Re: Airline Discrimination - Again... Wheelchairs & Airplanes

[Guest guest]

Hi All

On this same subject, I have a new electric chair, that is also quite

expensive (& both due to the expense & the fact that I also would have been in

trouble in Buffalo without my chair, (until it took them " 20 years " to fix it!)

I

had no intentions of it ever leaving my site, while I flew to & from Buffalo,

for the conference. I made arrangements, 5 months ahead of time, confirmed it

over & over, with supervisors. I had names, dates, times, etc., & everything

else they asked for, in duplicate. I actually got the dimensions of the plane

doorways & the same specs for my chair & knew before I even bought the chair

that it would fit on any plane Continental flies, as I almost always fly

Continental, as Newark is it's " HUB " . And, I checked & most airlines are pretty

much the same.

I bought this chair, because it even fit in the back seat of my car! My

chair comes apart, (2) batteries, legs, seat, you name it & then folds in half

like a baby stroller. And, can easily fit in any closet, on a plane, that is

intended to hang, for example, a men's or woman's suit hanging bag.

As I feared, I was given a terrible time at the gate, on my way up to

Buffalo, UNTIL I showed the staff, that in less then 10 minutes, I could take it

apart right there & it could be put in the hanging closet & the other pieces

could

be brought on board, just like everyone else brings their suitcases on, in

the 2 empty duffel bags I had with me. It took quite a bit of persistence, but

arriving early, so you can go through it all with every Tom, Dick & Harry

first, does help. Incidentally it is a law, that when they count how many items

(handbags/computers/suitcases, etc.) ,that you're permitted to carry on a

plane, than any & all assistive devices are NOT counted towards that number of

items.

On the way back, coincidentally, Aase Marit had been planning to fly back

home with me, but due to several other things, she had to stay in Buffalo. BUT,

I must confess, that we did have a few giggles, joking between the two of us,

how we felt sorry for the people that would have to deal with both of us, IF

they gave us a hard time on that flight home!

As it turned out, it was just me, but it was nothing short of a circus.

Although I had accomplished my mission of being on the plane, with my chair, on

the way up & attempted to do the same on the way home, as has happened to ,

the plane wound up being delayed @ 15 minutes & yes, everyone knew it was

because of my wheelchair. But, I could have cared less, it was their fault &

honestly it could have been worse, as I nearly knocked a woman OUT!

Because they didn't believe that the chair would fit (but didn't tell me

until the last second), they didn't given me the 10 minutes advance notice to

start boarding & time to take the chair apart, that I asked for, 2 hours before

the flight. Consequently, I insisted that they clear out the closet, allow me

to take my chair apart & have it put in the closet. A disabled passenger has

priority for those spaces over everyone other passenger on board. (It helps to

know the rules/laws).

Even the stewardesses' & pilots removed their bags & checked them below, to

make things easier & get the plane in the air sooner, to get my chair into the

closet, it was supposed to go in to. Because, they had filled up the closet

before I was allowed to board, expecting that I would give in & let my chair be

checked & thrown down under the plane. Gosh, did they ever pick the wrong

person! And the woman I almost knocked out??? Well, she had also put her

suitcase in that closet, along with the crew & was incredibly angry & opened up

her

mouth, wider then the closet. I would say this more graphically, as she did,

but this is a public site! Just as I was about to get up & really let her

" have it " , the stewardess shut her up, by telling her that even the crew had put

their luggage below, in order to decrease the amount of time it would have

taken to move everything around & remove other passenger's luggage. And, if

they could deal with it, so could she. Normally I would have simply ignored the

garbage that was spewing from her mouth, but when she said, " It's not my fault

SHE needs a wheelchair! " I about lost it. But, I managed not to stoop to her

level & admit that the stewardess' comment helped a lot.

Another side note. It is also a law that no matter how expensive your chair

is, it is still the airline's responsibility to either repair or replace it.

I say this because I have heard people told, that there is a dollar limit.

There isn't, not for wheelchairs.

I guess the bottom line here, beside the fact that we have rights too, is to

make sure that your chair isn't wider than the mouth, that the woman on my

flight had!!!!!

Good luck all,

Luv 'Ya,