[Ohio-talk] I don't have it in for any airline

Sun Nov 17 04:36:39 UTC 2013

Hi,

I have not traveled by air much, but I had an interesting experience
when I traveled this summer.  My trip down to the NFB convention went
fine, but then again I had my mother with me till I boarded at
Cincinnati because she wanted to see me off.  I got through the
Orlando airport and onto the shuttle to go to the hotel without
incident, and the airline volunteer who escorted me was fantastic.  On
the morning I was supposed to go home I arrived at the airport and got
through luggage check and got my boarding pass myself, but asked to
have an escort help me get to my gate from there because I did not
remember the way and didn't want to miss my flight.  This worker was
not as good as the one I got a few days before.  First, I explained
that it was best for my notetaker to be examined by hand rather than
sent through a scanner, and instead of taking me to the examiner so I
could hand it off like the attendant in the Cincinnati airport did he
took it from the bin in which I had unloaded all my things that were
in my backpack for examination.  Then when I asked where it was he
didn't give me a straight answer.  I did get it back, but it was scary
because he started walking with me somewhere else with all of my other
things until I refused to go any further without the notetaker.  He
went back and got it, but just left me in the middle of the airport
when I had said I would go back and get it if he would give me some
direction.  Once I got it back I was a little happier, and he was
pretty good for the most part in taking me where I wanted to go.  (to
the restroom, to buy a bottle of water so I could take a decongestant
before boarding, etc).  The only troubling thing after that, and the
most troubling part of my whole travel experience, was that once he
got to the gate that was on my boarding pass he left me.  I noticed
that a lot of people were exiting the gate, and asked a nearby family
if something had changed.  Sure enough, they said that the screen
showing the flight information had announced a change of gate shortly
before the airline attendant dropped me off at the gate, and the
mother and the teenaged daughter in the family were particularly
troubled that he did not check the information and just hurried away
because they were sure that he should have given me that information.
They were able to give me directions to get to the correct gate so I
didn't miss my flight home, and thankfully everything else was fine.

I'm sure the airport was really packed with tons of blind people going
home that particular day, and I even ran into quite a few even though
I got to the airport at 5:30 in the morning.  I think there is much
more education than just the cane and dog stuff that needs to happen,
and it really needs to be at a deeper level because it is not just a
regional thing, but even within airports there are different levels of
service and awareness from employee to employee.

I will say though that I think the work done at CVG has paid off.  I
was pleasantly surprised when I got up to the scanners and an
attendant asked if I would like to use a graphite cane the airport
kept around while mine went through the metal detector.  They were
also a lot more transparent with what they were doing to my notetaker,
and took care of things in a quicker manner than the Orlando airport
did on my return trip which I appreciated.  I think a slight language
barrier might have been some of the problem with the second guy in
Orlando, and though I traveled at around the same time for both
flights I think traveling on a Monday morning was much easier than
traveling on a Saturday because the second trip was definitely busier;
however, I still don't understand why he would start taking me
somewhere without one of my belongings and not stop until I absolutely
refused to go further without it.

Perhaps some energy can be put specifically on the Orlando airport,
since that is going to be an important one for the next several years.

On 11/16/13, Cheryl Fields <cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Great news, looking forward to it!
> C
>
> On 11/16/13, COLLEEN ROTH <n8tnv at att.net> wrote:
>> Hi Cheryl and Marianne,
>> I think NAGDU will probably ask xs' Divisions in each State to coordinate
>> some educational activities.
>> I do think that all of us in the NFB whether whether we have a dog or not
>> should know policies in effect in case we are in a situation where this
>> knowledge might be helpful.
>> I for one want Gudide Dod users to be able to use their dogs for
>> independent
>> travel. At the same time I want my right to avoid sitting by one to be
>> respected.
>> Many of you at the Convention know of my major fear and respect my
>> feelings.
>> For that I am truly grateful. This has taken a long time.
>> I am no longer put down or harassed. By the same token, I no longer hate
>> dogs with the exception of Pitt Bulls.
>> I just want my space and dogs to be on leashes.
>> I will stand up for your rights have a dog. I always did this but was
>> happy
>> when I really didn't need to do anything.
>> In recent years, I have spoken up for blind people in Toledo who had
>> issues.
>> I referred them to other Guide dog users but still stayed involved.
>> I by recently at a meeting where someones's guide dog had to be chased
>> and
>> brought back to her owner.
>> This shouldn't happen. Guide dog handlers should be in control of their
>> dogs.
>> Have a gr day and fight for airline equity for all.
>> Colleen Roth
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Cheryl Fields <cherylelaine1957 at gmail.com>
>> To: NFB of Ohio Announcement and Discussion List ohio-talk at nfbnet.org
>> Date: Thursday, November 14, 2013 12:00 pm
>> Subject: Re: [Ohio-talk] I don't have it in for any airline
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Mary Ann,
>>>
>>> Some years ago I had a dog and I never had a problem traveling, by air
>>> or bus. The majority of my problems were with people and their cars,
>>> smiles, my dog was big and they always wanted him to get in the back
>>> seat.
>>> Do you think we should have some guide dog users and wheel chair users
>>> schedule some conversations with local administration of airlines to
>>> offer some education for their employees? This could be helpful and
>>> get directly to the problems.So many airline employees move from city
>>> to city, once educated they can spread the word and learn about the
>>> nfb.
>>>
>>> Blessings,
>>> cheryl
>>>
>>> On 11/14/13, Marianne Denning <marianne at denningweb.com> wrote:
>>> > Please don't think I hate any airline.  It looks like there is a
>>> > pattern developing at U.S. Airways and that is of concern.
>>> >
>>> > —
>>> > Marianne Denning, TVI, MA
>>> > Teacher of students who are blind or visually impaired
>>> > (513) 607-6053
>>> >
>>> > _______________________________________________
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>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>> —
>>> Peace
>>>
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>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Peace
>
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