United Flight Attendant Refuses To Help Disabled Woman With Bags

Hello All BlkAv8tor2003 Checking In!!!

As if things in the airline industry seem to sound more strange everyday, here comes another incident where a passenger needed assistance and a flight attendant refused to assist the passenger. It sounds like a situation of a crew member giving a passenger a hard time and being very direct in her reasoning about it but if you read the whole story then the tables seem to turn the other way. I posted a link to the full story after the excerpt from the passengers blog. You really should read the passengers full story to get an idea of what happened.

As a former flight attendant and customer service manager, it's sad to hear such a response was given from a crew member! The airline should have had a better response to the situation than that...at least sound caring or concerned! I read the passengers story and it sounded like it was full of tiring situations!

The rest of my comments are after the passenger excerpt.

(Excerpt) I boarded the plane and made my way back to my aisle seat where I set down my special seat cushion and lumbar brace before looking around for a flight attendant to help me put my luggage in the overhead compartment. The attendant standing in the front section of economy was a blonde woman probably in her late 40s-50s and I called her over to explain that I needed her assistance because I wasn't capable of lifting my luggage due to my disability.

To my surprise, the attendant rejected my request while excusing it by saying: "If I helped everyone do that all day then MY back would be killing me by the end of the day!" I asked her how I was supposed to get my luggage stowed and her answer was: "You'll just have to wait for someone from your row to come back here and ask them to give you a hand." When I asked what would happen if no one would, her response to me was: "Well, normally a passenger is around to overhear something like this and they'll offer to help with it on their own. You'll just have to ask someone when they get back here." Then she turned back around and went up to the front seats where she waited to "assist" other passengers.

I was completely flabbergasted, but with no other option, I sat down to wait and pulled my carry-on suitcase as close as I could to try to get it out of the way of the aisle. As I'm sure you're aware, however, your aisles are considerably narrow and even my best efforts left half of even my small carry-on suitcase in the aisle. What's more, rather than help me, most of the passengers simply knocked into my suitcase and shoved past me on the way to their own seats. Every time they hit the suitcase, it in turn hit me and jarred my back more and more with each strike.

The plane wasn't even half boarded and it already felt like the pain medication I'd taken less than a half hour prior to entering the airport had worn off as though I hadn't taken it at all. Finally, it was too much and I dropped my suitcase down into the aisle to stop the flow and ask one of the men passing me for help before he went looking for his seat. As he was lifting it, he asked me if I was all right and I told him about my injury. He apologized profusely for my condition and tried to make me feel better by assuring me I would be okay eventually. I doubt either of us believed it, but at that point, it was nice to hear that, even from a total stranger. Full Story Here

("Evilpuppy", is the passenger's blog name) "Evilpuppy" was not exactly the perfect passenger.

This is the problem that passengers run into when they "assume" what the flight attendants, pilots, customer service agents or the airline can and cannot do for you. Flight attendants are truly not there to put your baggage in an overhead bin. It is up to you the passenger to load and unload your baggage in and out of the overhead bins. If you can't lift your own luggage above your head then what makes you think the airline provides someone to do that for you? This is what I mean when I say most passengers don't really know what the job or the duties of the flight attendant are.

"Evilpuppy" has a known disability or injury and you’re carrying on a roll-a-board suitcase? You knew before you left that you would not be able to lift your bag and you assumed it was the flight attendant job to put it in the overhead bin for you. Then when she refused you acted shocked! Now how she refused is wrong in all respects and is not excusable but you should have thought about your disability when packing your luggage. If your back disables you from lifting your own suitcase into the bins, then you should have checked your suitcase and not rolled it aboard and carry on a much smaller bag with your necessary essentials.

United's overall response was just crazy and unfortunately I do believe that a flight attendant and an agent would possibly respond to a passenger the way they responded to you! Your case is not singular and not the last one people will read about. I know as a flight attendant you have to be very careful when dealing with passengers regarding visual and non-visual disabilities. Passengers also must be proactive with their disabilities and give the people around them ample warning without assumptions that help will always be provided or assumed. Just because a passenger is in a wheelchair doesn't mean they want or need help to move about but the person able to offer assistance may not know that.

So I suggest that "Evilpuppy" you may need to be more proactive with your disability seeing how it's not visual. It will require you to change your thought process about the way you travel so that people that are available to help you know that you’re not exploiting their services with your disability and you actually need help. Again the experience you had was all the way wrong and it should have been handled much better.

The flight attendant was wrong to a point in her actions and what she said but you did get on the plane assuming that the flight attendant would do the lifting for you. So in the future you may want to find another way to get your baggage to your destination i.e.. Checking your baggage, ship your baggage ahead via UPS or FedEx and only carry-on your absolute necessities that you can manage without difficulty.

I'm not trying to bash you (the victim) but this situation can be avoided well before passengers get on the plane. Hopefully in your future travel plans you’re more proactive and the crew on your flights will be much more accommodating to you and your disability.

The airlines as a whole are having a tough time surviving in today's economy and finding good people to run the airline is easily found and also easily forgotten. The airlines need to go back to what use to work and passengers need to understand that flying on the airlines is a privilege and not a right even though they may have payed for a service. Things like this don't happen everyday and hopefully they will be few and far between but they will happen again and I hope whomever reads this will think ahead to lessen the chances of this happening to them.

As I always say: Be Proactive Not Reactive and Enjoy Your Flight!!!

BlkAv8tor2003

Carry-On and Checked Baggage Spirit Air Will Cost You!!!

Hello All BlkAv8tor2003 Checking In!!!

Well the time has come and I have said it since well before the baggage fees went up, that the airlines would ultimately start charging passengers a fee to carry-on baggage! No matter how juicy the details or how many perks you may get by joining different flier clubs with any particular airline, you may end up paying to fly with more than a coat, purse or briefcase.

Does anyone fly like that these days anymore??? The days of hats, coats and purses are going by the wayside. 1960's style of flying is coming back trust me! Remember the saying "History Repeats Itself!" Well history is starting to repeat itself and it's going to cost you! So be prepared as gasoline prices go up this summer, delays will never go away and tensions of people frustrated when they fly are higher than ever!

Here is Spirit Air based out of Miramar, Florida with 40 destinations has started charging for carry-on baggage. They are the first U.S. carrier to institute this policy and it starts in August. The fees are listed in the article below. It can cost you as much as $45 at the airport to carry on a bag.
(Carry-on Baggage: anything that you would have to put into an overhead bin)

Spirit Air is expecting this to make deplaning the aircraft a faster process and boarding to be a breeze too! If you don't know already, it's time to start checking your bag to your destination with FedEx or UPS if your traveling for pleasure. If your traveling for business you may need to carry-on your bags because destinations can change with short notice and getting a bag changed between flights can create potential baggage mishandlings.

So the time to be more prepared is really here. Be ahead of the ballgame and know what fees may pop up on you when you get to the airport!

I'll keep up on this and post any changes or differences that you need to know!!!

"Be Proactive Not Reactive And Enjoy Your Flight!!!"

BlkAv8tor2003

Fees for checked and carry-on baggage: Effective for flights booked today and on for flights after August 1, passengers on Spirit Airlines must also pay to bring on a carry-on above a personal item. This is a completely new fee for them, since carry-ons used to be free.


To take on any bag aside from a personal items like purse or briefcase, you'll be paying $20 online if you're a Spirit club member, $30 online for non-members and $45 at the airport. You will get "priority boarding," however. Along with this new fee, the checked rates have gone up to $15 online for members on domestic/$20 international, $25 online for non-members on domestic/$30 international and $45 for anyone checking their bag at the airport. And that's just the first bag!

Spirit Airlines, this is getting prohibitively complicated! Now for the sale information...
Airfares from 1 penny: Perhaps we should be happy that Spirit isn't having another of their bawdily-named airfare sales, but there is just so much fine print to this one that we're tempted to dismiss it straightaway.

It's for their $9 Fare Club members only, and to join that club you have to lay down $40 annually; never mind that whenever we search for Spirit flights, we never see $9 fares listed for the $9 Club.


So if you're a member of the club, there are currently a million seats on Spirit flights available from only a penny. But that penny can quickly become $72 no matter how hard you try.


For example, a one-way, one person "Penny" fare:
"Penny Plus" sale from Detroit—Las Vegas


Ticket: 1 cent


Carry-on baggage paid at airport: $45


Fuel: $54.22


Taxes & Fees: $18.70


Total: $117.93

Inspections show inaccurate airline luggage scales may cost travelers money

Posted By: PointsWizard Read More in

Hello All, BlkAv8tor2003 Checking In!!!

As we move toward the end of the year and the busiest part of the travel season isn't ironic about the news that starts to come out with all of the airlines financial woes! This is a prime reason for passengers to become more "Proactive" in there travel plans than ever before. Now it's the scales the airlines could be using to nickle and dime you to death for every bit of cash they can get to stay above water another day! As you read the following story you will see what I mean and I also made a personal observation. How is it the cities with the most issues with bag weights are the cities with larger retired citizens in the Florida area (I'm curious to see what other retirement cities are like). One would think over-weight baggage we be most likely associated with the passengers traveling to the Caribbean (non-vacationer) like natives of the islands who tend to travel heavy going to the islands and coming back considerably lighter in baggage weight. Usually when your checking in to a flight and your checking a bag I would ask to see the scale and ask to have it zeroed before you put anything on the scale. If you think your bag will be close and a weight issue might be in the works at least be sure that it's weighing your baggage correctly.

Plan ahead and get to the airport early enough so that if weight is a problem you can adjust the items in your baggage maybe to another bag or carry-on to keep from having to pay an over-weight fee. There are some airports that have the scales accessible to you before you go to check-in and you can weigh it yourself to see were you stand and then adjust accordingly.

Weighing your baggage at home is also a good thing but remember the average basic scale for home use is a good range indicator (unless you have a newer digital scale) for the weight of your bag(s). So get an idea of the weight your working with and adjust as needed or at least make sure your not so heavy that you incur additional cost if your in the neighborhood of 100 lbs.

Packing your bag should be done methodically. Pack your clothing, shoes and personal products while thinking about their weight if your going someplace for a short period of time. Look at the climate of the place your going while packing to gauge what you need to check vs. carry-on. Somethings you can wait to get if your traveling to a friend or family members home you may not need to pick up some things and wait until you arrive to save you some ounces. Remember 16oz equals 1 pound and they add up quickly.

Sending your bag(s) ahead if you know where your going especially for the holidays and your spends several days in a place, think about checking your luggage ahead of time by sending it via UPS or FedEx. It maybe a little more expensive but you at least know where your luggage is all the time, you can send it 2-3 days ahead and have it waiting for you with family or friends when you arrive and your day of travel can be a light in day travel weight and much more comfortable and stress free about where your bag is if there is a delay or cancellation. Carry-on a small bag with food, personal items, medicine and at least a change of underwear and a washcloth just in case you get stuck in an airport and a hotel room isn't a viable option. Remember if you think everything is going to smooth in easy your already setting yourself up for disappointment.

Lastly, it is already snowing in some cities now and the airlines use different average weights to calculate the weight and balance for an airliner. Summer weight for average passengers is about 180 lbs (general average) and 200 lbs for the winter time and the airlines start using those numbers roughly around October and end in April and they can be adjusted because one way or another because of a cities specific climate conditions. Also when you fly into smaller cities that use commuter size aircraft weight becomes more critical and if your traveling to a ski resort plan on delays, cancellations and bags not arriving on-time when you do because of weight limits of that particular aircraft. Places in Colorado, Utah, Nevada, N.E. Corridor and of course Canada to name a few will have ski resorts near the local airport and it doesn't take much to have an airport socked in and flights can't land.

So be mindful, proactive and have your guard up in the winter months because things happen and you or the airline won't be able to control it so make the best of the situation my thinking that things may not go as planned and have a great flight and holiday travel season!

BlkAv8tor2003

03Nov08

“Before packing your suitcase and heading to the airport this holiday season, consider this: The airline’s baggage scale may be the reason you’re paying extra for an overweight bag.
A Sun Sentinel analysis of nearly 2,000 South Florida airport scale inspections found that more than one in four resulted in failures from 2005 to mid-2008, many for technical reasons but some because they couldn’t weigh accurately.
Palm Beach International Airport had the worst record for weight-related failures, 12 percent, while Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International and Miami International had 4 percent.
Inaccurate scales could mean travelers are unnecessarily shelling out money for heavy bags, as some airlines have increased fees for overweight luggage to compensate for extra handling and higher fuel costs.
Airlines said only a very small percentage of customers pay overweight bag fees, which are usually at least $50 each way for bags more than 50 pounds, and charges most commonly occur on international flights. Some consumers have filed complaints with the state in recent months, including Joseph Jablonski, of Flanders, N.J.
The 20-year-old and his mom packed a single bag for their four-day Bahamas cruise in July. It weighed 50 pounds on the bathroom scale at home and the JetBlue scale at the Newark airport. Returning from the cruise, Jablonski said he was surprised when a ticket agent in Fort Lauderdale said his bag was too heavy.
“They were trying to tell us the bag gained 35 pounds in four days,” he said, noting they didn’t buy much on vacation. “

by Jaclyn Giovis and Dana Williams
www.sun-sentinel.com/business/custom/consumer

American to hike fees, cut flights, trim staff

BlkAv8tor2003 Checkin' In!!!

Hello All, you see what's going on? I told you it's going to start happening, airlines are going to charge you for everything under the sun when you fly. Check your bags with FedEx or UPS, it's going to better for you in the long run. Cost is in your favor for the most part, security, and getting your piece delivered where you want. You can even track your piece well before you even depart and if for any reason your piece gets delayed or missed your already on top of it in advance. I would say if your a business traveler use this service with a little caution because of the short on advance notice. If you know far enough ahead you can go with the professional shipping companies if your very sure the travel plans aren't going to change. Business travelers I'm not a business traveler where I had to fill out expense reports but if anyone could give me some in-sight on if you could write this cost off or business expense it and or report a cost savings on paper to your company? Be proactive because the less you have to deal with when it comes to the airlines the better off the trip will be...at least things the airline can control!!!

Have A Good Trip!!!

BlkAv8tor2003

12:36 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 21, 2008

By BRAD HAWKINS / WFAA-TV



Michael Ainsworth / DMNAll luggage will be subject to a surcharge starting next month.


Brad Hawkins reports
05/21/08
STORY: AA adds $25 fee for extra bag
LINK: American Airlines baggage information

FORT WORTH — American Airlines, hit hard by escalating fuel prices, said Wednesday passengers will be hit with fees to check any bag, starting with tickets purchased after June 15.
American and its American Eagle subsidiary will also trim their fleets, cut their flight schedules and lay off workers in the coming months.
Speaking at the annual meeting of AMR Corporation, the parent company of both airlines, chairman, president and CEO Gerard Arpey said travelers would face a $15 charge for the first piece of luggage checked, the first time any major domestic airline has used this method to increase revenue.
Delta doesn't plan to match American's fee for the first checked bag, airline spokeswoman Betsy Talton said.
What's your view?

"These are difficult but necessary steps," Arpey said, noting that rising oil prices have inflated the airline's annual fuel costs by nearly $3 billiion since the start of the year.
American recently instituted a $25 fee for second bags checked after a free first bag. Arpey said other passenger fees will be increased, including surcharges for pets and for unaccompanied minors.
Also on Wednesday, Arpey said AMR planned to cut its domestic capacity by up to 12 percent by retiring 40 to 45 American Airlines jets and 30 to 35 American Eagle aircraft starting in the fourth quarter. Some of the planes will be retired; others will be parked at a desert storage facility.
Arpey said fewer flights will lead to job cuts at both American and American Eagle. The number of workers facing layoffs was not announced.
AMR shares tumbled $1.10, or 13.4 percent, to $7.10 after the announcement which came as its shareholders gathered for their annual meeting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Alaska Airlines cancels 41 flights to Alaska because of volcano

Alaska Airlines said it’s canceled 41 flights to Alaska because of volcanic ash created by the Kasatochi volcano in the Aleutian Islands.
The Seattle carrier, a unit of Alaska Air Group Inc. (NYSE: ALK) said the flights were canceled to the Alaskan cities of Adak, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka from the cities of Seattle, Denver, Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., San Francisco and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Airline officials said they hope to resume flights later on Monday.
“We recognize these cancellations will significantly impact our customers intending to travel to or from Alaska ... We are making every effort to re-accommodate passengers whose flight schedules have been disrupted,” said Glenn Johnson, executive vice president of airports, maintenance and engineering, in a statement.

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Well Hello All,

BlkAv8tor2003 here and checking in!!!

Did anyone who was flying up to Alaska think to check this one out? I know I think everyone should be proactive but checking for the latest hurricane info is a bit over the top! So if your flying on Alaska and were heading up to Anchorage (KANC) what should you do before you go if you just have to be there and this doesn't included locals? Well first you probably would have heard about it on the plane or hopefully before you even boarded the aircraft in the boarding gate area or ticket counters when you checked in. So if you heard about it early enough though you can make some alternate arrangements or change your plans all together. This would be a good time (in a nice way) to talk to one of the airline reps who can help you make the changes you like and hopefully keep this process cheap as possible.
Have them locate your bags so that if you make the changes you can go elsewhere or back to home and try another day. If your bags happen to go on without you don't plan on seeing them returned to you very quickly especially since the volcano fully erupted. Give the city, airline and that community a chance to recovery and they will get your baggage back to you! Remember your bags are not the only ones the airline has to deal with. The more calm, respectful and understanding you are when talking to the airline reps the better your chances you have of getting what you need taken care of then and there.
Rental cars, hotel and other events or places you have reserved you should call them and see what they have planned for natural disasters when customers cannot make it to keep a reservation. Time is of the essence so the sooner you handle this the less it may cost you down the road.
Listen to radio and TV reports and or reference the internet to see the status of the vocanic activity before, during or after your trip. The more informed you are will keep the stress levels to a minimum!!!
Lot's of this info is common sense but sometimes it takes something to draw our memories to it!
Be safe people, think ahead and no matter how crazy, be proactive and stay ahead of the ball game!!!

Ciao,

BlkAv8tor2003

3 comments from 3 users

posted by SamSam9547 on Aug 11, 2008 at 12:58 PM

Hey BLK....very good and timely post....and excellent reminders to be adult and thinking of something and someone beyond normal control....only a few of the more demanding of us can control an erupting volcano and its aftermath, and chances are that none of them are reading this blog.
sam

Report Violation
posted by animadvert4 on Aug 11, 2008 at 03:19 PM

Guess those airlines got tired of having to replace their windscreens and repairing the damage from sucking all that airborne dust into their engines.
Can't say I blame them.

Report Violation
posted by JD5847 on Aug 11, 2008 at 06:16 PM

Oh, dear! Did anyone alert Al Gore? We must immediately create a ginormous plug in order to stop the greenhouse gases form destroying the earth! A single volcano can put more gas and particulate pollution into the atmosphere than all the world's industry.
"The sky is falling!! The sky is falling!!!"
LOL

Airline Travel...What You Really Need To Know!!!

"BlkAv8tor Checking In!!!"

Hello to all, I'm the BlkAv8tor and I'm a career airline and aviation industry professional!

Coming from someone who has worked almost every position in the airline industry the traveler today needs to slim his travel weight as much as possible. Now not including the hardcore business traveler people need to start truly planning their trips before they leave to go to the airport. Excess and overweight baggage charges, blankets, food and entertainment are many variables that if people would really plan ahead they could be charged less or next to nothing by becoming a savvy flyer.

Buy your food you will like before you go to the airport (security hasn't been taking peoples food yet that I heard of)

Ship your bags to your destination before you leave and have a SMALL carry on with basics in case of delays and cancellations,

Blankets??? Carry your own sheet because you washed it and you know where it's been and most airline blankets are sheet thin anyway and will roll up into a small square...Just a few things for passengers to do that they can control.

Assume your going to be delayed and or have your flight get cancelled...don't assume your going to show up at the airport, walk in, board the plane, fly and land on time...it happens less and less everyday. Give yourself something to do and depend on the airline for anything.

Parents be smart when traveling with your kids. Pack them a back pack of toys, books, snacks, video games, DVD's etc. You ask why I say this....You would be surprised how many people who get up in the morning to take a trip with the family forget as soon as they get in the terminal that they have kids. Then they wonder why the kids act the way they do on the plane...sheer boredom after the first 30 minutes or so has passed. Bring kids a map of the route of flight and see if they can follow it while in flight (weather permitting).

Have a back up plan in your route of flight even though you have paid for tickets to go one way. That way you’re not held to go that way when delays and cancels happen.

Don't wait for the customer service agents to tell you what is going on with your flight. The very basics are available to you before you get to the airport or if your online. I track my friends when they travel and they call me to find out delays and problems in the US before they even go to the airport so "they are informed about their flight" when they get to the airport and not waiting for the CSR for the airline to inform them of something.

Sit in the boarding area as close to the departure podium and between the boarding door so you can hear second hand conversations by the employees. They talk and they will discuss flight ops before telling the passengers something and even a minute of heads up on a cancellation could mean a call to reservations by you, rebooking, new seat assignments and you going to get a
Starbucks before the rest of your flight is any wiser.

Weather changes by the minute and hour...Don't think the airlines have decided to delay your flight because the weather is bad at your destination...then you call to a friend or family member at the destination and they tell you the weather is fine. 99% of people don't live next to the airport...So unless your friend/family is a member of NOAA and working that airport don't trip. Airlines don't delay flights for the hell of it! Airlines are made to fly in the worst of weather but ultimately it's the captain’s call if he wants to go or not. Weather can be enroute even when you can't see the storms or weather phenoms like "CAT" (Clear Air Turbulence) turbulence not associated with a visible storm or build up. There is more to getting flights to depart when the weather is bad than when it's good...If you think you can do it better (non pilots) let me know and I'll prove you wrong every time!


This is my attempt to help all the poor travelers who have gotten the raw end of the deal when traveling and I'm open to anyone who wants to offer solutions that seem to work. I'm not airline bashing but airline educating and when I'm teaching I'm learning too.
More stuff will follow in the near future to help make that airline flight a little more enjoyable and so that you can be the one laughing at people who didn't "Think" ahead and you almost knew what was going to happen before it happened...in a sense anyway

Keep The Blue Side Up!!!

Friday, May 2, 2008 at 10:36 AM