‘Worst airline in North America’: Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis slams Air Canada and its overbooking policy after staff ‘tore up’ his first class ticket and bumped him to economy ‘without saying a word’
- The 33-year-old actor took to Twitter to blast the airline, following a flight from Orlando to Toronto on Friday
- He claimed that his first class ticket was ‘torn up in front of him at the gate’ by a staff member, who then issued him with a replacement economy ticket
- Lewis acknowledged that having to sit in economy was a ‘privileged problem’, but added that he was outraged by the lack of apology over his ticket change
- The actor added that he was given ‘no apology’ and that he was told he’d have to ‘call’ the airline if he wanted a refund for his first class fare
- He said it is ‘insane’ how ‘normal’ it has become for airlines to overbook flights
Matthew Lewis has slammed Air Canada as he claimed that they ‘tore up’ his first class ticket and bumped him into economy because of a ‘full flight’.
The actor, 33, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter franchise, took to Twitter on Friday to criticize the airline as he flew from Orlando to Toronto.
He deemed Air Canada to be the ‘worst airline in North America’ as he claimed that the airline ‘tore up’ his first class ticket when he reached the gate.
Criticism: Matthew Lewis has slammed Air Canada as he claimed that they ‘tore up’ his first class ticket and bumped him into economy because of a ‘full flight’
Matthew alleged he was issued an economy ticket and did not get an apology or the chance to rebook his flight and claimed he was told he had to call the airline for a refund.
‘Confirmed. @AirCanada is the worst airline in North America. And that’s saying something,’ he tweeted.
‘No email. No offer to rebook. Literally tore my first class ticket up in front of me at the gate, gave me economy ticket and walked away.
‘Not a single word. I had to call her back to ask umm why? lol. Privileged problems, sure. But still wild.’
Slammed: He deemed Air Canada to be the ‘worst airline in North America’ as he claimed that the airline ‘tore up’ his first class ticket when he reached the gate
In a series of replies, Matthew criticised airlines’ policy of overbooking flights, which means to sell more tickets than available seats on a plane in anticipation of ‘no-shows’.
Speaking of overbooking flights, he wrote: ‘I’ve been bumped before. I think it’s a ludicrous policy that we’ve inexplicably normalized but it is what it is.
‘That said, that’s not my issue.. I wasn’t told til boarding, no apology, no ask if like to rebook, and if want a refund I have to call them.’
He added: ‘How we as a society allowed overbooking flights to become a normal thing we all accept is INSANE. Amongst so many insane things.’
Fuming: The actor, 33, who played Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter franchise, took to Twitter on Friday to criticize the airline as he flew from Orlando to Toronto
Air Canada responded to Matthew’s string of tweets, asking him to message them to try and resolve the issue.
The airline said: ‘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.’
Matthew later told CTV News Toronto that he was yet to speak to an Air Canada representative as he criticised the airline’s customer service.
‘Air Canada customer service is s***e,’ he said. ‘We as a society should not be okay with normalizing the profiteering of overbooking and kicking people off flights.’
Anger: Matthew alleged he was issued an economy ticket and did not get an apology or the chance to rebook his flight and claimed he was told he had to call the airline for a refund
Air Canada told the publication that the matter was under review and that it could not comment any further.
Matthew had been traveling on the flight to Toronto for a Fan Expo, where he was offering signed autographs or photographs.
The star appeared to enjoy his trip to Canada, as he later tweeted: ‘Well Toronto, you were all superb. A long overdue visit and you didn’t disappoint. Truly amazing people. Some city.’
MailOnline has contacted Air Canada for comment.
Actor: Matthew (pictured as Neville Longbottom in Harry Potter) had been traveling to Toronto for a Fan Expo, where he was offering signed autographs or photographs
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