[nagdu] Fwd: [Juno-l] more about man and guide dog kicked off ofairline

Sun Nov 17 05:29:17 UTC 2013

Okay, so was the dog actually in the isle ? Not trying to be judgmental, but
one of the problems with situations like these is that each person is going
to tell the story in a way that makes it look like he/she is in the right
and the other side is in the wrong. I know that this probably would not fly
(no pun intended) because of privacy stuff, but too bad that airplanes are
not equip with some of audio and/or video recording device so that it would
be possible to get the straight facts.

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Buddy Brannan
Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2013 11:36 AM
To: the National Association of Guide Dog Users NAGDU Mailing List
Subject: [nagdu] Fwd: [Juno-l] more about man and guide dog kicked off
ofairline

> This note says:
> 
> If a crew member ask you to do something, there is a lawful and 
> reasonable reason to comply with the request. That is simple and easy 
> to do.
> 
> That isn't always true though. A flight attendant has more than once asked
me or people in my company to turn over their properly stowed canes, for
instance. There have sometimes been issues with seating and guide dogs. I
agree that, for the most part, this statement is true, but a blanket "it's
always true" is not. 
> 
> If, as Mr. Rizzie contends, he was seated in the middle seat on the far
back row of the plane, why? I've flown on just this sort of plane and can
picture exactly the seat he's talking about, and it's a seat with nothing
but aisle in front of it. Why did the flight attendant not ask someone on
that row to swap with him, especially since the dog was, by at least most
accounts, under that particular seat anyway? It seems to me that one of two
things is true:
> 
> 1) The flight attendant seated him as he describes, asking that his dog be
put under the seat next to him, again ass described. It seems to me that in
such a case, the flight attendant could have asked for a seat change, so
that Albert was sitting with his dog in front of him. That would certainly
make it easier for him to control where his dog was, and also easier to get
his dog stowed comfortably.
> 
> Or,
> 
> 2) Albert asked for that seat for some reason. In that case, the flight
attendant could have refused, stating that he needed to have a seat where
the dog could go under. She apparently didn't do that either. So in either
case, the flight attendant made a mistake. How fundamental that mistake was,
and how much it contributed to the incident, I really don't know, but that
the whole plane stood with this guy tells me that it wasn't exactly as US
Air portrays the situation. 
> --
> Buddy Brannan, KB5ELV - Erie, PA
> Phone: (814) 860-3194 or 888-75-BUDDY
> 
> 

Folks - I know there is a lot of heat around the issue of the passenger and
his service animal that was removed from one of our express flights
recently. One of the first things everyone should ask themselves is, "There
certainly must be more to this story than meets the eye . an airline
wouldn't just boot them off a flight for no good reason, right?" Absolutely.

US Airways transports more than 80 million customers each year and ensures
that all customers, including those with disabilities, are treated with
dignity and respect. We're particularly sensitive to those customers who
travel with service animals and we partner with Assistance Dogs
International (ADI), an organization that trains and places assistance dogs
around the world. US Airways employees volunteer to travel with and work
with assistance dogs in training to help them prepare for travel with
disabled partners. Over the past 10 years, US Airways employees have
participated in transports everywhere from California to Croatia. So we
understand the special needs and laws surrounding transporting our disabled
customers and their service animals. So we have been investigating what
happened here, and that investigation continues.

Here are a few things folks should consider:

. The safety of every passenger on our aircraft is our first and foremost
priority.
. To ensure the safety of all passengers, the carriers and FAA have approved
cabin policies the ensure that, should an incident occur, everyone can be
safely evacuated without aisle-way obstruction.
. In compliance with the Air Carriers Access Act, and the FAA, service
animals must be either under the seat in front of a passenger, on their lap
(if equal to or smaller than a lap child), or at their feet . but at no time
can they be in the main aisle of the aircraft as that is a primary
evacuation route. In this instance, the animal was not able to be secured
out of the main aisle, and attempts to work with the customer failed to
ensure compliance with this safety rule.
. The customer is an advocate for disability rights, and appears to have
forced a confrontation with his disruptive behavior, rather than simply
complying with the instruction and securing the dog. Everyone was tired, it
was near midnight, and I'm sure patience was in short supply as the aircraft
had already been delayed on departure due to a mechanical issue and the
animal was restless. We all would be.
. Once that was communicated by the cabin crew to the flight deck crew, the
decision was made to return to the gate to remove the customer and calm the
situation.
. Several other passengers, upon seeing the customer's removal from the
flight, piled on to the emotional confrontation, making threats to contact
media and make an issue of out 'kicking a blind man and his dog off a US
Airways flight.' This reduced the FA to tears, and they were unable to
continue as they believed their safety was in jeopardy. The captain made the
decision to cancel the flight and alternate means of transport were secured
to get the passengers to their destination. Again, everyone was tired, it
was late, and I'm sure folks simply wanted to get home. As a result, our
customers did not get to their destination until after 2 in the morning.

So, having said all that, we apologize to the customers of the flight for
the inconvenience caused by this incident and will be reaching out to them. 
I am sure everyone involved wish it had never happened and they had simply
gotten to their destination on time.

We are also supportive of crews as they do a very difficult job, and in very
sensitive emotional circumstances, to guard the safety of all our customers,
on every flight, every day. If a crew member ask you to do something, there
is a lawful and reasonable reason to comply with the request. That is simple
and easy to do. Feel free to ask questions and get clarification, but
forcing confrontations or making threats jeopardizes the safety of everyone
on board. You can bet that will create a delay and potentially removal from
the aircraft. No one wins there.

As I said, we continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the
incident, and we welcome any additional information that will enable us to
better accommodate our disabled passengers and their service animals. We
want to improve our service, and avoiding these kinds of confrontations
through education and sensitivity are always the better path.

Thanks for taking two minutes to read a bit more about what we believe
occurred on this flight. After all, there certainly is more to the story . 
right? Absolutely.

-- John McDonald - Spokesman, US Airways
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