Delta Makes Woman With Muscular Dystrophy Crawl Off Plane

[Debra]

   The employees in this room were debating who would get me to the ticket gate to be re-ticketed because it was no one's job and the appropriate personnel were not responding to their calls. After that was resolved I was given a new boarding pass for a flight expected to leave at 12:55 AM. Then this person advised me she cannot get me from a D Gate to Gate A9. She again called for the appropriate personnel who never showed. We waited by an elevator for someone she convinced to bring me over to Gate A even though it was not his job. I had to beg him to stop at a bathroom entrance and to wait for me and then he finally delivered me to Gate A9.

    I was given a meal voucher for my INCONVENIENCE but could not purchase any food because again there was no one to bring me to an eating establishment, never mind wait on the long line for me to make a food purchase.

    At 11:15 I advised the gate attendant I was dehydrated and cramping because I could not purchase any water. This is the only nice employee that treated me with dignity. The flight I was transferred to was supposed to leave at 10:22 PM but was delayed until 1:30 AM. This gate attendant went and brought me water off of the plane.

    This gate attendant also made sure she finally found some one at 11:15 PM to push me to obtain food and another bathroom break. I arrived in West Palm Beach at 3:15 AM with no ride and had to again crawl into the shuttle service to get home.

    I understand plane delays and waiting at airports, but is this how you treat your handicapped passengers???

The Consumerist

[skdadl]

Och, my heart to Julianna.

The last flight that I took T on, especially the return flight, I depended so totally on the human decency of a series of Air Canada attendants, and I have to give it to them: they really came through for us, especially the last one, who walked us the mile back to the baggage carousels and then got our bags for us herself when she saw that I was having problems controlling T. And then she got us into a limo.

Everyone I met on that flight acted as though they did these things every day, which was such a help to me because I was so fearful of being cast out into the outer darkness or something for being abnormal. I don't know whether people can imagine the courage that someone like Julianna must have to continue with everyday activities, but I sure can, and that is one brave person.

I hope that Mr Corporate Delta is ashamed to his boots (faint hope tho' I know that is).

['lance]

Terrible story, and possibly one for Patrick Smith of Ask The Pilot fame.

Whenever I want to know the inside skinny on airlines -- good, bad, or indifferent -- I go to his column.

[skdadl]

Ooh! There's a blogging pilot!  :mrgreen:

Pilots are sexy. I don't know why, but they just are. Perhaps I shall ask Patrick Smith why he thinks that is.