North America.”
In a series of tweets, Lewis criticized Air Canada for overbooking flights, which means that they sell more tickets than available seats, in anticipation of people missing the plane or not showing up. The Me Before You actor claimed that a staff member tore up his ticket in front of him at the gate, issuing him a replacement ticket to economy class. The airline’s explanation? Overbooking.
The actor continued to acknowledge that his situation is a “privileged problem,” but he was outraged by the fact that the airline didn’t issue an apology for his ticket charge: "I've been bumped before. I think it's a ludicrous policy that we've inexplicably normalized but it is what it is.” He added that they told him he had to call the airline if he wanted a refund for his first-class fare.
Lewis continued that it’s “insane” that “we as a society allowed overbooking flights to become a normal thing we all accept.” Luckily, his plane wasn’t stranded for hours or canceled, so, in the end, he was able to reach his destination.
Following his online complaint, the official account of the airline wrote in the comments: “Hi Matthew, we regret hearing this. Please send us a DM with further details of the issue, we'll see if we can help from here.” He didn’t add whether he managed to get a refund yet.
The 33-year-old Harry Potter actor has just taken it to social media to call out Air Canada for bumping him to economy class, although he had a first-class ticket for his flight from Orlando, Florida to Toronto, Canada, calling them “the worst airline in North America.”
In a series of tweets, Lewis criticized Air Canada for overbooking flights, which means that they sell more tickets than available seats, in anticipation of people missing the plane or not showing up. The Me Before You actor claimed that a staff member tore up his ticket in front of him at the gate, issuing him a replacement ticket to economy class. The airline’s explanation? Overbooking.
The actor continued to acknowledge that his situation is a “privileged problem,” but he was outraged by the fact that the airline didn’t issue an apology for his ticket charge: "I've been bumped before. I think it's a ludicrous policy that we've inexplicably normalized but it is what it is.” He added that they told him he had to call the airline if he wanted a refund for his first-class fare.
Lewis continued that it’s “insane” that “we as a society allowed overbooking flights to become a normal thing we all accept.” Luckily, his plane wasn’t stranded for hours or canceled, so, in the end, he was able to reach his destination.
Following his online complaint, the official account of the airline wrote in the comments: “Hi Matthew, we regret hearing this. Please send us a DM with further details of the issue, we'll see if we can help from here.” He didn’t add whether he managed to get a refund yet.
Confirmed. @AirCanada is the worst airline in North America. And that’s saying something.
— ????????Matthew Lewis???????? (@Mattdavelewis) August 26, 2022