Update from man shifted to economy after winning business seat on Qantas flight

A man who was booted from his Qantas business class seat moments before takeoff has revealed the inspiring reason he chose not to make a fuss.

A tech salesman who was praised for his classy reaction to being booted from his Qantas business seat to economy has revealed it was his spirtituality and positive attitude to life which left him able to respond in such a calm manner.

Melbourne man Jameel Rehman was on a flight from Sydney to Honolulu with his mum when, shortly before takeoff, he had to move because his seat was broken.

It was the first time either of them had travelled business class.

He documented the change in a now-viral TikTok where he has since revealed the deeper reason behind why he was unperturbed by the change.

“We come from nothing,” he explained.

“I’m not a fancy rich guy or anything like that. I come from a migrant family, my mum worked hard just like my dad.”

Mr Rehman said the purpose of the trip, which he won as a reward for being in Cisco’s top 1 per cent of sales, was to spoil his mother and show her all that he had achieved.
“I don’t need to be in business class to enjoy that,” he added.

Jameel Rehman has revealed the truth. Picture: TikTok/jameeljrehman

He credited his spiritual journey. Picture: TikTok/jameeljrehman

In a follow-up video, Mr Rehman detailed an “epiphany” he had almost exactly four years earlier that allowed him to be “indifferent” about the unexpected change.

“I had an epiphany on November 30, 2019. I had just broken up with a long term partner of 10 years and I had this burgeoning feeling that I wasn’t doing the real sh** that I needed to do in my life. I was 29 at the time,” explained.

“The epiphany was ‘hey man, you’ve made so many excuses in your life and you are so sick of yourself and who you were and how much pain you’re in. It’s up to you now to get after what you want in life’.”

Mr Rehman revealed he underwent a complete “physical, mental and spiritual transformation” throughout the past four years, which included hiring a fitness coach and therapist.

He described how be “rebuilt” himself from “a background of trauma, anxiety and depression” and now had a “life and perspective of abundance that has culminated in me having incredible level ups”.

He lost weight and hired a therapist to help him throughout the past four years. Picture: TikTok/jameeljrehman

He detailed at length the journey of growth he had to achieve his success.

“Over the last 12 months, other than the top 1 per cent thing, I won three global top sales prizes,” he revealed.

The accolades, according to Mr Rehman, were no accident.

“I have this deep spiritual belief in connection to a higher power to God... I was raised Muslim, but would describe myself Muslim by name only,” he explained.

“I’ve gone deeper myself with every self optimisation tool and biohack possible, and basically re-engineered myself at a physical, mental and spiritual level.”

He felt his spirituality had given him the tools to succeed and he was being rewarded for his hard work.

He said the biggest component of his success had been giving back. Picture: TikTok/jameeljrehman

“My life is f***ing amazing, I’m not saying that to brag, but I’m so grateful for everything that’s happened in my life,” he said.

Helping others, he felt, was a key reason he was reaping rewards.

“People understand the energy, the vibe. They sense that I’m not there with an agenda. I just pull all the tools I’ve got in my ecosystem around me to serve others,” he said.

“Material goods like a business class flight, they don’t matter. Because I’m on this pathway to doing something great. I’m here with my mum, I’m being celebrated for being the best at what I do, and then eventually I’m going to be of service to the next generation.

“It’s that energy that made me indifferent about this business class stuff man, it’s not a big deal. Greater things keep coming.”