[blindkid] Missed Flight
Mike Freeman
k7uij at panix.com
Sat Jun 13 21:14:51 UTC 2009
I never get pre-board passes but ask the passengers around me to alert
me when boarding for my flight begins.
That said, I have only had the problem of a missed flight due to airline
negligence once and that was over thirty-five years ago when I had a
paid-for seat on a flight and airline personnel kept me from boarding
until standby passengers were on and by the time that was over, the
doors had closed and the flight was leaving. I got the reprobate who
kept me from boarding fired.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kim Cunningham" <kim at gulfimagesphoto.com>
To: "Blindkid" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009 12:33 PM
Subject: [blindkid] Missed Flight
I am so mad right now! My daughter and another blind friend left Houston
this morning heading to Colorado Center for the Blind in Denver. They
are both attending the Earn and Learn Program for eight weeks. My
daughter's flight was booked by our local DARS agency and since they
booked a couple of days before they were to leave, they were unable to
get a direct flight. The girls were to change planes in Dallas. My
daughter was very confident in her abilities to get to the right gate
and make the connection. She has flown several times by herself and had
no worries. So, the girls got off the plane in Dallas and were met by
airport personnel. My daughter informed him that she didn't need the
cart and would find the gate if he could point her in the right
direction. Apparently, one of the passengers offered to show them to
their gate and my daughter allowed. My daughter told me that she walked
in front of the passenger and found the gate on her own and was
feeling very proud of herself. The passenger left the girls at the gate
and the girls then proceeded to get a pre-board pass. There were no
seats in the pre-boarding area, so the girls sat in a row of seats next
to this area. After waiting to hear boarding information, my daughter
went to the desk and was told that they missed their flight! Appparently
the speakers were not working in this area and no one from the airlines
came to tell them of the flights departure. Does this happen to blind
people often? Should there have been something else that my daughter
should have said or done while at the check-in desk? I spoke to the
supervisor and she was so rude to me! I asked her how can someone check
in for a pre-board pass and then no one ever make sure that the
passenger knows when the flight is boarding (especially if the passenger
has a white cane and the airlines already know the speaker doesn't
work)? This lady said - "Well, we don't know IF the
girls were in the pre-board area (insinuating they left the gate) and
we didn't even know they were there (although the girls had pre-board
passes). Since I was upset, I expressed my dismay about not being able
to trust the airline upon which the supervisor told me the only way to
make sure that your children are safe is to fly with them! This
statement made me feel as though she was saying I wasn't a good mother.
I really expected to here her apologize as soon as she got on the phone,
but instead, she didn't want to assume any of the blame for the
situation. I plan to file a complaint on Monday with their customer
service department, but I need to understand whether the airlines have
any requirements to make sure that blind people of properly notified of
flight status. Southwest Airlines knew that the speaker wasn't working,
but did not tell the girls. Now I'm sitting at home in Houston worrying
about if the girls will make their next flight (4-1/2
hours later). Both of the girls are in good moods and reading braille
books and listening to their Victor Stream at the moment. The people at
CCB are going to have to go out of their way to pick up the girls at a
much later time also. Y'all tell me - Am I being an over-protective
mother or do I have a right to be upset with the way Southwest Airlines
deals with blind passengers?
One pee-o'd Mom,
Kim Cunningham
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