Well, there has been some misinformation in this thread! The relevant parts of FAR25 and AC25-20 require than in the event of a worst case rapid depressurisation, the cabin alt must never exceed 40,000ft and must not be above 25,000ft for more than 2 minutes. At 40,000ft on 100% O2 (not pressure breathing) the level of hypoxia is roughly that of flying unpressurised at 10,000ft without oxygen, i.e. perfectly survivable but you would not want to go much higher. The 25,000ft rule is to cover cases where pax don't get their masks on; more than two minutes above this without supplemental O2 risks permanent neurological injury.
In view of this it seems the airline concerned had poor understanding of both certification requirements and high-altitude physiology. Not good.