Qatar and us
Hey Guys. I don’t work for Qatar but my wife did. There’s been a lot of negative posts about the airline, some of which is well deserved. I’m currently flying a wide body for a US carrier and I have no desire to work for a Middle Eastern carrier. I do however, have to say thank you to Qatar and it’s CEO for the way they treated my wife during her tenure at the company.
I met my wife while working in Africa. She was a flight attendant for her national airline and I was a Captain. We started dating, one thing led to another and now we’re married, happily. She decided to go to a Qatar job fair in East Africa on a day off with one of her friends. I encouraged this and they were both hired. Training wasn’t too terribly difficult and they adjusted to their environment and complied with the rules. She did well and they were both recommended for promotion to business class service. In 2016, she was rapidly losing weight, her lymph nodes were swollen and she kept getting sick, including a near fatal bout of malaria. After the way the Qatari health system treated her malaria, she decided to wait until she had a bangkok overnight to seek an evaluation there. During a BKK overnight, she went to the hospital. She didn’t leave the hospital for the next month. Her condition was critical. A tumor was pressing against her heart, it punched a hole in her lung and was hitting her spine. She was on 24 hour oxygen due to the punctured lung and she was diagnosed with stage 3+ lymphoma. We were devastated, especially since my father succumbed to lymphoma less than 6 months prior.
Qatar immediately dispatched a woman from their welfare department. This kind, humble and experienced lady acted as a liaison between the company and the hospital. Qatar arranged for her family to come to Bangkok to see her. They bought her family confirmed tickets, facilitated their visas, met them at all stops with an agent, got them transportation from the airport to the hotel, paid for their hotel and even went So far as to get the girls SIM cards.
Her situation necessitated chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Her medical bills exceeded her insured amount. The ceo of the airline personally took charge of her medical bills. Her treatment lasted over a year and she had to go back and forth between Qatar and bangkok repeatedly. Every time, the airline gave her a confirmed ticket, a staff member to assist, ground transport and a hotel. Qatar paid her base salary this entire time as well.
Once again, I want to reiterate that I do not work for Qatar, nor do I want to. I’m a US citizen and enjoy my current gig and our union. I am grateful to the company and it’s ceo. They saved my girlfriends life. She is now with me full time. With some remorse, she quit Qatar to live with me on our tropical island full time. We were married last week and grateful, healthy and humble. We are grateful to the airline, healthy because of it and humbled by this experience. Thank you again Qatar.