After facing disappointment due to the unavailability of flight tickets, a woman stuck at Doha Airport with a standby ticket to the United States had a blessing in disguise. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), an American entrepreneur shared an incredible experience of his younger sister, who couldn't get a single seat to travel from Doha to the US but luckily landed a business class ticket. In his post, Paul-Bernard Jaroslawsk said his sister was flying from Doha to Chicago on a standby ticket, which only allows a passenger to board the flight if seats are still available after all confirmed passengers have boarded.
"My little sister flys standby around the world for dirt cheap cause our father worked at Eva Air Cargo for 20+ years," Mr Jaroslawsk said. He added that even though there were seats available on flights to Chicago and Washington DC, his sister could not get on them due to weight management issues.
1/ Crazy story my sister had traveling today. My little sister flys standby around the world for dirt cheap cause our father worked at Eva Air Cargo for 20+ years. Today she was in Doha, Qatar stuck at the airport. There were seats open on the flight from Doha to Chicago, but …
— Tall Paul (@pbjcaviar) June 19, 2024
"At this point, she's getting really anxious, nervous, and worried. She hadn't slept all night b/c she was flying from Bangkok to Doha. She had no idea what to do and so she stood sad under the departure screens wondering what flight she might be able to get on," Mr Jaroslawsk continued.
At this moment, something unexpected happened. A man approached her and asked her why she was so sad. "My sister told him everything about the situation and he told her 'go to the business lounge and everything will be okay.'" Mr Jaroslawsk wrote.
What Mr Jaroslawsk's sister didn't realise was that the person to whom she spoke was none other than the CEO of Qatar Airways, Badr Mohammed Al Meer. And the brief conversation worked magic for Mr Jaroslawski's sister, who soon got a business class ticket to New York City.
6/ CEO of Qatar Airways Badr Mohammed Al Meer and he hooked her up with a business class seat to JFK. An employee at Qatar gave my sister her ticket and told her she is very lucky b/c he rarely walks around the airport like that.
— Tall Paul (@pbjcaviar) June 19, 2024
As Mr Jaroslawsk's sister boarded the flight, a Qatar Airways employee then told her she was "very lucky" because the CEO rarely walked around the airport as he was walking that day. "Incredible the power some people hold in this world. With a snap of a finger everything went from sour to super sweet," Mr Jaroslawski concluded.
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The American entrepreneur shared the post a few days back. Since then it has accumulated more than 67,000 views and several comments. While some marvelled at the woman's fortune, others shared their own experience with Qatar Airways.
"Great story. Inspiring!" wrote one user. "Qatar Airways' employees has the best gesture throughout. From Counter line attendant to flight attendant. I had first-hand experience of it," shared another.
"My son, who was born blind, is starting to video his independent travels internationally out of America to show other blind travellers that it is possible. He also explains the culture of the different Countries. He loved India & Doha. He said Qatar Airlines was the best Airline!" commented a third. "Awesome story, I love that," added another.