If you paid thousands for first class on a Hawaii redeye and were told at the gate your seat had been given to an airline pilot, you would not take it lightly. That is exactly what happened to former SNL cast member Jim Breuer, and he did not go quietly. Breuer, who recently launched his “Find The Funny” comedy tour, is having a difficult time seeing the humor in this situation. After watching his video below, we understand why.
Breuer and his wife were booked in first class on an overnight American Airlines flight from Honolulu to Phoenix. Weeks before departure, the airline emailed them to pre-select their first class meals, steak or chicken, reinforcing that they were confirmed premium passengers. At the gate, a supervisor informed them that their tickets had already been changed, that two uniformed pilots would be taking their seats, and that they had been reassigned to row 18 for the six-hour redeye.
That Honolulu to Phoenix route is typically flown by an A321, where first class is arranged 2-2 across, and economy is 3-3. On a narrow-body aircraft like that, the difference is not subtle: it is between a two-across premium cabin designed for space and some sleep, and a three-across economy cabin where a middle seat is always an issue.
On a redeye from Hawaii, the entire reason many travelers pay for first class is to arrive home functional the next morning. Breuer says he was offered a next-day option, but only in extra-legroom economy, and not seated together, so there was no real recovery path back to any sense of comfort, let alone first class. At the time his video was recorded, Breuer had received a $400 refund and a $500 voucher.
When calling American Airlines before boarding, he was told to fill out a complaint form, which he did. Breuer also received an email response several days later, but his request for someone from American Airlines to call and speak with him about this has gone unanswered. Breuer, with 1.5 million Facebook fans, released the video below, which currently has over 200,000 views and is still growing.
This was not overbooking.
Breuer says he was told the flight was overbooked, which sounds routine but does not describe what actually happened. This was not a classic oversell of the cabin because the first class seats were not given to other paying passengers, but were reassigned to deadheading pilots under contract provisions that apply to transoceanic routes, including mainland to Hawaii flights.
Hawaii flights are classified differently from most mainland domestic segments, and under certain pilot agreements, crew positioning on those routes can mean confirmed placement into the highest cabin at booking, even if that displaces a paying passenger.
One BOH reader recently noted seeing an American Airlines captain seated in row 25 on a Miami to Salt Lake City flight, which illustrates the contrast because on mainland routes, pilots sit in economy, while on Hawaii routes, the rules shift. Passengers rarely hear about that when they purchase their tickets, and once they see a confirmed seat number, they assume the seat is theirs. After all, the airline took the money.
A pattern on Hawaii routes.
This is not the first time this has surfaced, and in recent months, multiple Hawaii premium cabin downgrades have drawn attention across different carriers. When we wrote about the bumping dynamic earlier this month, readers immediately responded with their own stories that closely mirror what Breuer described.
Reader MignonB told us she and her husband were bumped from paid first class to economy on American Airlines flights to and from Maui last September, and they were separated both directions and spent weeks fighting to receive the correct refund. There was no viral video or celebrity platform, just another Hawaii flight, and the same outcome left them scrambling and frustrated.
Several readers pushed back on the idea that this is about luxury or entitlement, explaining that they purchase first class because of age, medical needs, or the physical strain of long flights over the Pacific. For them, being sent to the back of the plane is not simply inconvenient; it can be physically difficult and undo the very reason they paid so much more in the first place.
Another reader shared that she, too, had been bumped and has never flown that airline again, which highlights the long tail of brand damage airlines may not be thinking about in the moment when they reassign a seat so publicly.
When these stories are centered around Hawaii routes, it’s hard for us to dismiss them as random one-offs and easier to see them as a core part of how these flights are structured.
Why Hawaii is different.
Flights between the mainland and Hawaii are grouped with transoceanic routes in pilot contract provisions, which means the same deadheading rules apply even though Hawaii is domestic. On many mainland domestic routes, deadheading pilots sit in economy and may receive upgrade priority if space is available, but they do not typically displace confirmed first-class passengers.
On mainland to Hawaii flights, pilot contracts can provide confirmed access to the premium cabin when positioning crew, and if those seats are needed, paying passengers can be moved. That applies across routes serving Honolulu, Maui, Kauai, and Big Island to and from major mainland hubs, and there is no data available that shows how often passengers are displaced this way on Hawaii flights. These situations usually come to light only when someone speaks up, whether that is a celebrity with a platform like this, or a couple quietly fighting for a refund months later.
The compensation gap.
Breuer’s reported $400 refund plus a $500 voucher highlights another point of contention in these situations. Under contracts of carriage, airlines generally refund the difference between the first-class fare and the applicable economy fare if a passenger elects to travel after a downgrade, but the complication is how that difference is calculated. It is typically based on the airline’s internal fare structure for that specific flight rather than on what the passenger feels the premium experience was worth.
For travelers who paid thousands for overnight first class seats, the math can feel detached from reality because the experience they purchased was sleep, space, and arrival in reasonable condition. When that disappears at the gate, and the financial recovery feels modest, the frustration lingers, and several readers have already said they are reconsidering which airlines they use to fly to Hawaii because of this policy.
What this means for Hawaii visitors.
Airlines will argue that crew positioning and rest requirements are essential and embedded in negotiated contracts, and these decisions are not arbitrary but part of their operational structure behind long flights over the Pacific. The reality for travelers, however, is that paying for first class on a mainland to Hawaii flight does not guarantee that you will sit in first class, and on certain routes and under certain crew positioning scenarios your confirmed premium seat can be reassigned.
Breuer’s video amplified the issue because he has a platform, but the underlying risk has been lodged in the airline fine print for years, affecting regular Hawaii travelers without the benefit of his viral reach.
Has this happened to you on a Hawaii flight? Were you told it was simply overbooking? When you book first class to or from Hawaii, do you believe that seat is truly guaranteed? How do you feel after watching Breuer’s video?
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The airlines cram paying passengers in smaller and harder seats while treating the pilots like royalty. Time to tell the unions to shove it.
Start by never flying American. They are simply the worst when it comes to actually caring about their passengers. Why give them another cent, knowing what you do about their priorities ?
Secondly, I would press them on why your seats were selected. There were 10 other options, so why these two seats ? American is required to give you that reason. Maybe some type of discrimination at play here, which in turn does allow you to sue the airline. I know they are largely immune from lawsuits, but they cannot do whatever they want either.
Lastly, stop going to Hawaii. The locals clearly do not want you there, it’s overpriced, and flights are increasingly problematic. Everyone simply wants your money, but the days of feeling like a welcomed guest are long behind us. Lots of othe options…caribbean has much nicer beaches, and even mexico offers service that far exceeds what you get in hawaii. Vote with your wallet !!!
Probably air marshal in 1B, pilots typically get front row. Next logical option is to boot the passengers in 1 EF to meet the pilot union contract.
PS: Aloha is still everywhere. With that said, the world everywhere is different now.
Unfortunately, tourists are not the only people that have issues on airlines! I have lived on Kaua’i for almost 45 years and I have flown back and forth to the mainland many, many times to visit family or for business, etc. My last dismal experience was on Alaska Airlines when my partner and I were denied boarding and had to wait till the next day to fly directly from the mainland to Lihue. Since we are in our late ’70s, having to wait 24 hours (which also included taking an Uber from San Jose to San Francisco airport and then having to fly home on United, where we had to pay extra so we could sit together) was really difficult for us. Calling the Alaska helpline meant that I had to stay on the phone for a minimum of 5 hours each time! This happened in spring of 2025 and I still not received $0.01 of compensation for our Uber, hotel, dinner, or extra payment that we had to pay United for our seats! I wish I had a platform with millions of people to tell. I no longer trust Alaska Air.
Let the free market work. When demand is high & supply is low, the price goes up. If you bought a first class ticket and demand is high, then you should be entitled to receive a premium above what that days first class ticket is selling for. No way should any seller be able to just refund your money. That ticket is yours and in this case is worth as much as you think it’s worth. Airlines contract with their pilots is there problem to solve. It shouldn’t penalize the customer
A longtime family friend who is a United Captain explained it to me this way. While the contract does specify that they travel in the highest “class of service available”, that is not always business, it can be international premium economy. International it is often business but at United crew scheduling works far in advance and blocks business seats for crew positioning when the crew is assigned those trips. This removes the the possibility of a gate reassignment of paid first class seats to flight crew, at least on United and at least most of the time. He also noted that he would always choose a cockpit jumpseat on a wide body jet and use the crew rest if he were deadheading on the very rare occasion that there was not already a blocked business or premium economy seat available. But he also said that not every pilot will do that.
And every pilot contract varies, and changes every 5 years or so. This is not a static or consistent rule.
That all sounds very nice but not the case in reality. On a recent trip from IAH-HNL on a United 777, 7-family members coming to visit us, paid First Class lay flat seats, aircraft has premium economy as well, two family members got booted out of first class to coach for United pilots. Same behavior by airline employees as reflected in this American Airlines experience.
This is infuriating. What I don’t understand is why he and his wife were not properly compensated. That is what has compounded this unpleasant incident. He said if they replaced his first class tickets he would have accepted the downgrade. They didn’t come close. Despite the cabin, who wants to be downgraded from the seat you chose and paid for? Then not be compensated? What other industry does this?
Now that I know this, I will never fly American Airlines and I’ll make it a
Pain to spread that word about the way they handle business and how they treat customers !
You’ll have to stay home then. Nearly every pilot contract has similar language.
True!
Airlines must change this egregious policy. Move economy passengers around to create a 3-seat row so that deadheading pilots can stretch out. Give them pillows and a blanket. Otherwise, anyone bumped from First Class to economy should fly free and have their ticket fully refunded, plus a big fat apology.
Until the crew that is supposed to fly your flight shows up too fatigued to do so – because they were “given a pillow and a blanket”. And what about those three people that were supposed to be in that row? Bus? Your “solutions” also have consequences.
Fair point.
Then airlines should reserve 2 business / 1st class seats on all flights. If, 24 hours before departure, the airline knows they will not use the seats, then they can sell the seats.
But if they keep doing this, it will kill their business.
This should not happen to anyone ever again.
Unfortunately, blocking seats “just in case” will kill their business even faster.
You must be a pilot based on your perspective on passengers losing their 1st class seat and being downgraded to economy, no passenger cares about the contract and what pilots feel entitled to.
What the airlines and crew need to remember is that if wasn’t for the customers, the pilots would not have a job and it will hurt the airlines bottom line as people will start flying other airlines.
There are so many issues with what happened from customer service to compensation for the seats they lost. If the airline is willing to downgrade passengers, they should block out a couple of seats in case they want to put a crew member in the seat(s), or compensate fairly by offering money to accomodate the crew.
Exactly
By your logic there is no instance where the paying customer comes before the pilot taking a flight. That’s ridiculous. It should 100% be on the airline to make this right instead of dumping on their customers to keep their employee’s union happy.
It’s not “my” logic and I’m not defending it, I’m explaining it. You want a perfect system – that isn’t reality. When disruptions occur, and occur they will, crews need to be repositioned, and be rested when they get there. Or the next flight gets cancelled. The vast majority of the time, the system works. But the virtually unlimited things that are out of the airlines hands that can torpedo the operation, have to be managed the best they can. This is one of those examples. After 40+ years in the airline business, the question shouldn’t be, “why is this flight late?” it should be “how is this flight on time?”. Honestly, it’s a miracle the systems works as well as it does.
I just realized something… you are Mark the “supervisor” from Honolulu that reasigned the seats, am I right?
DOT should step in and mandate airlines fully compensate passengers or change contracts to sit wherever seats are available and not bump FC or BC passengers. Are cockpit seats lie flat or do pilots fly reclined in their seats? Pilots are accustomed to cockpit seats so why do their contracts mandate they travel in luxury to their job? If it’s all about the money, airlines should reserve the saver fare seats for crew so they can sell the pricier seats and keep customers happy and loyal!
Jim Breuer posted a follow up video today, he finally received a call from AA, but only after filing a complaint with the DOT. It sounds like the only reason they reached out is because their hand was forced to investigate due to the complaint.
I think a follow up article from BOH would be interesting.
That sounds great but the airlines don’t care. There is no incentive for them to change their behavior unfortunately.
1) Airlines don’t routinely overbook like the days of old, hoping there are no-shows. This happened when you could reserve a seat without paying for it. That isn’t the case anymore. Overbooking is almost always due to irops (irregular operations – weather, ATC, mechanical).
2) Those crews were almost certainly a last minute Deadhead due to irops. The pilots likely had no idea about the bumping. Scheduled Deadheads are planned well in advance and won’t impact other paying passengers.
3) It still sucks. If I had paid for First and got downgraded, I’d be none too happy. But understand it isn’t nefarious or deceptive. They’re just doing what they have to in a bad situation.
4) Status can help. When deciding who gets bumped to Economy, it isn’t random. Every airline is different, but all F seats aren’t created equal and there definitely is a pecking order on who gets bumped first. Some of the first to go are deeply discounted F tickets to passengers with no FF status.
The pilots likely had no idea about the bumping. The way the pilots were missing until the last minute, I would say they did know and didn’t want the confrontation.
It literally is the pilots get the front row.
I would like to know if there were more special people in 1 AB like an air marshal, so therefore they had to boot the people in 1 EF which are these guys.
Aloha,
Try this: I was talking about oversells with a “person in the know” at a particular airline, and they told me that the airline’s “historical data” was impeccable. That means that their historical data shows that “flight X, on say the 3rd Tuesday of a particular month, had a consistent historical no show factor of, say, 22%, so the airline will automatically oversell the flight that specific calendar day by 22%. I asked, so what happens if everyone shows up? The answer was that the airline staff have a degree of latitude to compensate the passengers who were denied boarding. I’m unclear as to the process or procedure used to determine who flys and who sleeps in the boarding lounge…
Mahalo
I wonder if this story would attract any attention if it were not a tv celebrity?
The Union agreement says they have to fly dead heading pilots in first transoceanic so they are fit to fly. They could have held out for first on another day or taken the day time flights to LAX. Looking on the bright side, the difference on a narrow body is minimal. If it had been a 772 or 789 which serve tbat route then he really would have domething to moan about.
Reminiscent of the UA debacle in 2017, and shows an airline trying to skirt the policies adopted in the aftermath. Gate agents are now authorized to offer much higher $ amounts to induce passengers to voluntarily give up their seats to crew members who need to be accommodated. This is more likely to induce volunteers (hey, we all have our price!) before having to bump randomly selected passengers. (Accommodations include giving pilots the opportunity to sleep, due to government regulation.) Here it looks like AA did not go through the process of seeking volunteers, which would have required them to pay cash on the barrel, and instead chose passengers at random and made them believe they were not entitled to much of any compensationand certaonly not compensationon the spot. Shame on AA, and this passenger, famous or not, is entitled to complain.
Real life recent experience on United. 7 traveling in paid first in 777 IAH-HNL. Settling into seats, gate agent comes on and hands two family members coach seats and boots them out of their purchased F seats.
They were offered to go sit in their new coach seats or get off the plane. Since the plane was getting ready to depart, they had no options.
No compensation offered during of after the fact.
I haven’t been bumped from 1st class but I have been bumped frm premium economy to economy. My wife and I were seated together in premium and we were moved to economy after we had checked in. And, the seats were not together. No explanation provided. It just happened. Fortunately for us, the flight was not full and I was able to move us back to premium but not together
I had this happen to my wife and I on a recent AA DFW-HNL flight. Booted from Premium Economy to coach right before departure. I got booted, wife is Executive Platinum, I have lifetime Platinum status.
Curious if the flight was not full and there were other open premium seats, why didn’t they sit the crew there or move you and wife to those open seats instead of separating two paid passengers?
Can travel insurance compensate
(financially) when this situation arises? My wife and I travel first class for health reasons and have not encountered this situation, but I would prefer to be prepared if possible.
Man this happens to us all the time in various forms on American! It’s so frustrating, especially the part where it falls on deaf ears at the airline.
The most recent was it happened to our kids when they and the grandkids were coming to visit us via United, half the family got bumped for pilots.
It really happens all the time.
Happened a couple of years ago to us on a return flight from east coast to Hawaii on United. To United’s credit, rather than just auto-bumping, they opened up a bidding process to get a couple of people to volunteer to downgrade. In the end United paid out $10,000 per seat in travel credits to free up the seats for the pilots, who by union rules are entitled to a first class seat on flights over a certain time length. We were so incensed about being bumped that there was no price that was going to move us – but in retrospect we both agreed for $10,000 per person, we probably should have taken the money and the pain and enjoyed a later first class vacation to Europe. 🙂
This is supposed to be the process always, on all airlines. UA led the way on adopting these policies after they physically dragged a passenger off a flight. That debacle cost the airline millions.
Wow, they don’t do that any more. They just bump you right before departure and literally kick you out of your seats. No apology, no compensation. Just either take the reassigned coach seat or get off the plane. This was IAH-HNL, summer 2025 so pretty recent.
I’m guessing that UA skirted their rules by technically not removing them from the flight.
Not surprised this was United. After the 2017 debacle, they have learned. Apparently other airlines have not (looking at you, AA). United lost millions,and it would have been way cheaper for them to charter a private jet to move the crew. $20K is actually a small price for an airline to pay under these circumstances.
I’m appaled do many people excuse having their rights stripped away so easily. If I pay for a first class ticket, that’s the expectation of service. How many other service or sales businesses can just change your product at the last minute and get away with it? These occurences happen because of multiple failures throughout their system, we the customers should not pay the price for their continual failures.
We were on a return flight from American and got bumped from paid first class tickets to coach on the redeye back from HNL to LAX. My wife and I were medically disabled and required wheel chair transport at both ends. This made no difference to the staff or the pilots displacing us. Way-to-go!
American Airlines are by far the worst at serving their customers. Their motto is : “We’re not happy if you are.” I for one, for two actually, will nit spend another penny with AA, and will continue to spread tge word on how bad they are. Often we can blame corporate and forgive the boots on the ground employees, but not with AA. Time and again their staff makes tenuous situations worse.
As a AA flyer with 3.45 million miles. True statement. Unfortunately I don’t have the option to fly Alaska or Delta.
AA is America West C-Suite, a discount airline. United CEO is old American Airlines CEO. Both seem to have just an awful culture.
Unions make it harder to take corrective action.
Alaska and Delta have it figured out better.
Aloha. An example of what’s happening everywhere, not just airlines. So many people want the product and the supplier knows it. Customer threatens to not return, and often doesn’t. But the supplier doesn’t care because there is always another set of cheeks to sit in the seat. With oversell and under capacity, no one cares and the customer goes to another supplier that does the same thing. People are getting used to being treated badly.
I couldn’t care less that some self important so-called celebrity (that I’ve never heard of) got his ego hurt. It’s in the pilot’s contract.
Want to “guarantee” your seat? Join the airline’s Frequent Flyer program and obtain even the lowest status (which is easy to do) and you won’t have to be concerned about it.
So spending money on a ticket, planning a vacation and then having it upended is ok? You must be a AA pilot. We have fewer and fewer rights C as customers, its pathetic and putting up has nothing to do with status a b d everything to do with holding the company responsible for their end of the deal.
Disagree. Wife is Executive Platinum on AA, I have lifetime Platinum status. Have been booted more times than I would like. Customer service just sends the generic apology and that’s about it.
No repercussions for the airline. They continue their bad behavior. They are required/forced to meet the Union negotiated pilot contract.
So glad that someone with a large following can call out this bad behavior.
Most of us frequent flyers feel like we have no voice and that we just have to take our lumps as the airlines just don’t care.
American is unprofitable, but United is bad as well and is profitable.
Because airlines have built fortress hubs, customers can’t vote with their dollars. They are held captive.
My husband is 6’4″. Economy on a flight to Hawaii is torture for him. If the airline took our first class seats for crew I’d be outraged and demanding more than $500.
how about holding those seats in case they are needed for crew and on departure day, if not needed, let people pay or use points to upgrade
Well you can demand but the airline is basically going to flip you the bird.
Apologies for the language.
Is this spelled out in the Contract Of Carriage specifically on Hawaii flights? If not, it should be. That said, my bet is this actor has a bit of that “I’m special” attitude that we see so often in them.
Maybe. But then again, he paid for the first class seat. Whether you’re Mother Theresa or Ted Bundy, when you pay for something you should receive it. I pay extra for biz/first because at my age I appreciate the extra comfort and I’m partially disabled; I need the leg room given my past injuries. If that makes me entitled, then so be it. I pay for biz/first, I expect to fly biz/first.
The easy solution would be for the airlines to not sell one or two of these seats until just before flight time. Then, they can offer them for sale, charge for upgrades, or whatever if they aren’t needed by deadheading personnel. If they are, then there shouldn’t be a problem, there will already be room for them.
Okay I watched the video and you could tell he wasn’t inappropriate or just mad, he felt completely blindsided. That’s what would bother me too. Tell me upfront, don’t change it without a word at the gate. That’s terrible business.
We’re in our 70s and save years for one Hawaii trip. First class is not a luxury for us, it’s survival. If they bumped us to the back I would expect a full refund of the difference, not a voucher. And even then I wouldn’t be returning.
They will give you back the difference but here’s the rub.
Say you paid $2,500 for your first class ticket, a coach ticket purchased on that day was $800. So you think, I’ll get $1,700 back, never mind the frustration.
But no, to add insult to injury. The full coach fare on that day was $2,000 so therefore you will get $500, not $1,700 for your trouble.
So at this point they are just rubbing your nose in it.
FYI: This has happened to us on numerous flights and is in fact exactly what happened. So not speculation.
So if on that day coach full fare was $2,000, then it would only be fair to take what first class would cost on that day – maybe $3,500? and refund that difference!
My sister and I were separated on an American Air Maui flight after paying for premium seats. It took three calls to even get a partial refund. Never again.
This is exactly why I screenshot my seat assignment before every flight (as BOH said they do too). Probably doesn’t help much, but I have a record of what I was supposed to receive and at least it makes me feel better.
What a cluster. The meal pre-order part too. You pay, pick your meal weeks ahead of time and then boom, row 18 and no food. That’s just sloppy on the part of management, pure and simple.
So economy passengers are supposed to feel bad for a first class downgrade? Sorry, but welcome to the back of the plane. That said, if you pay for something, you should actually get it.
Guess who gets bumped on the full flight, you the economy passenger, as AA is just pushing tge problem downward. No way they’re totally bumping that first class ticket off the flight, they’ll always screw over the people who paid the least. Such animosity toward people who pay more for nicer things? Don’t look now, but I’ll bet there are plenty that have less than you, hopefully they don’t have the same feelings… Where’s the Aloha?
It would have been interesting to see what would have happened, should the plane have been 100% full. Many of the flights from HNL to the mainland have been 100% full on recent flights.
I actually feel for the pilots too because they didn’t even make the rule. But the airline should never sell every single premium seat if they know they might need one. That’s just asking for trouble like this, and you never know when one incident will go viral.
Actually, I believe ‘the pilots’ may have made the rule. These things are typically negotiated by the pilots union, sometimes dictated by the FAA. You might question ‘why’ the pilots had to red-eye back on that particular flight? Could they have taken a later flight, or was this just a ‘convenient’ one for pending days off following? Not everything is obvious on face value.
The pilots union on their behalf got the contract changes. So while they personally could have said no we don’t want guaranteed First Class seats on oceanic flights, I would expect that they like the perk.
This is why I stopped flying American years ago. Once burned, twice shy. Hawaii flights are expensive enough without playing seat roulette at the boarding gate.
That’s the equivalent of a revolving door.
Airline A bad behavior, switch to Airline B, airline B bad behavior, switch to Airline C, airline C bad behavior, it’s now been long enough that airline A’s bad behavior has faded in memory, back to Airline A. Repeat …
Unfortunately with all of the airline consolidations, you just don’t have much choice anymore.
We fly first class to Hawaii because my husband has a bad back and can’t sit upright for six hours safely. If they moved us at the gate like that I would absolutely lose it. This isn’t about champagne and food, it’s about needed comfort we paid for.
Unfortunately loosing it won’t change anything except shaving some years off of your life.
Airline staff have very thick skin, they literally just don’t care. They’ve been yelled at and beaten down so much over time that it just literally doesn’t affect them anymore.