[nabs-l] Flying with a Cane

Fri Sep 16 22:19:04 UTC 2011

Hi Arielle,

Thank you for the information! I'll take that advice with me next 
time I travel.

 Chris Nusbaum

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The 
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that 
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and 
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical 
nuisance." -- Kenneth Jernigan (President of the National 
Federation of the Blind, 1968-1986.)

  Visit the I C.A.N.  Foundation online at: 
www.icanfoundation.info for
information on our foundation and how it helps blind and visually
impaired children in MD say "I can!"

Sent from my BrailleNote

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 18:15:20 -0600
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Flying with a Cane

Hi Chris and all,
Many blind people, including myself, can identify luggage by 
simply
standing right next to the baggage carousel and touching bags as 
they
go by.  The bags move slowly enough that you can spend a few 
seconds
tactually inspecting each one and pulling up the one that's 
yours.  It
is helpful to put an identifying tag or ribbon on any checked 
luggage
that both feels and looks distinctive so a sighted person can 
keep a
lookout for it if you don't find it immediately by touch.  
Oftentimes
other passengers waiting for their own bags will offer to let you 
know
when your bag is approaching if they see it.  Finding one's bags
independently often goes a lot faster than waiting for airport 
staff
to help you, since there are usually not many skycaps in the 
baggage
area.
As for international travel, the only time I flew by myself in 
another
country was in Australia and New Zealand and they all spoke 
English.
I'd be curious to know how others handled airport travel in 
countries
where they didn't speak the language.  I think in situations like 
what
Greg described, if assistance is offered I would definitely 
accept it.
The issue is that I imagine in some places assistance isn't 
readily
available, and in those cases it'd be hard to know how to 
navigate
without being able to ask questions of passers-by in their native
language.
I don't think there's anything wrong with using assistance if it 
is
offered, if that is what you prefer.  I just want to present 
other
options that will work if assistance is not available in a timely
manner, or if you simply feel like venturing on your own and not 
being
tied to another person.  Most of the reason I don't use 
assistance is
simply because I am not very patient when I travel and I usually 
don't
feel like standing in one spot waiting for an escort.  I'd rather 
just
go on ahead.  This is especially true when I get to my 
destination and
just want to get out of the airport and see people I am visiting, 
etc.
The other thing is that I prefer not to pre-board or to go 
through the
special "handicapped" or "medical" lines for check-in and 
security.  In
fact, this is often what I end up fighting about most with 
airport
officials.  I know this is a contentious topic, but I'll say I 
insist
on doing things the regular way for two reasons.  First, the 
special
lines and preboarding simply aren't necessary for blind travelers 
who
have no other disabilities.  I don't want to crowd those lines 
for
people who actually need them.  The second reason is that I find 
I need
less assistance if I use the regular lines and board with 
everyone
else than I would if I used the special disability lines and
pre-boarded.  If I use the regular lines, I can follow other 
passengers
around the mazes, but if I use the "special" lines, there are 
less
people to follow and I have to rely on more verbal directions.
Similarly, if I board with everyone else I have no trouble 
getting
down the jetway independently because I can simply follow 
everyone
else, but if I am one of the first people to board because I
pre-board, I might have to rely more on a guide (although by now 
I've
flown enough that I've memorized most jetway layouts anyway).  So 
I
find those special accommodations actually make it harder for me 
to
travel effectively.
Arielle

On 9/14/11, Chris Nusbaum <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com> wrote:
 Hi Arielle,

 Thanks for the information! This is great! I have a question on
 this for anybody who flies independently: how do you
 retrieve the right luggage from the carousel? In other words, 
how
 do you know which luggage is yours? Thanks!

 Chris
  Chris Nusbaum

 "The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The
 real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
 exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and
 opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
 nuisance." -- Kenneth Jernigan (President of the National
 Federation of the Blind, 1968-1986.)

   Visit the I C.A.N.  Foundation online at:
 www.icanfoundation.info for
 information on our foundation and how it helps blind and 
visually
 impaired children in MD say "I can!"

 Sent from my BrailleNote

  ----- Original Message -----
 From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
 To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
 <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
 Date sent: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:51:03 -0600
 Subject: [nabs-l] Flying with a Cane

 Hi all,
 Since I travel to visit family a lot, and attend NFB and
 psychology
 meetings on a regular basis, I have become a very frequent 
flyer.
 Over
 the past two years I flew, on average, once a month and almost
 all
 those flights were solo.  I have been flying alone for several
 years
 and have never had any serious problems with airline officials
 beyond
 the nuisance of being asked repeatedly if I need assistance.
 Although
 independent air travel used to be rough, I do believe that 
things
 have
 gotten much better with the passage of the 1986 Air Carrier
 Access
 Act.
 In security I do place my cane on the X-ray belt along with my
 luggage, shoes and laptop.  A security official guides me by
 voice,
 hand or both so I can get through the detector without bumping
 into
 it.  I then retrieve my cane on the other side with my 
belongings
 and
 don't think much of it.  The distance I have to walk without my
 cane is
 very minimal.
 Like others have said I will insist on keeping my cane during 
the
 flight, however, for the simple reason that should I need to
 evacuate
 the plane, I need to have my cane with me and I will not have
 time to
 try to find it in the overhead bin.  If I am traveling with a
 folding
 cane I will fold it up and stash it under the seat in front of
 me.  If
 I am using a straight cane I lay it on the floor between the
 window
 seat and the window, running parallel to the window.  If I don't
 have a
 window seat and someone is already seated there when I board, I
 simply
 ask this passenger to do this for me.  This has never caused any
 problems.  It's important to remember that no matter what a
 flight
 attendant might tell you, you have a legal right to place your
 cane
 next to the window.  You also have a legal right to refuse any
 assistance offered to you at the airport, including escorts,
 wheelchairs, and pre-boarding.  I think there was only one time
 when I
 actually had to remind an airport official about this
 I have navigated airports throughout the country without an
 official
 escort and have done so for the past five years with only one
 exception (when I was flying back from Australia and had limited
 time
 to make a connection).  Bear in mind, I am not a stellar
 traveler, and
 I started navigating airports on my own before I had good travel
 training.  The interior of an airport is a safe place to travel
 independently even if you have little travel experience because
 there
 are so many people from whom to gather information.  I have
 posted
 before on this list about techniques I use in the airport and 
I'd
 be
 happy to correspond with anyone privately if you want to know
 more
 detail about how I do it or have specific questions.
 Best,
 Arielle

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