[nagdu] Questions about Federal regs regarding paratransit

[wcmerritt at gmail.com]

The bulkhead seats are also not very good for those of us with long
legs. I measure at around 6 feet tall or so, so those bulkheads can
sometimes be tight with my long legs. Of course, sometimes the regular
seats aren't much better, but I figure at least my dog is under the
seat in front and not taking up room along the row of the bulkhead.
And, since I fly a lot between Austin and Dallas, the flights are only
an hour. I figure that i can put up with anything for an hour. However
there was one flight I took ten years ago from Austin to Colorado
Springs that was 2 hours. I was told the plane was full and I "had to
sit at the bulkhead." I tried to argue my seating arrangement, but
each time the attendant said, "Sorry sir, the flight is full." So I
gave in. Let me tell you, sitting there for 2 hours for someone with
bad knees was definitely not comfortable. Ug. I have gotten into some
arguements with the Southwest attendants, but generally keep my seat.
I even had one tell me, "It will be more comfortable for you as well
as your dog." To which I responded with, "Oh? You mean you can move
the wall up for me? No thanks, I'll stay here. this is fine."

Wayne

On 1/24/09, Angie Matney <leadinglabbie at mpmail.net> wrote:
> Hi Marion,
>
> I was lucky; the flight attendant didn't argue with me. I believe this was
> when I was flying back from Logan Airport in Boston. There was a storm, and
> I spent quite a few hours there in the airport before the plane finally left
> at around 10:30 at
> night. In retrospect, I should have done something about that obnoxious gate
> agent. But I was just so, so happy to be getting out of there! LOL! And I
> had to move the next day, so I kind of forgot about it.
>
> Angie
>
> On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 06:39:27 -0500, Marion & Martin wrote:
>
>>Angie,
>>    I had a flight attendant tell me the same thing about being a Federal
>>regulation that I sit in the bulkhead seat. I told her that I thought I
>> knew
>>a little more about my civil rights under the Air Carrier Access Act than
>>she did! I further told her that, if she could show me the regulation in
>>writing I would be more than happy to comply but, until then, I was staying
>>
>>in the seat I was assigned. About fifteen minutes into the flight, another
>>attendant came over to apologize to me. I was very gracious with this
>> second
>>flight attendant and stated, "You aren't the one that owes me an apology."
>>Five minutes later I received an apology from the first flight attendant. I
>>
>>replied, "I accept your apology. In the future, though, don't make
>>pronouncements you know nothing about. You never know who you are talking
>>to!"
>
>>Fraternally,
>>Marion
>
>
>>----- Original Message -----
>>From: "Angie Matney" <leadinglabbie at mpmail.net>
>>To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users"
>><nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 12:48 AM
>>Subject: Re: [nagdu] Questions about Federal regs regarding paratransit
>
>
>>> Hey Chacity,
>>>
>>> Good post. While I do think that, like it or not, people *do* draw
>>> impressions about all blind people from how a single one of us behaves,
>>> this doesn't mean that we have to inconvenience ourselves in order to
>>> avoid making a fus. You stated that you
>>> had logistical reasons for wanting to stand due to the luggage. It is
>>> perfectly reasonable for you to refuse an "accommodation" that you didn't
>>>
>>> ask for and that would have inconvenienced you. This right is guaranteed
>>> us by the ADA.
>>>
>>> On one of my last flights, the gate agent informed me that he'd noticed
>>> I'd been assigned a window seat, and he'd gone ahead and "fixed" it so
>>> that I would get a bulkhead seat. I explained to him that I had reserved
>>> that particular seat ahead of
>>> time. (And let me just add here that figuring out how to do that with
>>> JAWS
>>> and the seating map on the web site was not easy! So I was especially
>>> proud of myself. /grin/) I told him that I wanted him to change my seat
>>> back to the one I had reserved.
>>> He refused. He said that regulations required I sit in the bulkhead. I
>>> said that no, they don't, and it's my business to be especially aware of
>>> this as a traveler with a disability. He wouldn't change the seating
>>> assignment, but fortunately teh flight
>>> attendant understood the situation, and I was able to take my original
>>> seat. I didn't complain about this guy. I sure do wish I had. But it
>>> would
>>> not have been appropriate for me not to tell him that he was wrong and
>>> that I didn't have to sit in the
>>> bulkhead.<mental note: print up regs next time you fly.>
>>>
>>> Again, I'm not suggesting that we have to blast every person who offers
>>> us
>>> assistance or accommodations we don't need. But we are deserving of
>>> respect, and we are entitled to let people know that.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 15:36:21 -0600, Chasity Jackson wrote:
>>>
>>>>Hi Linda,
>>>
>>>>No, I don't think I should have smiled and handled it later. I think
>>>> that,
>>>>blind or not, we're human, and we have crappy days like the rest of
>>>>society.
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>
>
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