An American university student named Alan Joyce has been wrongfully targeted on Twitter as people all over the world react angrily at Qantas's decision to ground its entire fleet.

Channel Ten's political reporter Hugh Riminton was among those who had the wrong guy.

"If you're so proud of taking the 'hard decision' how about making one about your pay @alanjoyce?" he tweeted.

But the younger Alan Joyce set the record straight with some cheeky tweets.

"I'm no more CEO of Qantas than @willsmith is a famous movie actor," the student from California's Stanford University tweeted.

"I'm glad to see someone appreciating my impeccable American accent, but I'm guessing you're looking for a different Alan Joyce."

When the news was revealed, the tweeters had sympathy.

"Maybe @alanjoyce, ComSci student from California should get a free trip to The Ashes for the unexpected bollocking he's getting," Carline Wardrop tweeted.

"After feeling sorry for @theashes last year I managed to help [her] get a flight to Australia. Sadly for @alanjoyce there's no flights just now," tweeted Marcus Westbury.

Last year Qantas offered an American woman with the username @theashes a free trip to Australia after she was bombarded with updates about the cricket series.

Alan Joyce, CEO of Qantas, does not appear to have his own Twitter account but the airline is urging passengers to follow @QantasAirways for updates on the grounding of its fleet.

AAP