[Nfbk] FW: United Airlines Discriminates Against Blind Passengers

[Cathy]

-----Original Message-----
From: Freeh, Jessica [mailto:JFreeh at nfb.org]
Sent: Monday, October 25, 2010 5:48 PM
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John Batron
Subject: United Airlines Discriminates Against Blind Passengers


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen                                  Karla Gilbride
Director of Public Relations                 Staff Attorney
National Federation of the Blind           Disability Rights Advocates
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330           (510) 665-8644 ext. 11 (Office)
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)                          (202) 631-2426 (Cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org                            kgilbride at dralegal.org

United Airlines Discriminates Against Blind Passengers

National Federation of the Blind Files Suit Over Inaccessible Kiosks

San Francisco, California (October 25, 2010): The National Federation of the
Blind, the nation’s oldest and largest organization of blind people and the
leading advocate for accessible technology, and three blind
individuals—Michael Hingson, Mike May, and Tina Thomas—who reside in
California and frequently fly United, filed a class-action lawsuit today in
the United States District Court for the Northern District of California
against United Airlines. United uses airport kiosks that employ touchscreen
technology in a manner such that they cannot be used by blind passengers.
Passengers who are able to use the kiosks can access information about
flights, check in for flights, print tickets and boarding passes, select
seats, upgrade to United’s business or first class cabins, check baggage,
and perform other transactions relevant to their air travel plans. The suit
alleges that United is violating the California Disabled Persons Act and the
Unruh Civil Rights Act because the services it provides through these kiosks
are not available to blind passengers. United could easily add an audio
interface, a tactile keyboard, or interactive screen reader technology that
works with touchscreens to its kiosks, as other companies have done.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
"The airline industry has an unfortunate history of discriminating against
blind passengers, and now United Airlines is repeating that history by
deploying inaccessible technology that we cannot use. United is engaging in
this blatant discrimination even though the technology to make its kiosks
accessible is readily available, has been deployed by others, and will
involve little cost to the company. Instead of enjoying the features and
convenience of these kiosks, including a quicker and more convenient
check-in process, blind passengers must wait in long lines at the ticket
counter, even when they have already purchased their tickets and checked in
online. We will not tolerate a separate and unequal experience for blind
passengers and demand that United cease its discrimination against us as
soon as practicable."

Michael Hingson, a blind motivational speaker and president and owner of a
technology sales company, said: "I have traveled throughout the United
States and the world for my public speaking engagements and as a technology
sales representative, yet I cannot independently check in at the airport. It
frustrates me, as a frequent traveler and United passenger, that I must wait
for a United employee to assist me with the kiosk, seek help from a sighted
passenger (in which case I must share sensitive private information with a
total stranger), or else stand in a long line in order to complete the
airport check-in process. I hope that this lawsuit will serve as a wake-up
call to United and that the airline will swiftly make its kiosks
accessible."

Mike May, CEO of the Sendero Group, a leading manufacturer of technology for
the blind, said: "I have been working in the adaptive technology field for
twenty years, and I know well that it is easy and practical for United to
make its kiosks accessible. There is simply no excuse for the long wait and
inconvenience that other blind United passengers and I continue to
experience at airports."

Tina Thomas, a member of the United States Paralympic Judo Team, said: "I
find it extremely ironic that United, which touts itself as the official
airline of the U.S. Paralympic Team, discriminates against me as a member of
that team and as a blind person. I sincerely hope that United will make a
more serious and tangible commitment to treating passengers with
disabilities equally."

Plaintiffs are represented in this matter by Daniel F. Goldstein and Gregory
P. Care of the Baltimore firm Brown, Goldstein, and Levy; and Laurence W.
Paradis, Karla Gilbride, and Kevin Knestrick of the Berkeley firm Disability
Rights Advocates.

###

About the National Federation of the Blind

With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the
largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the
United States.  The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy,
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence.  It is the leading force in the blindness field today and
the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 2004 the NFB opened the
National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and
training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.










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