Rolling Rains Report:

Accessible Taxicabs to Get Priority at JFK Airport

Starting on November 3, 2008, accessible taxicabs will receive priority when
being dispatched at JFK Airport. The Port Authority of NY and NJ will
sponsor this pilot program as an incentive to encourage taxicab drivers to
provide service to people with disabilities.

Accessible taxicabs must have the new, blue accessible logo on the front
hood of their cars to participate in this program. For more information on
the logo, please visit the TLC website at:

http://www.nyc.gov/taxi

I am Not the Wheelchair: More Tales of Air Travel

When I enter an airport I'm in hostile territory. Dread and courage fill me. In addition to the dehumanization everyone around me is about to experience, the stripping off of possessions and shoes like Inanna entering the underworld, the x-raying and knowledge that any random act, out of our control, could result in police intervention, in taking away our illusion of freedom -- in addition to that I am covered in the cloak of wheels, I have lost my human soul, I know that in the eyes of power and ignorance, I am luggage, an inconvenience, an animal, an exoskeleton.

Airline and airport staff talk to each other loudly over me. I am "The Wheelchair". What I say, what I ask for, what I want, doesn't signify. My words don't mean a thing.

So begins the chronicle of flight by Liz Henry at her blog Composite. Read the full post here.
http://liz-henry.blogspot.com/2008/10/i-am-not-wheelchair-air-travel-and.html

Why Couldn't Today Post Just be About the "Friendly Skies?"

Dave Hingsburger had a bad day. A very bad day. A day that should never have occurred - and yet does for so many of us far too frequently.

Dave was mistaken for his own luggage.

No, not like "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat." At least that behavior was excusable. Dave was ignored, patronized, treated like an inanimate object instead of a customer responding appropriately as his health and safety were being violated.

His account of being deprived of his wheelchair through bad service and a dishonest fellow passenger is best told in his own words. I can't help but give away his insightful conclusion first:

"Wheelchair bound" ... that's what people say of me.

"Wheelchair liberated" ... is what I am.

Or rather, what I was.

Read "Dave's Very Bad Day" at Chewing the Fat blog.

A Rocket Scientist Witnesses a Blind Man Being "Launched" from a Dragonair Flight

I was finishing up my presentation for the 2008 Universal Design in Airports Conference that will start next Tuesday in Chicago. I speak on a panel led by my colleague and Greek-Brazilian-American friend Gus Zografopoules. The topic is "Where do people with disabilities go to get information on flying?" I thought I had nailed down the content. I was looking forward to exploring one of the wheelchair accessible trails shown to me last weekend by folks from the San Francisco Bay Greenbelt Alliance. Then I saw Jim's blog.

Jim Fruchterman's blog at Benetech.org will now be front and center in my talk.

The Rolling Rains blog chronicles a small percentage of the stories on air travel and disability that are sent here (see below) but Jim's tale helps us illustrate what is sometimes overlooked.

Some violations are so egregious that reflection on their deeper meaning requires a cooling down period. The shock value of some stories evoke outrage. Jim's story documents classic nonviolent praxis in the face of injustice. He tells the story in a way that allows for some critical thinking even while the story itself is fresh.

Simon Darcy made an observation about the market dynamics of travelers with disabilities in his game-changing research entitled "From Anxiety to Access." He alerted the world that that we are very well networked and leverage a disproportionately large referral market.

That point didn't need to be made explicit when we reported on billionaire Sminu Jindahl's mistreatment by Jet Air. It seems rather obvious that a billionaire might have more socially beneficial things to do than argue about her competence to sit in an airline seat - and probably had an influential social network.

Jim's Benetech.org is one of the San Francisco Bay Area's premiere social entrepreneurial enterprises. It builds technological solutions for entrenched social problems with such products as a database for documenting (and prosecuting) human rights violations called Martus and their rapidly-expanding service for those who need audio books known as Bookshare. He speaks regularly to industry leaders at events including the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Perhaps it is true that "all publicity is good publicity" but If Dragonair had contracted me to produce a "short list" of people who they would definitely not want to witness abusive practices on their part Jim's name would be on it.

It was unfortunate that Rami Rabby, the first blind foreign service officer working for the US State Department, was thrown off their Dragonair flight from from Hong Kong to Fuzhou. Like Jim I applaud Rami for the courage of his convictions.

But Jim is being overly humble so I also want to recognize his everyday heroism of solidarity and citizen journalism. He could easily have argued that he had more pressing things to do (yes he is literally a rocket scientist by training) yet he stood by witnessing and documenting this act of all-too-common injustice. Thank you Jim from our entire global community

A select list of similar incidents endured by air travelers with disabilities:

Katrina Segundo-Casino on Cebu Airlines

Lori Mango on American Airlines

Michelle Daley on Air France

Chrsitine Wolf on Qantas

Deaf discrimination by Tiger Airways

Rajeev Rajan on SpiceJet, AirSahara, and JetLite

Adele price on Air France

Qantas Issues a 'Non Servium" to a 72 year old

Deaf culture's response to airline discrimination

"Sometimes your just seen as a piece of luggage."

What was my presentation topic again - "Where do people with disabilities go to get information on flying?"

Same answer/new meaning: We go to our friends.

Read more on Benetech's contributions to the world at:

http://benetech.blogspot.com/

Air Travel - A Wrench in the Works

Dave Hingsberger flies. He also uses a wheelchair. That's enough right there to spin off several seasons of Emmy-award winning programming for television. It could be tragedy. It could be comedy. It would never be boring!

Here is part of an account from of his blog Chewing the Fat about passing through security while flying with his partner Joe:

There was annoyance all over Joe's face. I know, I know, that sometimes he wishes I'd just let it go. We were at the airport going through security. They found the small kit of Allan wrenches that we use to adjust things on my wheelchair. We've been using them more lately because one of my footrests has been acting up and regularly sliding down.

The woman looked at the wrenches like she'd found a bomb and told me, 'These are not allowed.' Now we've flown with these regularly, never having them taken away. I didn't want to give them up because, when we lost the first batch it was very difficult to find the right ones again. In fact we bought four or five sets to put together this set.

I mentioned to the security guard that we had flown with them before, that they were part of the wheelchair and that I was concerned about needing them while in the airport or after landing. She simply said, as if I hadn't said a word, "These are not allowed."

Read on here:

http://davehingsburger.blogspot.com/2008/09/acw.html

One Word: "Intolerable!"

"Australia's largest-ever overseas team flew into Sydney yesterday morning, the kit bag full with 79 medals, including 23 gold [from the Paralympic Games]."

They flew Qantas:

Paralympian Christine Wolf's return home yesterday was soured when staff on her flight from Sydney refused to allow the gold medallist to take her prosthetic legs as carry-on luggage.

Australian coach Iryna Dvoskina, who travelled back to Canberra with Ms Wolf yesterday, said she would make a formal complaint.

''[The prosthetics] are just so sensitive, we never check it into luggage, we take it on the plane all the time and now, on our last flight after two months away and we are just very happy to be home, it was just so unhelpful and unfriendly,'' Ms Dvoskina said.

''I can't believe that it would happen.

Writing about this topic daily, lecturing about it globally, I can't pretend to be as incredulous at this abuse as Coach Dvoskina. With sympathy to Christine Wolf the bright side of the story is that her celebrity status made newsworthy the sort of back alley bully mentality that travelers with disabilities endure from even the top brands in the industry.

The rest of the article:

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/qantas-snubs-goldmedal-paralympian/1278246.aspx?src=enews#

Quads: Let's Fly!

Bruce McGhie is the world's first glider pilot licensed to fly with hand controls. His book, Ascent, tells about this and other breakthrough accomplishments. Watch his video "Soaring: Hands Only"

Cebu Takes a Nosedive on Customer Relations for PwD

See the case of Katrina Segundo-Casino as one example of the ongoing assault on inclusive air travel occurring in Asia:

Denied Boarding in the Philippines
http://barrierfreetravels.com/serendipity/archives/377-Denied-Boarding-in-the-Philippines.html

Also:
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Philippines/10235846.html

Air Access Code: Are You Ready?

The new disabled passenger rights coming into effect in the EU mean some changes. After explaining some of these changes -- and noting that the fine for violation could be up to £5,000 they note and ask:

ABTA is working with the Department for Transport on a revised voluntary Air Access Code, which is expected to be published this month. The code will outline steps agents, operators and airlines can take to help make their services more accessible to disabled passengers.

* Are you prepared for the new regulations? Email travel.weekly@rbi.co.uk

Full article:

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2008/07/03/28095/travel-agents-could-face-5k-fines-under-new-mobility.html

After Touring Alaska - Ripples of Inclusive Destination Development

If my travelogue did not make it clear already let me compliment the arrangements made by Sherri Backstrom of Waypoint Yacht Charter Services in Bellingham Washington and the foresight and commitment shown by Kimber Owen, owner of the wheelchair-friendly Sea Wolf. Articles will appear in various publications. One went off to Sandra Vassallo at ebility.com in Australia this morning and two more are in process.

Pioneers like Kimber and Sherri shift cultures.

To get to the Sea Wolf ported in Gustavus, Alaska we flew in a six-seater prop bush flight from Juneau on Air Excursions. Not quite adept at accommodating passengers with mobility limitations the pilot's brute-force solution to not having the proper equipment landed me on the floor as I noted on May 24. They won't make many more mistakes like that -- and accessibility will improve for those who will increasingly come for early-season cruises on the Sea Wolf (i.e. after June 1 Alaska Airlines flies jets into Gustavus with a more polished passenger loading protocol.)

The night before the cruise we stayed at Annie Mae Lodge. The meal was sumptuous and the welcome was like family. The owners have built a stylish Alaskan lodge and given great detail to accessibility. My room had a roll-in shower. I can recommend Anni Mae. As our community provides them with business we will see the trend to inclusion spread to other venues including the towns single - but inaccessible - grocery store.

Alaska is on the "Must Visit List" of many travelers. To take the trip yourself contact:

Sherri Backstrom
Waypoint Yacht Charter Services
contact@waypointcharter.com

www.waypointcharter.com/accessible_travel.htm
t 888-491-2949 or 360-656-5934

Reporting from a Different Perspective

Ranger Randy stands impressively tall at six-feet-and-change even without his hiking boots on.

This afternoon, however, he is wearing them. From here up close I judge their vintage to be about 1988 - the same year as the Toyota pickup he drives around Gustavus, Alaska.

I know these facts because, contrary to what it looks like and not following logically from our conversation seconds ago about traveling through India in the 1960's, I am not doing darshan at his feet. Although, had abject obeisance brought me to my currently prone position I probably would be experiencing a greater sense of dignity than at this moment.

The small towns of Alaska and the era or Paul Bunyan both nurture the "tall-tale" instinct. I will nurture that impulse aboard the Sea Wolf in coming days. At that point I will explain how I came to be folded into a quadriplegic heap here in front of the ticket counter and on the floor somewhere to the left of the wheelchair provided to me by Excursion Air.

For the moment I must sign off and catch a boat from here in Somewhere- Beyond- the Border-of-Litigation-Territory, Alaska, USA.

It Would be Easier if...

"Can you walk?" asked the TSA inspector as I came through the line in my wheelchair.

No.

"Can you lift up your foot?"

No.

"Can you take off your belt?"

"Yes, but you will have to put it back on me."

So, I was swabbed five different times with those mini TSA coffee filters. This turned up nothing more interesting than sandy loam, pollen, and ash from the fire storming through the Santa Cruz Mountains for the past 24 hours. After a pat-down that caused me to have serious questions about the agent's short-term memory I was freed to repack the pile of rubble resulting from the recent TSA scavenger hunt through my personal belongings.

Fortunately, on the tarmac the gentleman assigned to assist me with the transfer into the aisle chair, up the loading ramp, and into my bulkhead seat was charming. Ace Castro, really seemed to be an ace at what he did - all the more impressive when he thanked me for being so specific in how best to assist me. Maybe he has developed his customer service skills by listening and questioning to be certain that he understands correctly.

The typical fumbling with carry-ons and wheelchair parts was made painless by Bonnie and others on Alaska flight 333.

The quality continued at the jetway in SeaTac as a competent and congenial team did the Disembarkation Schlepp with grace.

Seattle to Juneau began under typically blue-mottled Seattle skies. As we say in Seattle, "The mountains are out today." Mount Rainier to the south through the concourse window and the snow-covered Olympic Mountains west toward the pacific Ocean gave a taste of what lay ahead in Juneau and beyond

A Discrimination Case Against Tiger Airways

More on airline discrimination:

The advent of low-cost airlines and zealous interpretation of safety regulations has led to discrimination against people with disabilities, experts say.

A group of deaf people from Melbourne has launched a discrimination case against Tiger Airways after the budget carrier insisted they travel with a carer last month.

But [Australian] federal disability discrimination commissioner Graeme Innes says the problem isn't limited to Tiger.

"There have been endemic problems in airlines over the past few years where people with disabilities have been refused carriage because of their disability,'' Mr Innes told Sky News.

For the complete article:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23519956-2862,00.html

Airline Services to Deaf Passengers

There is quite furor spreading through the Philippines, Australia, and Southeast Asia about the treatment of deaf airline passengers and rightly so. It is the slippery slope phenomenon affecting those with mobility impairments, service animals, oxygen needs, and other human with the normal range of abilities that this species comes with.

Here is an articulate story - in American Sign Language. But don't stop with the video read the active commentary documenting this phenomenon at http://www.seekgeo.com/?p=821Seek Geo

An Endemic Epidemic Gets the Media Coverge it Deserves

"Ludwig van Beethoven (the famous deaf composer) would not be allowed to fly alone on a Tiger Airways flight if he were alive today, because of the Singapore-owned airline's purported policy on deaf passengers."
.

A representative of Tiger Airways Australia told the group last month they could not make an interstate flight without a care provider who could hear. The group was allowed on the March 4 flight eventually, but was then sent a note by the flight attendant that they will not be allowed to fly alone on the airline again, the Herald Sun newspaper reported.

Source:
Airline Slammed on Deaf Policy

Airline Slammed on Deaf Policy

By ROD McGUIRK – 1 day ago

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Ludwig van Beethoven would not be allowed to fly alone on a Tiger Airways flight if he were alive today because of the Singapore-owned airline's purported policy on deaf passengers, a government minister said Friday.

Bill Shorten used the example of Beethoven — who famously continued composing until his death in 1827 despite losing his hearing — in condemning the treatment of deaf passengers by the Australian subsidiary of Singapore-based budget carrier Tiger Airways.

The policy bars deaf passengers from flying unless accompanied by a fare-paying adult care provider, a Tiger Airways reservations agent who said she goes by only one name, Jinky, told The Associated Press.

But airline spokesman Matt Hobbs denied that the airline had such a policy, and said he was investigating why air crews and call center staff in the Philippines were telling passengers otherwise.

Shorten, Australia's parliamentary secretary for disabilities and children's services, said he telephoned the airline Friday to tell them that barring deaf people from flying alone was wrong.

"Under this, Beethoven would never have been able to catch a plane" on his own, Shorten told Sky Television. "Just because people are deaf doesn't mean that they're stupid."

A group of four deaf adults has lodged a complaint with the Australian government's anti-discrimination watchdog agency after a representative of Tiger Airways Australia told them last month that they could not make an interstate flight without a care provider who could hear, the Herald Sun newspaper reported Friday.

The group was eventually permitted to take their seats on the March 4 flight but a flight attendant told them they would not be allowed to fly alone again on the airline, the newspaper said.

Hobbs, Tiger Airways Australia's head of corporate communications, said the cabin manager had written the four a note saying: "In future, so you know, you'll need to travel with a carer for safety reasons."

"We're clarifying with all staff that deaf people do not require a carer to travel with them," Hobbs said, adding that he could not explain the widespread misunderstanding within his company.

"We are apologetic and very sorry that the people involved in this feel in any way that they've been discriminated against or upset by this in any way," he said.

Hobbs said his company's sister airline, Tiger Airways Singapore, had changed its policy that once required deaf passengers to be accompanied by a care provider.

The Australian subsidiary of Singapore-based Tiger Aviation entered the Australian domestic aviation market last November. Its Australian competitors allow deaf passengers to fly alone.

Fly Michelle Now! - Air France Discrimination

Michelle Daley serves the people of the United Kingdom through the government advisory committee Equality 2025

Interviewed by Jo Couzens in Sky News Online she explains

"I'm advising the Government on disability equality and ironically I was prevented from doing my job properly. That type of discrimination is just not on."

"They told me: 'We can't allow you on this flight because you are a health and safety risk'."

She added: "It was just humiliating and degrading. Just blatant discrimination."

Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30400-1310802,00.html

The incident is reminiscent of the cases of Rajiv Rajan on JetLite (formerly Air Sahara) and Sminu Jindal on Jet Airways and an unreported recent case of ten persons with deafness traveling together i the Philippines whose travel plans were disrupted by airline officials based on discriminatory practices.

In 2004 Equality 2025 was formed to provide the government with direct access to articulate informed individuals with disability in order to implement policy. The groups Statement of Purpose is downloadable here
. In the preface the genesis of Equality 2025 is explained:

1.1 The Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit Report ‘Improving Life Chances for Disabled People’ set Government the challenge of delivering equality for disabled people by 2025. One of the problems the report describes is that disability groups and individuals are not well represented within policy development and that relations between disabled people’s organisations and Government, while improving, have been tentative and partial. A ‘National Forum for Organisations of Disabled People’ was recommended as part of the solution to these problems.

It appears that Michelle Daley in reporting this incident is following the prime directive of her resopnsibility to the government which states:

Most importantly,

2.6 In everything that it does, the Network will seek to include and
articulate the views, experiences and opinions of the full and
diverse range of disabled people, especially the most
marginalised, disempowered or excluded groups and those who
experience multiple discrimination and those who do not identify
themselves as ‘disabled’.

In addition, she is i line with recent promises of European Commissioner Jacques Barrot, “I can guarantee you my full commitment to advance access of disabled people the transport system’, said the Commissioner.

Ms. Daley's actions are further fortified by the July 5, 2008 European Union's Regulation on the Rights of Disabled Persons and Persons with Reduced Mobility When Travelling by Air that is available for download here

Air Passenger Rights in the UK?

Richard Rieser, Director, Disability Equality in Education (DEE) has written the article at Inclusion Week entitled The Social Model of Disability. I think some of the ideas contained in it will gain some new press coverage as one of his travel companions textmailed me a moment ago with Twitter-like reflexes:

" Scott - Watch out for a press release. A member of Equality 2025 was taken off a plane and refused a flight by air france from london to belfast..."

Reiser begins his article with a review of the damage caused by the medical model and the absolution it promises to those who then fail to perceive any social responsibility to adopt Universal Design:

The 'medical model' of disability sees the disabled person as the problem.

We are to be adapted to fit into the world as it is. If this is not possible, then we are shut away in some specialised institution or isolated at home, where only our most basic needs are met. The emphasis is on dependence, backed up by the stereotypes of disability that call forth pity, fear and patronising attitudes.

Usually the focus is on the impairment rather than the needs of the person. The power to change us seems to lie within the medical and associated professions, with their talk of cures, normalisation and science. Often our lives are handed over to them.

Other people's assessments of us, usually non-disabled professionals, are used to determine where we go to school, what support we get and what type of education; where we live; whether or not we can work and what type of work we can do and indeed whether or not we are born at all, or are even allowed to procreate. Similar control is exercised over us by the design of the built environment presenting us with many barriers, thereby making it difficult or impossible for our needs to be met and curtailing our life chances. Whether in work, school, leisure and entertainment facilities, transport, training and higher education, housing or in personal, family and social life, it is practices and attitudes that disable us.

Read on at:

http://inclusion.uwe.ac.uk/inclusionweek/articles/socmod.htm

And watch for the press release. The Office of Her Majesty's Government Office for Disability Issues describes Equality 2025 as:

Equality 2025 is a big step forward towards the government meeting its commitment to implement the recommendations in the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit report ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’.

Equality 2025 will carry out the promise to disabled people that they will have a direct voice into government to help us design polices and services that they really want.

Air France, are you creating the sort of "voice in government" that serves investors? Perhaps this pattern of treatment is part of a neatly conceived plan to "adjust shareholder value downward" on the order of the incident with passenger Adele Price:

Adele Price, 42, a British citizen, sued the airline in Manhattan federal court seeking unspecified damages.

Price, who was born without limbs because her mother took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy, said in the suit she is able to manipulate a wheelchair and has traveled by air many times.

The suit states that she had bought a ticket in 2000 for travel between Manchester, England and New York. After Price had checked her luggage, she alleged that she was stopped by an Air France agent who told her that "a head, one bottom and a torso cannot possibly fly on its own."

http://www.rollingrains.com/archives/000156.html

New Dehli Adds New Low-Floor Busses

Since 2002 the Indian non-profit organization Samarthyam has been working to improve New Dehli's transit accessibility. On April 1, 2008 their work will see the light of day with the launch of a new Bus Rapid Transit System corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand. Recently Anjilee Agarwal and Sanjeev Sachdeva of non-government Samarthyam demonstrated the system at a press conference.

Initiative for the better: A disabled person with reduced mobility demonstrating the use of the new Bus Rapid Transit System in New Delhi on Wednesday that makes it accessible for all on low floor bus.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System, a joint venture of the Delhi Government and the Industrial Development Finance Corporation, is all set to officially roll out the new Bus Rapid Transit System corridor from Ambedkar Nagar to Moolchand on April 1

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Delhi Transport Corporation officials waxed eloquent about the benefits of BRTS in making the Capital's public transport disable-friendly. A demonstration of how a wheelchair user will be able to easily access the bus queue shelter and the low-floor buses on the corridor was also provided after the conference

This demonstration was carried out by Anjilee Agarwal and Sanjeev Sachdeva of non-government organisation Samarthyam, which has been associated with the project since its inception in 2002.

The new low-floor buses that would be plying on the BRT corridor would be equipped with a ramp to enable people to board and disembark conveniently. The height of the bus-queue-shelter pavement has been raised to synchronise the height of the bus chassis. These buses would also have reserved space to accommodate wheelchairs.

"These features of this corridor make it accessible not just to the disabled but also to persons with reduced mobility such as senior citizens, families with small children, women wearing high heels," said Ms. Agarwal.

The disabled-friendly features in the system include an access ramp for persons using mobility aids, Braille plates and tactile floor tiles incorporated in the bus-queue-shelter in addition to boasting of well aligned street furniture.
The bus-queue-shelters included in the corridor will be located in the middle of the road with traffic marshals employed to help regulate traffic and help bus commuters cross the road. The segregated road design in BRT corridors will allow commuters to cross only at the zebra crossings when the traffic light is red during its normal cycle. A total of six traffic lights will be installed on the 5.6 km stretch of the trail corridor with each bus-queue-shelter located every 500 metres. According to DIMTS Senior Manager (Bus Operations) A. K. Sinha, the four bus routes to ply on the corridor would be 522, 521, 419 and 423. These would be run exclusively by the DTC. Blueline buses will not be permitted to run on them. The buses will ply in the corridor from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Is is Deja Vu All Over Again? Jet Airways Humliates India's Paralypiac Shot Put Champion

While the incident involving India's para Olympic shotput champion Malti Hola took place in February it was not reported in the press until March 19. The Times Now reports:

The incident occurred on February 20 on a flight to Delhi from Bangalore. Hola says after a two and a half hour flight, she was made to wait for another one and a half hours on the plane due to a delay in the arrival of the special chair which would take her out of the plane. The athlete did not receive any aid from the crew to visit the lavatory on the plane, resulting in an embarrassing situation for her.

But the problems did not end there. Malvi recalled her ordeal in an interview to TIMES NOW:

"The total journey was almost 2 and a half hours. They made me sit for one more hour and a half because of the 'in chair' (aisle chair) that had not arrived - there was a big communication gap between the cabin crew and the ground staff. The in chair is directly wheeled to the seat and the passenger transferred to her seat. By the time this arrived, I had developed internal problems since I had not been able to go to the toilet. My bladder was full so I started wetting my clothes.

"When I finaly came out, I had a big argument with the ground staff and the Jet Airways people. When my wheelchair came out of the cargo hold, it was totally broken, I was not able to use it at all. You know how essential the wheelchair is to people like us," she said.

Hola added that the Jet airways officials "did not have the courtesy to even taken down the complaint. They were just going on apologising for the delay."

For the full report:
http://www.timesnow.tv/NewsDtls.aspx?NewsID=6594

For commentary by Peter Tan:
http://www.petertan.com/blog/2008/03/19/more-on-airlines-mistreating-disabled-passengers/

USA Today on Inclusive Air Travel

The story "Airlines Tackle Wheelchair Need" covers common themes here are RollingRains.com but gives them a much wider audience. Here are two champions of Inclusive Travel quoted in the well-researched report by Barbara De Lollis:

By 2030, Open Doors estimates that nearly 24% of the U.S. population will be disabled, and 15% severely disabled, resulting in about 53 million more disabled people than in 1997. The group estimates that around a third of adults with disabilities fly at least once every two years.

It's not just aging that contributes to the increase in travelers with disabilities. Medical technology allows people who have endured severe trauma from war, vehicle crashes and the like to travel with relative ease, says Kate Hunter-Zaworski, director of the National Center for Accessible Transportation at Oregon State University.

"We are facilitating living a fuller life, and air travel is essential to a full life," she says.

At JetBlue, the growth in passengers who request wheelchair assistance has outpaced overall passenger growth consistently since 2004. Last year, about 262,000 JetBlue passengers, or 1.2%, requested such assistance when making their reservations.

For the full story:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-03-12-wheelchair-travel_N.htm

TSA Excess and the Safety of a Traveler With a Disability

WFTV in Florida reports on overzealous airport security in the US endangering the life of a traveler with a disability:

James Hoyne, 14, has a feeding tube in his stomach and carries a back-up in a sealed clear plastic bag. Hoyne said two weeks ago a TSA officer insisted on opening the sterile equipment, contaminating his back-up feeding tube which he later needed.

"I said 'Please don't open it' and she said 'I have to open it whether you like it or not. If I can't open it, I can't let you on the plane,'" Hoyne said of his conversation with the TSA screener.

Full story:
http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/15511359/detail.html

European Regulation on Air Passengers' Rights

Brussels, 5 March 2008 – Guaranteeing full accessibility of disabled passengers to the transport system and overcoming the existing barriers in Europe remain a priority for the European disability movement, but also for the European Commissioner Jacques Barrot, as he expressed yesterday during a meeting with Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum (EDF): “I can guarantee you my full commitment to advance access of disabled people the transport system’, said the Commissioner.

Referring to the recent entering into force of the European Regulation on Air Passengers’ Rights, Barrot highlighted the importance of a proper implementation of this key text: "adopting the Regulation was only the first step; we will now use all our means to make sure that it is also correctly implemented, but most important, we need disabled users’ support to do it well”.

Yannis Vardakastanis welcomed Barrot’s commitment to disability issues and stressed the important role of 50 million disabled people in the European integration process: “By securing access of disabled people to all forms of transport, the European Union is responding to the needs of citizens at the very grass root level, contributing to the improvement of their daily lives” said Vardakastanis to the Commissioner.

The discussion also focused on the forthcoming European Regulations on maritime and coach passenger rights, currently in preparation. “The Regulations will be proposed in the course of 2008; we will particularly make sure that the discrimination of passengers with disabilities will be addresses in these texts through a series of specific measures”, promised the European Commissioner. Barrot also thanked the European Disability Forum for the numerous cases of discrimination reported in the field of maritime transport and agreed on the need to simultaneously address the rights of disabled passengers and the accessibility requirements to be applied to this sector.

During the meeting, EDF President presented to the Commissioner the proposal for a comprehensive European disability Directive, tackling disabled people’s discrimination in all fields of life, including transport. Welcoming the proposal and congratulating the EDF for the success of its campaign “1million4disability” in favour of the disability Directive, Barrot recognised the specificities of the discrimination faced by disabled people, “made of prejudges and stereotyped , but also of structural barriers”

For more information on the EDF campaign “1million4disability”: www.1million4disability.eu

For more information, please contact: Helena González-Sancho Bodero, EDF Communication and Press Officer; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; Mobile phone: (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; E-mail: communication@edf-feph.org

The European Disability Forum (EDF) is the European umbrella organisation representing the interests of 50 million disabled citizens in Europe. EDF membership includes national umbrella organisations of disabled people from all EU/EEA countries, as well as European NGOs representing the different types of disabilities, organisations and individuals committed to disability issues. The mission of the European Disability Forum is to ensure disabled people full access to fundamental and human rights through their active involvement in policy development and implementation in Europe.

Forum européen des personnes handicapées (French)

>>> Communiqué de presse

Les droits des passagers handicapés, au cœur de l’agenda européenne

Rencontre hier à Bruxelles entre Jacques Barrot, Commissaire européen au Transport, et Yannis Vardakastanis, leader du mouvement européen des personnes handicapées

Bruxelles, 5 mars 2008 – Garantir une totale accessibilité des passagers handicapées au système de transport et surmonter les barrières existantes en Europe demeurent parmi les grandes priorités du mouvement européen des personnes handicapées, mais aussi parmi celles du Commissaire européen au Transport, Jacques Barrot, tel qu’il l’a exprimé hier lors de sa réunion avec le Président du Forum européen des personnes handicapées (FEPH), Yannis Vardaksatanis : “Je peux vous garantir mon engagement total afin de faire progresser l’accès des personnes handicapées au système des transports“, a déclaré le Commissaire.

Faisant référence au Règlement européen sur les droits des passagers aériens handicapés, récemment entré en vigueur, Barrot a souligné l’importance d’une bonne application de ce texte clé: "l’adoption du règlement n’était que le premier pas; désormais nous utiliserons tous les moyens à notre disposition afin d’assurer sa correcte application, et pour bien le faire, nous avons besoin du soutien des usagers handicapés”.

Yannis Vardakastanis a favorablement accueilli l’engagement de M. Barrot envers les questions liées au handicap et a souligné l’important rôle que les 50 millions de personnes handicapées jouent dans le processus de construction européenne: “En assurant l’accès des personnes handicapées à toutes les formes de transport, l’Union européenne répond aux besoins des citoyens de base et contribue à améliorer leurs vies de manière tangible” a exprimé Vardakastanis au Commissaire.

La discussion s’est également focalisée sur les futurs règlements européens en matière des droits des passagers maritimes et des autocars, en cours de préparation. “Les règlements seront proposés au cours de 2008; en particulier nous nous assurerons de la prise en compte de la discrimination à laquelle les passagers handicapés font face et cela, à travers des mesures spécifiques”, a promis le Commissaire européen. Barrot a également remercié le Forum européen des personnes handicapées pour les nombreux cas de discrimination dont l’organisation lui a fait part dans le domaine du transport maritime. Il a par ailleurs exprimé son accord sur la nécessité de travailler simultanément dans l’amélioration des droits des passagers handicapés et les critères d’accessibilité qui devront être appliqués dans ce secteur.

Au cours de la réunion, le Président du FEPH a présenté au Commissaire la proposition de directive européenne en matière de handicap actuellement promue par le Forum, dont le but est de combattre la discrimination des personnes handicapées dans tous les domaines de la vie, y compris les transports. Barrot a favorablement accueilli cette proposition et félicité le FEPH pour le succès de sa campagne “1million4disability” en faveur de la directive, tout en reconnaissant les spécificités liées à la discrimination des personnes handicapées, “faite de préjugés et des stéréotypes, mais également, de barrières structurelles”.

Pour plus d’information sur la campagne du FEPH “1million4disability”: www.1million4disability.eu

Pour plus d’information, veuillez contacter: Helena González-Sancho Bodero, Responsable de Communication et Presse; Tel: (+32 2) 282 46 04; GSM : (+ 32 ) 485 64 39 93; Courriel: communication@edf-feph.org

Le Forum européen des personnes handicapées (FEPH) est la plateforme européenne qui représente les intérêts de 50 millions de citoyens handicapés au sein de l’Union européenne. Les organisations membres du FEPH incluent les plateformes nationales des personnes handicapées de tous les Etats membres de l’UE et de l’Espace économique européen, ainsi que les ONG européennes représentant les différents types de handicap. La mission du FEPH est de garantir le respect total des droits fondamentaux et humains des personnes handicapées par le biais d’une implication active dans le développement et application des politiques européennes.

Air Passenger Rights in Pretoria?

As a frequent speaker and flier the following article probably would have never caught my attention had I been in Pretoria reading the newspaper yesterday. I may have paused for a moment wondering why an editor would think such an everyday occurrence as being left behind on an airplane without bathroom access or having your wheelchair lost or destroyed was newsworthy. It is helpful to have non-disabled friends who remind me that such things are not their experience:

A disabled Pretoria man was left on a South African Airways aircraft for more than an hour at OR Tambo International Airport while he waited for Swissport to provide a passenger aid unit (PAU) so he could disembark.

In that time the man, who does not want to be named, needed the toilet, had to insert a catheter to relieve himself and, after disembarking he and airport officials searched for a further two hours to find his wheelchair.

Try to Catch Johnny Jet!

Doing some travel planning and have access to the Internet but maybe not all the time you need? See if Johnny Jet's list of Online Travel Resources has what you need:

http://johnnyjet.com/LATimes2008.html

Airline Loyalty Or Just A "Hostage" Situation?

Airline loyalty programs are an emotional issue for some people as they gather large sums of redeemable miles. Airline satisfaction levels seem to be at an all-time low. Here is an essay from ETN subtitled, "Airline Loyalty Or Just A "Hostage" Situation?":

James T. Kane, a corporate consultant on customer loyalty, has a news flash for his airline.

“I hate you, and I tell everybody I hate you,” he says. “You could not pay me to get on your airline if I didn’t have to. The reason you think I’m a happy customer is I flew 178,000 miles on you last year — but that’s because I didn’t have a choice.” Like many other frequent business travelers, he finds that there is only one airline whose flight schedule fits his needs.

“I’m not loyal,” he adds. “I’m just a hostage.”

For the full article:
http://www.eturbonews.com/820/million-miles-vs-few-more-smiles

Svayam Receives Pro Forma Apology from Jet Airways

Backsliding on issues of air travel safety for people with disabilities has recently been a frequent issue here. One issue in India with Jet Airways has reached an unsatisfactory conclusion:

Ms. Sminu Jindal travelled by Jet Airways to Bangkok and back, on the Christmas vacations on 25th December 2007 and return on 01 Jan 2008. She was shocked to see the lack of sensitivity, ill-trained ground staff, absent essential services and above all how the Airliner like Jet Airways treat people with reduced mobility. Although Jet Airways issued a public apology, when media highlighted the incident, however, that doesn't solve the problem of millions of other people with disability whose voice doesn't reach the public/media.

Specifically, the apology indicates that Jet Airways will provide aisle chairs only on international flights. Such assurances by Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer certainly make for interesting case studies of worst practices in the anthology of business cases that I provide to faculty colleagues. However, I think he and I both share the ideal that such examples should be on the decrease rather than on the increase.

I would advise Jet Airways that their policy failure has already had negative impact on the company's international reputation. The smart business decision would be to consistently apply internationally recognized standards of non-discrimination and protect against further brand erosion.

Download apology from Jet Airways as .pdf

For more on this case see Svayam:
http://www.svayam.com/?q=node/411

ASTA Files Comments with the Department of Transportation on Oversales and Denied Boarding Compensation

Press release:

ASTA, [the American Society of Travel Agents] filed comments today with the Department of Transportation (DOT) on the issue of Oversales and Denied Boarding Compensation. ASTA provided the DOT with numerous recommendations for updating the more than 20-year old rules that currently govern the process of Denied Boarding Compensation practices.

“This is unfortunately an issue that affects most passengers at one time or another,” said Cheryl Hudak, CTC, ASTA president and CEO. “ASTA’s recommendations, if implemented, would reduce the number of instances in which airline passengers are involuntarily bumped and, in the event that an airline is forced to bump a passenger, create a more stable and acceptable process for doing so.”

In its comments, ASTA:

• Stated that it is in favor of doubling the ceiling on compensation for involuntarily bumped passengers.

• Suggested that ceiling caps should be adjusted automatically every five years and based on the Consumer Price Index Consumer-Price-Index Oct-07 (CPI).

• Objected to the DOT permitting airlines to establish, without any control, preference as to who will be involuntarily bumped when they are unable to secure volunteers. The DOT currently allows airlines to decide who will be involuntarily bumped based on the price of a passenger’s ticket.

• Argued that anyone with a confirmed seat assignment should never be bumped. ASTA also suggested that if an airline reserves the right to bump passengers based on the price of their ticket, the airline should warn the passenger of this risk at the time of purchase.

• Argued that compensation practices for international and domestic travel should be treated identically and based on a combination of length of delay and distance.

• ASTA recommended that the rules abolish the use of vouchers in favor of cash payments, stating that only cash payments will create a full incentive for airlines to closely manage Denied Boarding Compensation.

For additional information or to read any of ASTA’s filed comments on Oversales and Denied Boarding Compensation, please visit, ASTA.org.

The mission of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) is to facilitate the business of selling travel through effective representation, shared knowledge and the enhancement of professionalism. ASTA seeks a retail travel marketplace that is profitable and growing and a rewarding field in which to work, invest and do business.

Contact: Kristina Rundquist/Sarah Wilhite, Phone: 703-739-8710

Airlines to Seniors: Drop Dead

Response to poor service by airlines has nurtured reaction from senior travelers as well. This is from Ed Perkin's piece at Smarter Travel, "Airlines to seniors: Drop dead":

What happened to airline loyalty programs?

The big airlines have also treated seniors shabbily through their frequent flyer programs. To be sure, the airlines kept showering you with miles during the year, and especially with miles you earned other than by flying—on your credit cards, as bonuses for various purchases, and such. But what they gave you with one hand, they more than took away with the other:

* All the big lines other than Northwest now cancel your accumulated miles if you don't show account activity within the most recent 18 to 24 months. And, this year, many of them revised the fine print to permit unilateral changes in program rules with only a 30-day notice.
* Continental and Delta tightened up on award rules, hiking the mileage requirements for some awards (Continental) or no longer allowing travelers to book any available seat for double to triple the usual miles (Delta).
* All the lines have been making it increasingly difficult to find frequent flyer seats at the base award levels, especially on the more popular vacation routes. And, in my experience, upgrades and premium-class award seats are almost impossible to score without paying double to triple the base number of miles.
* Several lines have hiked the various fees they charge when you try to book a "free" seat, including charges for bookings made fewer than 20 days in advance, charges for refunding miles for unused tickets, and charges for phone bookings.

Seniors are apt to be especially vulnerable to frequent flyer devaluations. Many earn miles more slowly than the average frequent flyers. Many prefer to use miles for long trips to popular destinations. Many prefer—even need—the extra space and comfort of business- or first-class seats. And many have to save miles over a period of up to three years to accumulate enough for those purposes.

Full article:
http://www.smartertravel.com/travel-advice/airlines-to-seniors-drop-dead.html?id=2482822&source=nltype_senior&value=2008-01-22&u=SL950FFB97

What is it Like to Fly the "No Frills" Skybus Airlines?

What is it like to fly the "no frills" Skybus airlines?

Well, I don't know yet. (I haven't had much cause to want to go to Columbus, Ohio recently). Their web site sounds like they know how to follow the Air Carriers Act however.

One wonders if their system of allow passengers to explain their travel needs only through an online interface is sufficient. I have found no other airline that allows appropriate specificity of information that can be left in one's customer profile or included when purchasing a ticket.

From the Skybus site:

Have Special Travel Needs? Skybus Is Ready to Help

We’re happy to help our passengers who require a little extra assistance. Here’s how to ensure that you get the help you need.

Tell us in advance what you’ll need

1. When you make your reservation, just let us know if you or any passengers traveling with you will require any special assistance, for example any seating accommodation that requires early boarding (wheelchair, etc).

2. At the top of the Passenger Information page, you’ll be asked “Will any passengers require special assistance?” If you select ‘yes’, just follow the simple instructions, and we’ll handle the rest.

3. If you decide after you’ve made your reservation that you need special assistance, it’s no problem. Just go to the “View/Change Your Reservation” area on the Skybus Home page, enter the required information, then select “Change or Add Special Assistance”. Then follow the instructions.

Remember: The sooner you tell us about your needs, the better we can accommodate you.
Understand what we can provide, and what we can’t

* Skybus is a self-service airline, so there’s no 800 number to call. You must let us know about your needs using the website.
* We will carry wheelchairs and other assistance devices for your personal use, at no additional charge.
* If you’d like wheelchair assistance at the airport, please let us know ahead of time, when you book your flight(s).
* Passengers needing additional assistance will be invited to board first. Please note: federal safety regulations may prohibit such passengers from choosing a seat in an emergency exit row.
* Trained, certified service animals may travel free of charge in the airplane cabin. You’ll need to provide proof that the animal is a service animal.
* We are not equipped to transport or provide additional medical oxygen or other hazardous materials and/or contained gas either in the passenger cabin or as cargo or baggage. However, we do allow passengers to carry certain types of portable oxygen concentrators including AirSep Lifestyle, AirSep FreeStyle, Inogen One, Sequal Eclips, and Respironics Inc. EverGo. For more information please see “Common Questions about Special Travel Assistance” in our Help Center.
* A lift will be available for passengers who need it. The method by which passengers board our planes is different depending on the airport. At some airports, passengers use a jetway between the terminal and the aircraft. At others, passengers board and deplane using portable stairs. Rest assured, there’s always a lift available for passengers who aren’t able to climb stairs. We do ask that you let us know ahead of time that you require assistance, as described above.
* Our airplanes are not equipped to transport customers who require stretchers, incubators, respirators, or other specialized medical devices.

What You Need to Do

* If your wheelchair must be taken apart for transport, please check in at least 90 minutes before your flight is scheduled to depart. This will ensure that the personnel and equipment are available to serve you in a timely manner.
* If your disability is such that you require assistance from a specially trained individual, make arrangements for that individual to travel with you. Our employees receive only the training required for onboard emergencies.

For additional information, see the Special Travel Needs section of our Help Center.

Indian Airline Continues to Embarrass the Nation

Jet Airways enters the spotlight as another company with a Stone Age customer service policy in an era of jet-set technology. Once again the morally bankrupt policy of discrimination causes severe damage to an airline's public image (and thus profitability). Note that the airline's apology specifies that "allowing" Ms. Jindal to fly is an aberration from their standard of discrimination but only "in her case."

Let's examine the case: She cannot walk. She cannot stand. The airline does not provide even the basic cabin equipment such as an aisle chair. Her husband had to drag her to her seat (which, presumably, did not have a movable armrest.) Her net worth is $1 billion dollars.

Take away: With a net worth greater than some small countries you too can be humiliated by Jet Airways while they are allowed to continue discriminatory practices. Perhaps not if Ms. Jindal's important complaint is dealt with justly by the DGCA - http://www.svayam.com/?q=node/411. The DGCA notice to Jet Airways on their practices of discrimination: Download file

She may be fit enough to run a $1 billion business empire, but Jet Airways found the wheel chair ridden Jindal family scion Sminu so unsafe to fly that it asked her recently to either sign an indemnity bond or deplane. The incident — which again highlights airlines’ apathetic attitude towards physically-challenged passengers — happened when 34-year-old Sminu Jindal, who heads Jindal Saw, was travelling from Delhi to Bangkok on Christmas with her husband Indresh Batra on Jet’s business class.

from TNN:

"Jet apologizes to Jindal Saw chief over harassment"

‘‘I have been travelling all over the world but for the first time an airline asked me to sign a bond saying that I would not hold them responsible for any harm to me during the flight before being allowed to fly. I threw a fit and tore the bond they were waving at me. I told them unless they make every heart patient and pregnant woman to sign a similar thing, I refused to be treated differently,’’ Jindal said. She firmly told the airline that she was of a firm mind and the only problem was that she could not stand on her own as a road accident at the age of 11 left her paraplegic.

On its part, Jet Airways accepted its mistake and apologised to Jindal. ‘‘Sminu Jindal travelled on our flight 9W064 on December 25 from Delhi to Bangkok. Our airport staff at Delhi had requested her to sign a letter of indemnity as she was a wheelchair bound passenger. This was unnecessary in her case. I sincerely regret the mistake that happened and the inconvenience it caused to her,’’ said Jet’s EVP (commercial) Sudheer Raghavan.

Jindal’s problem did not end there. On the Delhi-Bangkok and return sector flight on January 1, she said the airline did not provide any aisle chair (a small wheelchair that can be used inside the aircraft). ‘‘My husband had to drag me to the seat on the flight. The issue is not about me being treated like this, but how airlines still refuse to provide basic assistance and dignity to physically-challenged passengers,’’ she said.

Raghavan said there was a tussle over allowing Jindal to take her wheelchair on the aircraft. But more shockingly, he admitted that ‘‘Jet Airways does not currently provide aisle chairs to special need passengers. We are examining the possibility of providing such services.’’

The Ordeal of Air Travel

Documentation of the rollback on service to air travelers with disabilities continues. This from the Sydney Morning Herald:

Plane travel can be frustrating for anyone, with the inevitable delays and cramped conditions. For anyone with a disability, you can double that frustration and times it by 10. The full extent of disabled passengers' frustration with airline services was revealed in a report last month released by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre.

Of 110 disabled people and carers surveyed about domestic air travel, only 14 found their experience positive. One man had his wheelchair badly damaged by baggage handlers, another wheelchair-bound passenger was forced to pay for a carer and then questioned extensively by staff about toilet needs - even though it was only a one-hour flight. Another passenger was refused boarding because his wheelchair was too large. No wonder that one woman, whose husband is a quadriplegic, simply described flying as an "ordeal".

Access restricted January 13, 2008

Flying can be an ordeal for people with disabilities, writes Danielle Teutsch.

Plane travel can be frustrating for anyone, with the inevitable delays and cramped conditions. For anyone with a disability, you can double that frustration and times it by 10. The full extent of disabled passengers' frustration with airline services was revealed in a report last month released by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre.

Of 110 disabled people and carers surveyed about domestic air travel, only 14 found their experience positive. One man had his wheelchair badly damaged by baggage handlers, another wheelchair-bound passenger was forced to pay for a carer and then questioned extensively by staff about toilet needs - even though it was only a one-hour flight. Another passenger was refused boarding because his wheelchair was too large. No wonder that one woman, whose husband is a quadriplegic, simply described flying as an "ordeal".

Many of the complaints stemmed from lack of staff, or inadequately trained staff, as well as restrictive policies about mobility aids such as wheelchairs. Although there are national disability standards to make public transport accessible, the report found transport inadequately regulated and called for a code of practice specifically for airlines, developed in consultation with disabled people. The report - appropriately called Flight Closed - has been submitted to the Federal Government as part of its review of national standards.

Jo Shulman, principal solicitor at the NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre, said the report came about because of the number of complaints the centre had received of discriminatory treatment in relation to airline travel. A finding of the report was that air travel had got harder for disabled people over the past five years - and the main reason for that was cost cutting and the introduction of budget airlines, Shulman said.

Also, Australia has no independent watchdog monitoring airline compliance with national standards for accessible travel, unlike North America and Europe. Virgin Blue's independent travel criteria have been the subject of much criticism. The policy is that anyone who is unable to reach the oxygen mask, put on a life jacket, fasten a seatbelt and understand instructions must travel with a carer. "It's caused a great deal of upset and is being applied inconsistently," Shulman said.

The policy is currently the subject of a federal court challenge by three complainants.

Regional Express airlines is planning to introduce a similar policy to that of Virgin Blue, and has applied to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission for a temporary exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act that would allow it to do so.

Simon Darcy is associate professor in the school of leisure, sport and tourism at the University of Technology, Sydney, and a power wheelchair user. Despite having travelled extensively - most recently to the US with United Airlines last year, he would not be able to travel independently under Virgin Blue's criteria. He said Qantas domestic has made more of an effort to be inclusive, and has taken more time in consulting people with a disability.

Darcy said much of the difficulty in plane travel comes at the time of transferring from the passenger's wheelchair to the airline's aisle chair, which tends to be narrow and allows little independent mobility. (Darcy says people liken it to the chair that Hannibal Lecter was strapped into in the film The Silence Of The Lambs.)

Another problem is being "manhandled" by untrained porters, or even worse, having to wait in the plane because there are insufficient porters to meet demand.

"I once waited on a plane for an hour before I was transferred, which caused me to miss my connections," he says. "Sometimes, you're just seen as a piece of luggage."

Darcy said disabled passengers just want to be as independent as possible, maintain their dignity and be treated equitably.

The trend towards budget airlines, cost-cutting and declining customer service is set to continue. But he points out that it is a false economy, as airlines are missing out on the growing market in accessible tourism.

The Bureau of Statistics says 20 per cent of Australians have a disability of some kind, which is similar to our major overseas tourism markets. It quotes recent market estimates that tourists with disabilities already account for $3.4 billion of the domestic tourism market.

Barbara Worley is a special-needs consultant to Adelaide-based travel company Travelaffare. Whereas most of her disabled clients were once content to go to Disneyland or the UK, she is now getting requests for wheelchair-accessible villas in Tuscany, or tours of Egypt.

"It's interesting to see how people are getting far more adventurous," she says. She recommends the airlines Cathay Pacific, Qantas and British Airways to her clients - as well as airlines such as Malaysian, which is catching up, having recently installed wheelchair accessible toilets on its aircraft.

Worley has travelled the world, since an accident 40 years ago left her a paraplegic. Even though she is aware airlines have recently tightened up rules for disabled passengers, she says facilities have no doubt improved from those early days when there were no accessible toilets and she had to be carried on and off the plane. "Things are better, but there's still a long way to go."

RESOURCES

* Easy Access Australia by Bruce Cameron is a travel guide for people with a disability or mobility difficulty. See http://www.easyaccessaustralia.com.au.

* Travelaffare is a travel agency that organises holidays for people with a disability. See http://www.e-bility.com/travelaffare.

* Nican has an online database with information on accessible tourism. Visit http://www.nican.com.au.

Source:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/access-restricted/2008/01/10/1199554819719.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

Airlines Ordered to Drop Extra Fares for Disabled

CTV reports on a recent ruling in Canada:

Canada's major air carriers have been ordered to offer disabled travellers the same fares as everyone else.

Under a Canadian Transportation Agency ruling, travellers who need additional seating because of their disabilities will no longer have to pay more than a single fare for domestic flights.

While the report is informative the free-for-all in the discussion and comments following is very revealing of real attitudes toward disability. See Airlines ordered to drop extra fares for disabled

The report continues:

Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet have one year to bring in a "one-person-one-fare" policy for people with severe disabilities -- including the severely obese -- who require two seats to accommodate them.

The ruling also applies to disabled perso

One Person, One Fare: Canadians in the Air

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities / Conseil des Canadiens avec Deficiences send the following press release:

Reaction to Landmark Canadian Transportation Agency Decision:
Disabled Canadians Jubilant to Have Transport Barrier Removed

Winnipeg, January 10, 2008 – Today the Canadian Transportation Agency
(CTA) released a landmark decision concerning the right of individuals with
disabilities to travel by air without having to pay for a second seat, for
an attendant or other use, to accommodate their disability. In a historic
decision in the “One Person, One Fare” case, the agency has recognized the
right of these individuals to have access to a second seat when traveling
by air in Canada without having to pay a second fare.

“Canadians with disabilities are celebrating today,” said Pat Danforth,
Chairperson of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities Transportation
Committee. Joanne Neubauer, one of the principal complainants in the
case, agreed. “We hope that this decision sends a strong message to all
transportation carriers,” she said. “Access is the rule.”

The CTA decision acknowledged the importance of a number of established
human rights principles underlying the arguments of the complainants in
the case, noting that these principles dictate that persons with disabilities
have the same rights as others to full participation in all aspects of
society and that equal access to transportation is critical to their
exercise of that right.

“The Canadian Transportation Agency recognized the fundamental soundness
of our arguments, which have a strong foundation in existing human rights
jurisprudence,” said David Baker of Bakerlaw, legal counsel for the
complainants in the case. “While the number of people who will benefit
and the actual cost to the airlines are larger than in any previous case, the
principles applied by the Agency in its decision were clearly established
by the Supreme Court of Canada in its March 2007 CCD v. VIA Rail decision,”
said David Baker.

Disabled Canadians said the decision had the potential to make an enormous
difference in their lives. “This is about independence,” said Sandra
Carpenter of the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto. “It’s about
our
ability to be part of Canadian society and to have barriers to our
participation removed.”

The decision was many years in coming – the late Eric Norman, Joanne
Neubauer, and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities filed the
original complaint with the CTA in 2002, seeking to establish a situation of
equality for passengers with disabilities who travel with attendants.

For many years, Canadians with disabilities traveling by train, bus or
marine service have been permitted to use a second seat without cost when
one was required. But airlines such as Air Canada, Westjet, and Jazz have
not been bound to obey this policy, meaning that many Canadians with
disabilities have been forced to effectively pay double what others pay to
fly.

Now that all seems set to change.

“We have been looking for some good news in the transport industry for
some time,” said Claredon Robicheau, a member of the Council of Canadians with
Disabilities (CCD) Transport Committee. “This decision gives us enormous
hope that we are once again moving to build an accessible and inclusive
Canada.”

- 30 -

For More Information or Comment on the Decision Contact:

Mr. David Baker, Legal Counsel

Ms. Sandra Carpenter, Acting Executive Director,
416-533-0040 Ext 222 Centre for
Independent Living in Toronto 416-599-2458 Ext 36

Ms. Joanne Neubauer Mr. Jim
Derksen, CCD Policy Advisor
250-881-1936
204-781-4187

Ms. Pat Danforth, Chair, Mr. Laurie
Beachell, National Coordinator CCD
Transportation Committee 204-947-0303
250-595-0044

Mr. Claredon Robicheau,
Member CCD Transportation Committee
(available for French interviews) 902-769-2474

The Year Ahead - Clearer Skies?

The end of 2007 saw the ENAT and ICAT conferences on Inclusive Tourism. Early January 2008 will be the SAT conference and may 2008 will see the IIDI Turismo para Todos conference. At the same time ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities continues at a rapid pace.

With so much progress on the stabilization of human rights for persons with disabilities the actions of the Federation of Indian Airlines to subvert the ' Carriage by Air of Disabled Persons or Persons with Reduced Mobility' proposed by India's Office of The Director General of Civil Aviation is especially out of step with the global consensus on the value of travelers with disabilities as a market. One would think that no one in the industry is doing their diligence on market forecasting.

Dear Kiki and Friends,

I would like to thank you for your responses...and I will go through the attachment you have sent.

In the meanwhile there has been a new development in India on the 30th Dec 2007 - this time by the FIA - Federation of Indian Airlines.

The FIA are not ready to accept the new guideline on ' Carriage by Air of Disabled Persons or Persons with Reduced Mobility' proposed by DCGA (Office of The Director General of Civil Aviation). The same was to come into force from 1st Jan 2008. I have attached the draft guideline with this mail for your reference. And in the last few months we had strongly lobbied for many changes before this final draft.

FIA says "Free help to disabled can't be enforced" - kindly read on for the article that was published in yesterday's news paper for your reference.

Kind Regards

Mahesh

'Free help to disabled can't be enforced', Times of India, 30th Dec 2007

NEW DELHI: The government's first attempt to regulate pricing policy of airlines could come to naught and add to the costs of physically challenged passengers.

Following several complaints from disabled rights groups, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had about a month back issued a draft civil aviation requirement (CAR) on the subject. Among other things, it asked airlines to mandatorily provide free assistance to such passengers. The rule was to go into effect from January 1.

While most airlines currently provide wheelchairs, stretchers and ambulifts free, they have strongly opposed making the free service compulsory. The Federation of Indian Airlines — a joint body of Air India, Jet, Kingfisher, Deccan, GoAir, IndiGo, Paramount and SpiceJet — has said that the industry must be free to recover any extra cost that's incurred in the process of providing assistance to handicapped passengers.

Saying airlines are aware of their responsibilities towards physically challenged passengers, FIA has submitted its reply to the CAR to the ministry and DGCA.

"FIA believes that the issue of costs and cost-recovery for such special facilities cannot be mandated through the CAR. In our consultation with members, all carriers have expressed their strong opposition to airlines being denied the right to charge and recover costs for service provided," it said.

It goes on to add: "No other passengers are provided services free of charge. Any additional service should necessarily come at a charge to the passenger using the service, else the increased costs will need to be borne by the other airline passengers which is unfair. Airlines should be allowed to independently decide the charges, which certainly should be communicated clearly to passengers."

It has pointed out that the earlier CAR of July, 2005, allows airlines to charge for any additional service provided to passengers with special needs.

The new CAR stipulated that no airline would refuse to carry persons on a stretcher if they are accompanied by an escort who would look after them in flight. While FIA agrees to this, it says: "However, the carriage must be paid for. For example, a stretcher requires displacing nine seats that would otherwise be sold as revenue. It must be clear that these seats must be reserved in advance and paid for."

Similarly, the new rules say that all airlines must provide assistance to persons with disabilities/reduced mobility from the departing airport terminal to the destination airport terminal without any additional charge. "The Airlines strongly disagree with this statement. It is one thing to provide service, another to do it for free. No other passengers are provided free-of-charge services," the FIA has said.

Asked about this stand, a member airline of FIA said that most carriers provide these services free of charge and may even continue to do so. "But the decision to charge or provide assistance free must be the commercial decision of airlines. It can't be legally mandated," he said. This is not the first time airlines are spurning government's moves on influencing their charges. While the aviation ministry strongly opposed the term "congestion surcharge", airlines continue to levy it.

saurabh.sinha@timesgroup.com http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Free_help_to_disabled_cant_be_enforced/articleshow/2661352.cms

****************************** Response to the Article **********************

31.12.07

Dear Mr. Saurabh,

Greetings and thank you very much for publishing the article titled "Free help to Disabled Can't be enforced"

This is a significant development and a new hurdle posed by The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) towards the new Civil Aviation guidelines by DGCA for "Carriage by Air of Disabled Persons or Persons with Reduced Mobility".

In the last few months, we as a group of disabled persons have been lobbying with the DGCA in drafting these guidelines and finally when it was to come into effect from 1 Jan 2008 - the FIA has sprung a surprise.

We as persons with disabilities are not asking for free service, we want to use the services like any other passengers. However the limitations posed by the procedures adopted by the different airlines further reduces our mobility and prevents us from using the airline just like any other.

Some examples that prevent us are highlighted below:

1. From the point of check-in - the airline asks us to use the wheelchair provided by them - these wheechairs cannot be self-propelled and therefore we need a ground staff.

2. The airline do not handle our personal wheelchair safely and many times they have broken my wheelchair because of their careless attitude.

3. Where ever there is an aerobridge facility passengers using wheelchair are not given access to use them and they are not alloted the first row of seats - because of which we physically lifted by 3-4 persons with our wheelchair up and down the stairs to the aircraft.

4. We cannot use the buses/ transport facilities provided by the airline on the tramac as there are steps and no ramps to get into the coach. Therefore we need assistance to be lifted up and down from the bus or wheeled on the tarmac till the aircraft.

5. There are no wheelchair accessible toilets in many of the airport, the ones that are built are not according to standard specifications therefore one needs assistance to access the toilets.

Who is to be blamed for creating such obstacles? Why should the passenger using wheelchair or a person with limited mobility bear the cost towards these procedural and architectural barriers created by the airlines and at the airports.

Closing with warm regards

Mahesh

****************** A Prior Violation of Rights ******************************

Dear Friends,

Greetings,

Through this mail I would like to highlight the practice adopted by some of the airlines where passengers using wheelchairs have to sign in the "APPLICATION FOR THE CARRIAGE OF MEDICAL PASSENGER".

The most offending paragaraph in the 'APPLICATION' that we as passenge