Traveller praised for classy act after being booted from business class seat

A traveller was enjoying his first business-class flight when the unthinkable happened.

An Aussie traveller has been commended online for his classy response to a tricky situation.

As a reward for his tech sales achievements, Jameel Rehman and his mother were flown business class with Qantas from Sydney to Honolulu.

However, just 10 minutes after he had taken his seat and made himself comfortable on his first business-class flight, Rehman was given some bad news.

In a clip posted online, he can be seen living it up before the unthinkable happens: “So I have just been informed that I have to leave this business class seat because it is (broken).”

He politely packs up his things, acknowledging the “very apologetic [and] very helpful” cabin crew.

Instead of causing a fuss, he made his way to economy, dressed in his business-class pyjamas.

An Aussie traveller and his mother were enjoying his first business-class flight when the unthinkable happened just 10 minutes into the 10-hour journey. Photo / TikTok

A baby could be heard screaming as he walked between classes, but Rehman appeared unconcerned.

“How the mighty have fallen,” he says cheekily as he takes his economy seat. “What do you do?

“No hate to Qantas, I see it as synchronicity more than anything – a gentle lesson in ego perhaps?”

Business class seats on Qantas. Photo / Grant Bradley

He told his followers that he understood why he could not fly in his broken chair.

Plenty of people flooded the comments section with praise for the TikToker and the way he handled the incident.

“How you handled the situation is a reflection of why you got the top 1 per cent sales award,” one wrote.

“Absolute genuine class act,” another exclaimed.

Another added: “I don’t know if I could be the same. You are pretty inspirational how you acted throughout this ordeal.”

Eventually, things started working out in Rehman’s favour. He later posted a picture of him and his mum in business class on the way home.

“It’s a happy ending, folks – thanks for all the kind words,” he said. He went on to reveal that he was compensated after the incident.

He said his employer was paid back and Qantas gave him an A$500 (NZ$535) voucher.