American Airlines is getting some very bad press in Brazil, after a downgrade that appeared to be handled very poorly.<\/p>\n
Ingrid Guimar\u00e3es downgraded on American flight<\/h2>\n
Ingrid Guimar\u00e3es is a Brazilian actress with a huge following on social media, who has blasted American for how the airline handled a recent travel experience. <\/p>\n
She shared what happened in an Instagram video, which you can find below. Now, I don\u2019t speak Portuguese, but I have to immediately give her credit for the calm and non-emotional tone in which she shares what happened, which adds credibility to what she says.<\/p>\n
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On Friday, March 7, 2025, she was flying on American from New York (JFK) to Rio de Janeiro (GIG), and she was booked in premium economy. After she was seated, while already buckled in, she was reportedly approached onboard, and told that she had been downgraded.<\/p>\n
The reason for the downgrade was because a business class passenger had an inoperable seat. So the business class passenger was downgraded to premium economy, while Guimar\u00e3es was downgraded to economy. According to Guimar\u00e3es:<\/p>\n
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She was given no explanation for the downgrade, and was threatened, and told that if she didn\u2019t move seats, she\u2019d be banned from the airline<\/li>\n
American employees reportedly announced over the PA that the flight was being delayed because the actress refused to change seats<\/li>\n
The crew did not attempt to negotiate or offer any kind of compensation, before demanding that she leave her seat<\/li>\n
Her sister and brother-in-law tried to intervene in English, but were told to shut up by a staff member<\/li>\n
A Brazilian flight attendant advised her to leave her seat \u201cpor bem ou por mal,\u201d which literally translates to \u201cfor better or worse,\u201d but more practically means \u201cwhether you like it or not\u201d (based on my understanding)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
She ultimately gave in to the pressure, and took a seat in economy. As compensation, the airline reportedly offered her a $300 discount on her next trip with the airline.<\/p>\nAmerican downgraded a passenger from premium economy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
This isn\u2019t how you should handle a downgrade situation<\/h2>\n
I can\u2019t say that I\u2019m surprised that the situation was handled as described, but it really gets at just how bad service in the airline industry can be. This shouldn\u2019t be that complicated. If an airline needs to downgrade someone for operational reasons, passengers should be asked to volunteer, and the airline should offer compensation until someone accepts.<\/p>\n
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It should be that simple. Operational issues happen, but it shouldn\u2019t be the problem of someone in premium economy that a business class seat wasn\u2019t functioning properly. This is no different than when a flight is oversold, and airlines are supposed to solicit volunteers, rather than involuntarily denying people boarding.<\/p>\n
While we only have one side of the story, one thing is for sure \u2014 American clearly didn\u2019t take this approach, or else this woman wouldn\u2019t have been strong-armed into downgrading in this way.<\/p>\n
Of course you should ultimately follow crew member instructions, but something is very wrong when the way to get a paying customer to accept a downgrade is to threaten and embarrass them. <\/p>\n
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