Not so long ago, I overslept and missed my first flight ever in my life. It was from DXB to a European destination. I was late, and this was totally my fault. I cannot blame it on traffic, car break down, iphone alarm glitch or whatever.

As this was the morning flight, there was a 2nd flight in the afternoon. I approached the supervisor (T3) and told her about the situation. I knew that there was a 150 EUR penalty for no-show/ changing flights.

End of story, she took great care of me, explained me that the 2nd flight was overbooked but I was on waitlist. Once the checkin closed, she called me over and confirmed my Y seat. I didn't have to pay the penalty and I was upgraded to J too.

What I want to say is that it also goes back to how you approach another human being. I knew I was wrong and I admitted it and I kindly asked whether she was able to help me.