[Blindtlk] Thought you all might find this interesting - AirTran fined $500K for disability violations

[cheryl echevarria]

Please also remember you can find daily updates on my wordpress.com account 
http://www.echevarriatravel.wordpress.com  This is why to report issues to 
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flights, and you know that they are violating your rights.


>From Travel Weeklyn
By: Michael Fabey
August 30, 2010
The Transportation Department today assessed a civil penalty of about 
$500,000 against AirTran for failing to meet DOT requirements for providing 
proper boarding assistance for disabled passengers and other violations of 
federal disability regulations, the agency said.

In addition to the boarding assistance violations, AirTran also frequently 
did not provide an adequate written response to complaints from passengers 
and failed to properly categorize disability complaints in reports filed 
with the DOT, the agency said.

To reduce the civil penalty, the DOT said, AirTran may use up to $200,000 to 
improve its service to disabled passengers beyond what is required by law. 
Up to $60,000 may be used to establish a council to help the carrier comply 
with federal disability rules and hire a manager for disability 
accommodations. Additionally, up to $140,000 may be used to develop an 
automated system to track AirTran's wheelchair assistance performance at its 
major hub airports.

AirTran spokesman Christopher White said the airline has begun implementing 
those initiatives and others to better serve passengers with special needs.

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