[blindkid] Missed Flight

Kim Cunningham kim at gulfimagesphoto.com
Mon Jun 15 10:55:08 UTC 2009


Thank you Peter! The girls are 17 and 15 yrs. old. While my daughter has traveled a couple of times on her own, her 15 yr. old blind friend had never traveled without her parents before. My daughter was so eager to show that she could do this transfer on her own, that she left out some important steps, such as: asking what time they would be preboarding, where they should stand if seats weren't available in the preboard area, and keeping a close eye on the time. Valuable lesson learned, and I bet she doesn't do it again! My daughter checked in on her own and did everything that we had worked on with O&M in the past. The only real issue came with understanding what obtaining a preboard pass means. Since she has obtained the pass before and was told by airport personnel when they were ready to board the plane, she "assumed" that this would happen once again. I know that she (and I) will learn and grow from this experience. 
Regards,
Kim Cunningham

--- On Sun, 6/14/09, Peter Donahue <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:


From: Peter Donahue <pdonahue1 at sbcglobal.net>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Missed Flight
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 3:17 PM


Hello Kim and listers,

    Give me a charter flight or open seating any day. When the girls travel 
by bus or train the assumption is that they'll find a seat on their own and 
make themselves comfortable for the trip. Why should airtravel be different?

    It's also the passenger's responsibility to let the transportation 
provider know what kind of assistance is needed and what isn't. The girls 
may not have needed the cart but desired to preboard. Hence the airline 
should not be held responsible if a cart is not provided as it was not 
requested by the passenger.

    One more question comes to mind. How old are these girls? If they're 
very young children you should make their travel arrangements as a parent. 
Assuming the girls are middle school age or teenagers does it benefit them 
more if you continue to make their travel plans or wouldn't it be better if 
you insisted that they make their own arrangements and you as their mother 
be there to guide them and make any payments for them thus promoting their 
independence and sense of responsibility early on?They'll receive this 
training at the CCB. This is something to consider the next time they wish 
to travel somewhere. All the best for a great week.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kim Cunningham" <kim at gulfimagesphoto.com>
To: " (for parents of blind children)NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 7:36 AM
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Missed Flight


Thank you all for your feedback on this situation. I knew that I could count 
on my NFB friends to put this into perspective. Of course, I much more 
relaxed now knowing the girls are safe and sound at CCB this morning and can 
reflect a little clearer. I am a little confused though about a couple of 
things concerning the difference between transportation to the gate on the 
cart and a pre-board pass. My daughter doesn't want or need cart 
transportation. With this said, if a blind person refuses cart service, then 
is the airline free of the responsibility for making sure that the person 
gets on the flight? Does the passenger then take their travel into their own 
hands? That makes sense, but then if the person gets a pre-board pass, is 
the airline also has free from responsibility for this scenario also? When 
my husband and I were at the airport yesterday, we heard a passenger's name 
being called over the intercom, and was told that his flight was
about to depart. Why was this gentleman given the courtesy? Plus, with all 
the tight security at aiports, how can a person check in at the ticket 
counter, then check in at the gate counter, and then disappear on their 
roster of people to board the plane? Wouldn't some kind of flags show up for 
any passenger?
I realize that we need to work more on independent airline travel and we 
will put our heads together to figure out how to not let this happen again. 
Some airlines are going to be easier than others. With assigned seats, 
Kayleigh should find this much easier than flying on airlines such as 
Southwest that corrals the people around numbered areas. This will be a very 
difficult task for her to locate an area within crowds of people. I would 
love to hear how everyone handles this type of arrangement. You all are 
right that I should calm down and use this as a learning experience. 
Kayleigh will be traveling more this summer - flying to Detroit and also 
Baltimore. She will be with the CCB group and should be able to get expert 
advice from them.
Thank you all again for your advice.
Kim Cunningham

--- On Sun, 6/14/09, Melissa Green <graduate56 at juno.com> wrote:


From: Melissa Green <graduate56 at juno.com>
Subject: Re: [blindkid] Missed Flight
To: "NFBnet Blind Kid Mailing List, (for parents of blind children)" 
<blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009, 12:14 AM


I missed a flight because of the airline. I was at the wrong gate. There 
wasn't anyone around to help me find the right one. So when I did find it. 
The plane was heading down the runway. All I got was a voucher for some 
food. It sounds like the girls did what they could. I live in colorado. So I 
know that the center will take care of them and won't mind having to pick 
them up later. I do think that the supervisor was rude though. You should 
complain about that fact.
Melissa Green
Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our 
possibilities become limitless
----- Original Message ----- From: "Kim Cunningham" 
<kim at gulfimagesphoto.com>
To: "Blindkid" <blindkid at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:33 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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