[blindkid] Missed Flight

[Mike Freeman]

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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