[blindkid] Missed Flight and Preboarding Pass

Steve Jacobson steve.jacobson at visi.com
Mon Jun 15 18:18:49 UTC 2009


I could be wrong, but I am wondering if there might be some confusion in terminology?  Is the reference to "Preboarding Pass," meant to describe the pass one must 
get to board the plane that everyone must have?  I don't know of any special document for preboarding, and I wanted to be sure I understood.  I am also not aware 
of any specific preboarding time, and I am guessing that what is meant is the time when boarding begins.  Some responses here may have been made thinking that 
the whole discussion surrounded "preboarding" which is a term usually reserved for boarding the aircraft ahead of everyone else.  Some of us have had to struggle 
as blind passengers not to be forced to board ahead of time rather than simply boarding with the rest of the passengers.  Persons with additional disabilities or who 
have not received travel training may choose to preboard but most of us do not find preboarding necessary.  

Am I also correct in assuming that "preboarding area" is simply meant to refer to the seating area near the gate or door that one goes through when boarding the 
plane?  There have been cases where blind and other disabled people were required to sit in a separate room while awaiting to board the plane to receive any help.  
It does not sound to me as though this was the situation, but again, I want to be sure we understand exactly what happened and to make sure that people who are 
not familiar with some of this history understand why some responses may have seemed sharp.  

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:46:53 -0400, dhammelia at aol.com wrote:

>Flying Southwest is a little different as well.? They are often called the cattle car airline.? They try for very quick turn arounds so you have to be in the boarding 
area at the right time.? While other airlines take about 1 hour from the arrival of the plane to taking off again Southwest tries to keep it under 30 min.? 

>Dave Hammel


>-----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: Mon, Jun 15, 2009 5:55 am
>Subject: Re: [blindkid] Missed Flight



>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 b
>enefit 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 t
>ravel 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 t
>o 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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