Hye-ri (real name: Lee Hye-ri), a former member of Girls’ Generation and a fan favorite, has recently been in the spotlight for her overbooking controversy with a major US airline. This incident has reignited a debate about basic service ethics, and not just about overbooting.
Hyeri forced to downgrade from first to economy class
Reportedly, Delta Air Lines was recently caught up in an “overbooting” controversy. At the center of it all was Comet. She was flying on Delta Air Lines from Los Angeles (LA) to New York City when she was unexpectedly downgraded from first class to economy.
Delta responded by saying it was “an unavoidable part of the aircraft replacement process.” They explained that in the process of replacing aircraft with smaller ones to ensure safe operations, some first class customers were downgraded to economy class.
Delta, we were just following protocol.
From the airline’s perspective, they said that when this happens, their customary practice is to offer the passenger the option to fly first class on the next flight, or refund the difference in price for the seat if they fly economy. But Hyeri wasn’t satisfied with this response.
“I booked a month and a half in advance and even picked my seat, but I was downgraded to economy because there were no first class seats available,” said Hyeri. She vented her frustration at the airline’s attitude, questioning how she could be downgraded when she had booked two seats.
The difference in ticket prices can be as much as 2-3 times
According to Delta’s website, the difference in price between first class and economy is about two to three times as much. That’s a big difference of about $530,000 to $224,000. The airline’s lack of action in the face of such a large difference has left many customers unhappy.
This incident has once again put the airline’s customer service on the chopping block. It’s time to minimize customer frustration and rebuild trust.
