[nagdu] airline issues

[Marion Gwizdala]

Jenine,
    In 1988 I was dating a woman who had a guide dog, too. We were on our 
way to a Florida affiliate convention and were sitting together with our 
dogs, The flight attendant told us we couldn't sit together "because they 
needed to balance the plane"! We refused to separate and the plane did not 
tip over! (smile)

Fraternally yours,
Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jenine Stanley" <jeninems at wowway.com>
To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 27, 2010 5:10 PM
Subject: [nagdu] airline issues


>I think one of the most frustrating parts of the accessibility issues
> surrounding airlines is the extremely varied and generally often poor
> training and monitoring of staff.
>
> If I had a dime for every flight attendant who still tells me it's a 
> federal
> law that I must sit in the bulkhead seat, I'd not have to work for a 
> living.
> It never has been a federal law, ever.
>
> The strange ways the ACAA is interpreted during such trainings also baffle
> me. Someone got the idea that having 2 people with assistance dogs sitting
> in the same row was dangerous for the one next to the window and anyone in
> the middle seat because they'd have to scramble over the dog under the 
> aisle
> seat to get out. One would assume the person and dog in said aisle seat
> would have moved, but the flight attendant all but called me a smart ass 
> for
> asking her that question when she challenged my husband and I about 
> sitting
> together. We didn't absolutely have to sit together, but why not? That's
> where our tickets were. The middle seat was empty.
>
> The mildly amusing part of that story was that my husband was a pilot 
> before
> his sight loss. He smiled and said that he'd probably know if there was
> something really wrong with the plane before she did and he didn't care 
> who
> was in his way, me, her or anyone else. He was getting out. She said maybe
> he should sit on the aisle then. Meanwhile I was on the phone to the FAA
> hotline, and actually got a live person.
>
> Never got an apology from the flight attendant though. She apologized to 
> my
> husband but not me. <sigh>
>
> Somehow, I'm not sure how, we need to get ourselves, those of us with 
> proven
> knowledge that is, into these trainings.
> Jenine Stanley
> jeninems at wowway.com
>
>
>
>
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