Qantas makes 78-year-old man to give up his business class seat for off-duty pilot

Stephen Jones, 78, had a sudden change in plans as he was getting ready to board a Qantas Airways trip from Melbourne to Adelaide.

when he heard his name being called out over the intercom. Then, he learned that he had been “bumped” by a Qantas Airways employee. Jones told the radio station, “At first, it didn’t register.” “I wasn’t entirely sure what ‘bumped’ meant. I’ll have to reissue your ticket for economy class, she replied.

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The employee then informed Jones that since flying business class was a requirement of his contract, an off-duty Qantas pilot would take his place, the 78-year-old claimed. Jones was “bumped” from first class, Qantas Airways acknowledged in a statement that it shared with the radio station. He was reportedly moved to economy because there were no business-class seats available.

In response to that Qantas said that it had expressed regret to the customer and given a detailed explanation of why the downgrade was necessary. Customers receive a partial reimbursement in this case, the company says.

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Jones said that as part of his settlement, he had been given the option of 5,000 frequent flier miles. Although he acknowledged that pilots are “entitled to rest and comfort” while travelling to their next flight, he said that the situation was “unsettling and made me a little irritable.”

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