[nfbwatlk] FW: [List] more airline info

[Mary Ellen]

It wasn't what she said; it was her failure to speak to me directly at all
that was extremely rude!!  This was an Alaska Airlines employee, not someone
from American Airlines, but American Airlines issued the original ticket, so
they ended up getting involved.

It's a long story, but the short version is that I couldn't use the kiosk so
waited in line for the person at the desk to print my boarding pass.
Several people in front of me had ticketing issues and the line moved
slowly.  The same person who helped at the check in desk also worked to
board the flight at the gate.  She asked everyone who didn't have luggage to
use the kiosk.  Some people who'd arrived at the same time, or later than I
arrived, left the line, used the kiosk to print their boarding passes, and
made the flight. I didn't have luggage to check, but, rather than leave the
line to look for a person to help with the kiosk, I decided it was probably
more efficient to stay where I was. At five in the morning, the Kelowna
airport isn't exactly bustling with activity and I believed I would be
served faster waiting in line than searching for some random person to help
with the kiosk.  Boy was I wrong!

Just about the time I reached the front of the line, the woman announced
that she had to leave the desk in order to work at the gate.  I then said,
"I need help with getting my boarding pass printed."  The woman either
didn't hear me or chose not to respond.  Another woman got her attention and
said, pointing at me, "She just needs a boarding pass."  The airline
employee told the other woman, "I don't have time to help her."  I said,
"Your kiosk isn't accessible."  The airline employee walked away and said
not one word to me.

I got somebody to help with the kiosk, but the airline had closed out the
flight when she left the desk, so the kiosk wouldn't work.  I would have
behaved very differently if I'd known she was going to shut down the kiosk .
I had thought I'd just get a stranger to help if she had to leave. 

Security wouldn't let me go to the gate without a boarding pass.  They did
send somebody to the gate to talk with them about my situation, but the
airline refused to print my boarding pass.  They told me they'd talk to me
after the flight left.  I waited an hour and fifteen minutes for them to
return to rebook my ticket only to be told that they couldn't rebook me and
I'd have to call their reservations line.  When I did so, Alaska said they
couldn't rebook me because my ticket had been issued by American Airlines.
When I called American, they charged me a $150 rebooking fee and the
difference between the cost of an advance purchase ticket and a same day
booking.  Altogether, the difference was over a thousand dollars!

I complained both to Alaska Airlines and to American.  The American people
were quite nice about it, but wouldn't refund all the extra money they'd
charged because my return ended up being on Delta and they said they
couldn't refund the money they'd paid Delta.  Alaska Airlines was far less
accommodating, even implying that I had not faced discrimination and that I
was using my blindness to get sympathy.  They called back later and said
they were waiting to hear what American Airlines was going to do.  Now that
I know how American has responded, I'll contact Alaska again.  Regardless of
what they do, I'm filing an official complaint with the Canadian
Transportation Agency about the lack of accessible kiosks.

-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Lauren
Merryfield
Sent: October 24, 2012 10:34 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] FW: [List] more airline info

Hi,
What rudeness did the employee say to you?
Good for you for filing a complaint.  I've had to get someone several times
now to help me with those stupid kiosks.
Thanks
Lauren

advice from my cats: "meow when you feel like it."
The most basic of all human needs is the need to understand and be
understood. The best way to understand people is to listen to them.
-- Ralph Nichols
Visit us at catliness.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 8:54 PM
Subject: [nfbwatlk] FW: [List] more airline info


>
>
>
>
> From: list-bounces at cfb.ca [mailto:list-bounces at cfb.ca] On Behalf Of
> list at cfb.ca
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2012 4:10 PM
> To: list at cfb.ca
> Subject: [List] more airline info
>
>
>
> American Airlines has decided to refund $781 of the $1043 I was charged
> because of the discrimination I faced due to an inaccessible airline kiosk
> and rude Alaska Airline employee when I flew in September.
>
>
>
> This is a partial, but only partial, solution.  I intend to file a 
> complaint
> with the Canadian Transportation Agency about inaccessible kiosks.
>
>
>
> Mary Ellen
>
>


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