[nabs-l] Air travel an advise required

[Arielle Silverman]

I have flown on United Airlines several times and boarded alone. There
was never any problem. I agree with others about not calling in
advance; just arrive and either find your gate on your own or request
assistance depending on your preference. I think the customer rep you
spoke with just misunderstood, but if you need to cite any laws then
cite the Federal Air Carrier Access Act. Among other things, it says
that blind passengers have the right to accept or decline assistance
and to fly unaccompanied. Good luck!
Arielle

On 7/15/14, Mikayla Gephart via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> I would just board alone anywaya
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
>> On Jul 15, 2014, at 11:44 AM, Lucy Sirianni via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Siddhi,
>>
>>     I'm sorry you were given such ridiculously prejudiced information! You
>> should certainly be able to board a plane on your own and take advantage
>> of the airline's offered assistance only if and when it is truly helpful.
>> Having flown a fair amount, I find that the best thing to do is generally
>> not to request assistance in advance, even if I think I may need some;
>> I've never had a problem getting directions and/or a sighted guide once I
>> show up at the airport, and I've noticed that once you're officially "in
>> the system", employees do tend to be a bit more intrusive about the help
>> they expect you to accept.  It seems to me that the training airport
>> employees receive about how to interact with travelers who are blind is
>> pretty inconsistent; some are polite and reasonable, others refuse to
>> believe that a blind person could possibly walk through the airport
>> without a wheelchair, let alone without a sighted guide.  I hope this
>> inconsistency is something that will change someday, but in the meantime,
>> just be firm in letting airport employees know what you do and don't need,
>> and remember that you can always ask to speak to a  supervisor if you feel
>> you're not being heard or respected.
>>
>> Enjoy your travels!
>>
>> Lucy
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: siddhi desai via nabs-l <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
>> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
>> Date sent: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 15:40:57 +0700
>> Subject: [nabs-l] Air travel an advise required
>>
>> Dear All,
>> Hope you all are doing well.
>>
>> Actually, I am planning to travel in USA and facing some issues.
>>
>> I have flight at Chicago airport operated by EXPRESSJET        AIRLINES
>> DBA
>> UNITED EXPR owned by united airlines.  I am in conversation with their
>> customer care executive.  They have informed me that On US domestic
>> airport they do not allow individual  visually impaired to board
>> alone.  Is this an universal law or airline specific laws are
>> implemented? Or is there any provision of USA government to tackle
>> this issue? Is there any one travelled from this airline and had
>> assistance on board?
>>
>> Sincerely
>> Siddhi
>>
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