Harry Potter star Matthew Lewis has slammed Air Canada as the “worst airline in North America” after he was allegedly kicked out of first class on a recent flight from the US to Canada.
Mr Lewis, who played the lovable character Neville Longbottom in all eight Harry Potter films, took to social media on Friday to vent about his experience with Canada’s biggest airline.
“Confirmed. Air Canada is the worst airline in North America. And that’s saying something,” he tweeted.
In a string of replies to other social media users, the 33-year-old British actor revealed that he was booked to fly first class from Orlando to Toronto with the airline.
But, when he got to the first class gate, he claimed that an airline rep tore up his ticket and booted him down to economy, citing a “full flight”.
“Kicking me out of first class to back of plane is what it is but doing it at the gate. Literally tearing my ticket up. No explanation other than “full flight”.
“Said if I wanted to sort it I should go to customer service. I asked where that was. “Toronto.” I’m in Orlando,” he tweeted.
“Honestly never experienced anything like it. I’ve been bumped before. Comes with the territory.
“But at the gate, less than two minutes to boarding and without explanation or apology? Never. They even said if I wanna complain or get a refund I have to reach out to them!”
Mr Lewis told CTV News Toronto in a statement that the practice of overbooking flights needs to stop.
“Air Canada customer service is s***e,” he said.
“And we as a society should not be okay with normalizing the profiteering of overbooking flights and kicking people off flights.”
The actor was yet to speak to an Air Canada representative about the matter, he told the outlet.
Several social media users responded to his Twitter complaints, sharing their own experiences with the airline.
“Ugh so sorry this happened to you! They are the worst. They refused to take my luggage in London, had to pay $500 cad to get it shipped to Toronto. Still won’t reply to my emails. Good luck, hope you make it!” one person replied.
But, others were less sympathetic about his plight, with one Twitter user branding him a “spoiled brat”.
“You might have acted a nice guy role on Harry Potter movies but in real life you come across as a spoiled brat,” they tweeted.
“Not a huge fan of Air Canada at all but most airlines are experiencing post pandemic issues since everyone is trying to travel again. Patience is not your strong suit.”
Air Canada also responded to the actor’s social media posts.
“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,” the airline wrote.
The Independent has reached out to Air Canada for further comment about the incident.
The airline told CTV News Toronto that the matter was under review and that it cannot comment further at this time.
At the time of the incident, Mr Lewis was heading to Toronto to appear at the Fan Expo, where a signed autograph or photo with the Harry Potter star set fans back $70.
