[Nyagdu] US Airways passengers stand up for blind man removed fromflight

Sat Nov 16 19:11:18 UTC 2013

Interesting enough, I had a real positive experience this past month flying United Airlines on both trips from Boston to San Fran Sisco.  This includes treatment by TSA, and those working on the plane.  Maybe, it would be good to have various people from NFB, etc to fly to the whole country to do a study/ SRS on this issue. Have a good weekend.

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 14, 2013, at 4:25 PM, "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Shelley,
> Long time no hear.
> As I mentioned earlier, NAGDU and Travel & Tourism are working together on a resolution for all on these issues, our division are coming together  on this fight. I am also a Board Member now of NYAGDU, I was voted in at the state convention.
> We will keep everyone posted on this. Albert is not a member of NFB of NAGDU, he does post very often on the talk lists though. We both belong to Lions International, not the same club though, but we do see each other from time to time, and we  are graduates of the same school The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, Inc. out here on Long Island.
> In any event, we have been working hard on the issues with the airlines, Margo Downey with Southwest, and the other airlines up there in Buffalo, but we need to do this on a national level, we are trying to get the airlines to come to Baltimore for a conference on these issues, I am trying to work on an outline now about it and present it to Mark Riccobono on these issues.
> Cheryl Echevarria
> 
> Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY StateLeading the Way in Independent Travel!
> Cheryl Echevarria, Ownerwww.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations at echevarriatravel.com
> Your old car keys can be the keys to literacy for a blind child.  Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking www.nfb.org/vehicledonations or call 855-659-9314. Echevarria Travel has partnered with Braille Smith. www.braillesmith.com for all her braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary of the NFB of Alabama
> 
>> From: lavendergirl at roadrunner.com
>> To: nyagdu at nfbnet.org
>> Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 16:09:51 -0500
>> Subject: Re: [Nyagdu] US Airways passengers stand up for blind man removed    fromflight
>> 
>> This is disgusting!!!   It's 2013, and we still have people and businesses 
>> acting this way.  Hell, they made the flight sit on the tarmac longer than 
>> it would have taken to get to new York.  I'm sorry this happened, and I 
>> won't be flying U.S. Air unless this gets resolved.
>> 
>> Because of back issues, I am not presently using a dog, but plan to have a 
>> special needs dog trained for me.  Cane and dog users should be concerned 
>> about Albert's treatment.  At least we're in an organization who will try to 
>> do something about it.  I hope he and his dog get the justice they deserve!!
>> 
>> Shelly Bamrick
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "cheryl echevarria" <cherylandmaxx at hotmail.com>
>> To: "travelandtourism" <travelandtourism at nfbnet.org>; "NAGDU Talk List" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>; "nyagdu" <nyagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2013 2:17 PM
>> Subject: [Nyagdu] US Airways passengers stand up for blind man removed 
>> fromflight
>> 
>> 
>> This is funny they say legally blind, um, Albert you are totally blind, so 
>> you cannot see anything.
>> http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/14/us-airways-passengers-revolt-after-staff-kicks-bli/
>> 
>> Passengers aboard a US Airways flight in Philadelphia on Wednesday banded 
>> together in support for a legally blind man who was kicked off the plane for 
>> his unruly guide dog.Flight attendants said Albert Rizzi’s guide dog was out 
>> of control, but other passengers wholeheartedly disagreed, refusing to fly 
>> with the airline if the blind man wasn’t allowed on the plane, ABC 7 
>> reported.
>> The flight was canceled and the passengers were bused to Long Island by the 
>> airline.Passengers told the station that the flight attendant wouldn’t clear 
>> the flight for takeoff without the dog going under the plane’s seat. The dog 
>> waited under the seat at first, but after the plane sat on the tarmac for 
>> about an hour and a half, the dog became restless.“The lady comes back and 
>> gets very insistent, and I said, ‘Look, I don’t understand what you want me 
>> to do.’ I said, ‘He’s as best as he can, he’s where he needs to be,’” Mr. 
>> Rizzi said.One passenger said others came to the man’s defense.
>> “She came back and said to him, ‘You’ve got about a minute to get this 
>> straightened out,’” the passenger told ABC 7. “And he tried to do whatever 
>> he could, and she went back to the front of the plane. We were taxiing like 
>> we were going to take off. And at that point in time, we’re about to take 
>> off, and all the sudden the captain gets on the PA and says we have to head 
>> back to the terminal. … We were all kind of raised our voices and said this 
>> is a real problem. So the captain winds up coming out of the cockpit, and he 
>> basically asked us all to leave the aircraft.”Officials at US Airways said 
>> Mr. Rizzi was belligerent and the crew’s safety was in jeopardy, but other 
>> passengers said that isn’t true.
>> Mr. Rizzi took to Facebook to express his disappointment.
>> “I cannot believe this. I was removed from the plane that I was supposed to 
>> be on to go home from Philadelphia because my dog couldn’t sit in a spot for 
>> an hour and a half on the tarmac such a joke,” he said, adding that the 
>> other passengers were very supportive.
>> “There were 35 people on the flight tonight. Every one of them stood up in 
>> solidarity for the discriminatory treatment I received and the way my dog 
>> was unwelcome on the flight,” he said.Miriam Woods Baxter commented: “My 
>> brother-in-law was on the plane with you. He is disgusted with the way you 
>> were treated. I’m sorry you were treated this way.”
>> 
>> Read more: 
>> http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/14/us-airways-passengers-revolt-after-staff-kicks-bli/#ixzz2keIvgEeS 
>> Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
>> 
>> Disabled Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 of NY StateLeading the Way in 
>> Independent Travel!
>> Cheryl Echevarria, 
>> Ownerwww.echevarriatravel.com631-456-5394reservations at echevarriatravel.com
>> Your old car keys can be the keys to literacy for a blind child.  Donate 
>> your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking www.nfb.org/vehicledonations or call 
>> 855-659-9314. Echevarria Travel has partnered with Braille Smith. 
>> www.braillesmith.com for all her braille needs.  Gail Smith is the Secretary 
>> of the NFB of Alabama
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