Jim Breuer says he was bumped from first class at the gate

Jim Breuer said he and his wife were downgraded from first class to economy moments before boarding their return flight from Honolulu to Florida. They had splurged on first-class tickets to visit their daughter during her internship, and the outbound flight went off without a hitch; the return, he said, turned into a nightmare.

After a brief layover in Arizona they were due to continue first class and had even pre-ordered their meal. Breuer said he saw pilots who were not scheduled to fly arriving at the gate, and minutes later they were abruptly downgraded. The airline offered a $500 voucher and a $400 refund, an offer he rejected as theft.

'This is foul because the way I see it, you stole from me. You stole my ticket, you stole my money,' he said. 'An American Airlines employee stole from me.' He compared the incident to having his wallet stolen. He said he reached out multiple times and wanted a human call rather than an 'AI apology.' 'I need a human being to call me and go, 'hey man, how can we make this up to you',' he said.

United States, Honolulu

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