A woman stranded at Doha Airport with a standby ticket experienced an extraordinary turn of fortune when she ran into Qatar Airways’ CEO.
The American traveller, unable to secure a seat in the United States due to full flights, encountered Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer, who, after learning of her plight, directed her to the business lounge and promised to resolve the issue.
Her brother, Paul-Bernard Jaroslawsk, recounted on X (formerly Twitter) how she was initially unable to board flights to Chicago or Washington D.C. due to weight restrictions despite available seats.
The anxious and sleep-deprived traveller, who had flown in from Bangkok, was caught in a moment of distress beneath the departure screens. Then, the CEO approached, inquired about her situation, and offered unexpected help. Following their conversation, she was surprisingly upgraded to a business-class seat in New York City.
According to Jaroslawsk, a Qatar Airways employee later remarked on the rarity of the CEO’s presence in the terminal and the incredible luck his sister had encountered. This remarkable encounter led to viral attention online, garnering over 67,000 views and numerous comments, as netizens shared their astonishment and similar experiences.