- Stephen Jones, 78, reveals his experience of being downgraded from business class on a Qantas flight.
- An off-duty pilot took his seat instead, as explained by Jones in an interview with Australian radio station 3AW.
- Qantas apologized to Jones and offered him frequent-flyer miles and a partial refund.
A man called Stephen Jones, 78, recently shared that Qantas Airways demoted him from business class when an off-duty pilot requested his seat, according to an interview with the Australian radio station 3AW.
In a published interview on September 5, Jones divulged that he and his wife were waiting at a business-class lounge at the Melbourne airport in Australia. Approximately 30 minutes before their flight to Adelaide, an employee informed him that he had been “bumped.”
Jones stated, “At first, I didn’t comprehend what ‘bumped’ meant. She went on to say, ‘I’ll need to reissue your ticket for economy class.'”
According to Jones, the employee explained that an off-duty Qantas pilot needed his seat as flying business-class was part of their contract. Qantas confirmed to Insider on September 6 that Jones was downgraded due to the unavailability of business-class seats.
The airline’s statement clarified, “As per their enterprise agreement, pilots flying to another city to operate flights should be provided a seat in Business.” The statement expressed regret for the negative experience, and they contacted Jones to apologize and provide an explanation. The airline offered him a partial refund, flight credit, and frequent flyer points.
Jones confirmed during the radio interview that he received 5,000 frequent-flyer miles as part of the compensation. While he acknowledged the pilots’ entitlement to rest and comfort on their way to their next flight, the incident left him feeling “unsettled and slightly irritated,” as reported by 3AW.
Qantas
Justin Lawrence, a partner at Henderson Ball Lawyers, later explained to 3AW that getting downgraded is not uncommon.
“Unfortunately, their terms of carriage allow them to do this sort of thing,” Lawrence commented. “This happens so often that they even have a term for it — brace yourselves — they call it ‘involuntary downgrading.’
This incident adds to the recent scrutiny faced by Qantas. As previously reported by Insider, the airline received backlash for selling tickets to flights that had already been canceled. On August 31, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced its intention to take the airline to court and seek “hundreds of millions of dollars” in fines.
Following the announcement of the lawsuit, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce announced his resignation.
