Girl Scores Business Class Upgrade After Encounter With Qatar Airways CEO In Doha Airport

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A 20-year old student was upgraded to business class for free after a chance encounter with the CEO of Qatar Airways in a Doha coffee shop. There’s a bit more to the story, though.

Girl Goes From Stranded In Doha To Qsuite Business Class After Qatar Airways CEO Notices She Is Crying…

Julia Jaroslawski is a 20-year-old student blessed to fly the world on a standby basis. It seems her parents or someone close works for an airline and therefore she gets to fly the world on a standby basis too…which has its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages are clear: for a fraction of the cost of a revenue ticket, she can list herself on a number of carriers and if there are seats left, she will get one of them. Some carriers even let pass riders fly in premium cabins. It’s a lovely deal when there are seats.

But there are disadvantages as well. When flights are full, particularly during the summer months, you can get stranded…for days. Even when already seated onboard you might be booted off if a defect is found on another seat or a last-minute customer shows up and often when you do clear you end up with the worst seat on the plane…a middle seat in the last row next to the lavatory.

Even so, for those with some flexibility, it’s a huge fringe benefit of working in the airline industry and a tool to explore the world far cheaper than most of us can.

Jaroslawski was in Bangkok trying to get home to Chicago. She listed herself on Qatar Airways and successfully flew to Doha. But in Doha, her flight “home” to Chicago went out without her (suggesting one of her parents might work for United, which is based in Chicago?). In this case, there were even open seats, but the flight was weight-restricted so she was turned away at the gate.

The gate agent also mentioned that the two remaining flights of the day…one to Washington Dulles, one to New York Kennedy, did not look promising.

Jaroslawski began to cry and retreated to Ralph’s Coffee shop. As she sobbed over her predicament, a man leaned over and asked her was the problem was. She explained her predicament and he told her not to worry, got her name, made a phone call, and moments later she was confirmed to New York…in business class.

She was even invited to use the beautiful Al Mourjan Lounge (begging the question why the CEO of Qatar Airways would be having coffee at Ralph’s instead of one of his lounges, all of which offer excellent coffee).

Jaroslawski had a lovely flight on QR705 in business class though she arrived late in New York (10:30 pm) and had to “spend the night in the airport” before connecting to Chicago the following morning.

A once-in-a-lifetime story to be sure!

@julia.jaro

im so grateful and still cant believe this happened there are really good people out there and prayer really works #businessclass #standby #travel #storytime #qatarairways @Qatar Airways #christian #catholic

♬ original sound – julia teresa

The Employee Standby Element

Jaroslawski’s story has been covered all over the press, but I have not seen a single mention of her status as a pass rider…people have been misled into thinking she was booted off the Doha – Chicago flight due to the weight restriction.

No, she was never confirmed on the Chicago flight in the first place.

Sorry if I sound cruel, but her claim that she “had a full-on mental breakdown” suggests to me she may be better off not pass riding. Pass riders know the rules…you are entitled to nothing. You show up, you hope for a seat, and if you don’t get it you wait for the next opportunity. It’s not for the faint-hearted…

Crying, begging, demanding, or making any sort of scene is not just uncool, but it can get your pass privileges revoked (and those of the sponsor too).

So while it stinks to be stranded, that’s the nature of the game and the bargain you make when you choose a standby ticket for 90% off retail…

She claims it was prayer and her rosary beads that led to the coffee shop encounter, but I’d say it was more likely her pretty face and the beads…or rocks…of the CEO (of course, had it been me, I would have hoped to run into Al Akbar instead…). Hey, no judgment there…it’s a beautiful thing to be young and attractive.

CONCLUSION

Jaroslawski went from stranded to the lap of luxury, flying Qatar Airways’ flagship product on one of its flagship routes. It’s a feel-good story and I’m happy for her that she had this encounter.

At the same time, she’s not a great representative of pass riders and the idea that “there are really good people out there and prayer really works” is probably not the best explanation for why she landed a business class seat…

image: Tiktok/@julia.jaro