Hyeri "Booked First Class but Downgraded to Economy Without Notice"… Controversy Over US Airline

Hyeri from Girl's Day Reveals Damage on SNS
"No Refund, Told to Take Next Flight if Disliked"
Delta Airlines Responds "Forwarded to Relevant Department... Under Investigation"

Hyeri (real name Lee Hyeri), an actress and former member of the girl group Girl's Day, warned others to be cautious when using a certain foreign airline after claiming she was unfairly treated during her trip to the United States.

It is known that foreign airlines sometimes forcibly downgrade seats or fail to provide them due to overbooking and other issues.

On the 31st, Hyeri posted on her Instagram story that she was forcibly downgraded from a first-class seat to economy while trying to board a flight from Los Angeles (LA) to New York.

Hyeri wrote, "I booked and selected my seat a month and a half ago, but they said there were no first-class seats and downgraded me to economy," adding, "The airline said they wouldn’t refund me and if I didn’t like the seat, I should take the next flight."

She continued, "I even booked two seats, so how could both be downgraded?" and added, "It was such an absurd experience, please be careful, everyone." The post has since been deleted.

Through the flight ticket Hyeri posted that day, the foreign airline was revealed to be Delta Air Lines. According to Delta Air Lines’ website, the price difference between first-class and economy seats on flights from LA to New York can be two to three times depending on the flight.

If the seat was downgraded without a refund of the difference, the loss could amount to approximately 1 to 4 million KRW.

According to Star Today, Delta Air Lines stated, "We have forwarded the incident to the relevant department" and "are currently investigating the matter." Regarding the controversy over whether racial discrimination occurred, they avoided answering, saying, "We cannot comment on that at this time."