Perhaps time was too tight in this case, but aren't downgrades (or being bumped off the flight in the case of Y pax) usually accomplished by finding volunteers prepared to fly in a lower class or on the following flight in exchange for a suitable number of $$$s.
On the rare occasions when I've seen this happen, it hasn't been difficult to find such volunteers. I appreciate that this isn't what rmac was looking for - but it could have removed the irritation of the two other customers.