Recently in Air Travel Category

Reposting Expedia's PR:

Travelers in the U.S. can now visit Expedia.com to search for lodgings in the U.S. that offer accommodations including accessibility equipment for the deaf, accessible bathrooms, accessible paths of travel, Braille or raised signage, in-room accessibility, a roll-in shower and more.

Once a traveler finds suitable accommodations, they can request one or more of the specific accessibility features on Expedia.com's online Reservation Page. The Expedia.com Customer Service team will review the request and contact the hotel to ensure that the specific traveler requests are met, and will contact the traveler directly to confirm the reservation or to offer to locate a similar room at an equivalent rate at another hotel.

Expedia.com's call center has fielded approximately 500 requests per week utilizing this functionality since its initial rollout in August of 2009.  Expedia.com offers more than 15,000 hotels that publish accessibility options.

"We are thrilled to offer this new functionality to our travelers," said John Morrey, vice president, Expedia.com. "It was a much-needed part of the online travel booking process and we are proud to be able to meet the needs of disabled travelers who require accessible accommodations."

Source:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/expediacom-launches-new-accessibility-search-tools-for-disabled-travelers-84479647.html

From the UK's Equality and Human Rights Commission:

1.2 Body scanning equipment concerns:

The Commission has asked the Government to set out in detail its proposals and the evidence to justify profiling and the introduction of body scanning equipment at airports, in a letter sent to the Home Secretary.

The Commission fully accepts the Government's responsibility to protect the safety and security of air travellers but is concerned that the proposals to introduce body scanners are likely to have a negative impact on individual's rights to privacy, especially members of particular groups including disabled people, older people, children, transgender people, women and religious groups. Under the Human Rights Act, any infringement of the right to privacy must be justified, necessary and proportionate.
 
The Home Secretary has also raised the issue of profiling in the context of selecting people for scanning. The Commission has serious concerns that the practice of profiling is likely to lead to selection of people on the grounds of race, ethnicity or religion. Such selection is discriminatory, contrary to domestic legislation and international standards, and is harmful to community relations.

The Commission notes that the Home Secretary has said the Government recognises these concerns and the need for further careful consideration of these issues. However, the Commission considers that the Government should proceed with the utmost caution and fully evaluate whether implementation of such policies can be carried out in a way that does not amount to unlawful discrimination.

Source:
Equality and Human Rights News issue 19

Related articles by Zemanta

• Watchdog Warns About Airport Body Scanners (news.sky.com)
• Discrimination warning over airport body scanners (go.theregister.com)

From the Australian Human Rights Commission:

Wednesday, 15 December 2009

With the release of the Australian Government's Aviation White Paper today, Disability

Discrimination Commissioner, Graeme Innes, urged the government to ensure airlines and airports have self regulating access facilitation plans for equal treatment of people with disability in place by mid 2010, or face government regulation if they don't.

"For many Australians with disability, flying is not the pleasant experience it should be," said Commissioner Innes. "We have seen incidents of inappropriate and undignified treatment of people with disability by airlines feature in the media during the past month, and they are only the tip of the iceberg."

Commissioner Innes said these incidents had included paralympian, Kurt Fearnley, having to crawl through Brisbane airport when his wheelchair was taken from him, as well as people being stranded because of an airline's refusal to allow a guide dog to travel.

"Airlines have been aware of problems experienced from check-in to check-out for several years, and some have been too slow in dealing with them." Commissioner Innes said. "The Government's announcement on travel for passengers with disability, as part of its aviation white paper today, is therefore very welcome."

Commissioner Innes said he congratulated the Australian Government for working, in partnership with the aviation industry and the disability community, to set up a process for the voluntary lodgement, by both airlines and airports, of Disability Access Facilitation Plans. He said these plans, to be made available on the Department of Transport website, will be a public promise, by airlines and airports, of how they will provide equal services for customers with disability.

Calling for these action plans to be lodged by mid 2010, Commissioner Innes said, "If this does not occur, or if their promises are not fulfilled, it will be time for government to regulate equal treatment".

Mr Innes said there was absolutely no excuse for airlines and airports to have processes in place that make people with disability feel as if they were second class citizens.

The recent coverage of JetStar's treatment of gold medal athlete Kurt Fearnly might have seemed like an aberration - today it is starting to sound like a new business policy as "Jetstar apologises for refusing to book guide dog on flight" Could it be that this is there way of celebrating the UN's International Day of Persons with Disabilities - 3 December 2009?:

Only just recovering from being criticised over its wheelchair policy, Jetstar has now had to apologise to a visually impaired couple who were not allowed to book their guide dog onto their flight. Melbournians Glen Bracegirdle, who is visually impaired but does not require a guide dog, and Kathryn Beaton, who does require a guide dog, were recently denied their guide dog when attempting to book a Jetstar flight. This is despite the fact that in Jetstar's own terms and conditions declaring "we [Jetstar] do provide limited special assistance services to accommodate customers who... need to travel with an accredited service dog". Jetstar stipulates that that those intending to travel with a guide dog must "advise Jetstar that they have a disability" and the couple claim that was exactly what they did when they contacted the Jetstar call centre but were told "no dogs, no dogs, no dogs" by the Jetstar reservation team member.

For the full story: http://www.etravelblackboard.com/showarticle.asp?id=99951

The Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities, Bill Shorten, says he has been disappointed by the latest claims against Jetstar.

He says the airline clearly has some questions to answer.

"Jetstar tells me that these are two isolated incidents, but I think other people will say they've had two strikes in two weeks," he said.

"I think it is worth myself, being the Government spokesperson, and the Human Rights Commissioner meeting with the leader of Jetstar to identify how things can improve. I think it's embarrassing."

Source:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/03/2761041.htm

Object Lesson: Interdependence is the core value of disability culture. Witness Kurt Fearnly:


 

As I always say, "All travel is adventure travel when you have a disability." Kurt Fearnley demonstrates just how adventurous daily life is for those of us with disabilities:

 

Robert's father has a disability. In this piece he experiences firsthand - as a companion - the usual stuff and summarizes the basics of traveling with a disability.

http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=47534

eTN has picked up on  story about Sally O'Neill's campaign for inclusion in air travel.

Kudos to Sally, eTN, and the Association for Airline Passenger Rights:

Sally O'Neill is a 17-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, and all she wants when she flies is to be able to remain in her own wheelchair. Sally is circulating a petition calling on the airline industry to modify the first seat in the first row to allow passengers with disabilities using wheelchairs to remain in their own wheelchairs during flight.

"After consulting with numerous professionals with disabilities having expertise in accessibility and safety standards, we determined that the 'O'Neill petition' was an important initiative to support," said Brandon M. Macsata, executive director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights. "Forcing people with disabilities to travel using non-disabled standards when safe alternatives are available is not consistent with the principles laid out in the ADA [Americans Disability Act]."

Source: eTN

For parallel innovative developments in air travel read about:

Ken Wilson's Chair Flights

Kate Hunter-Zaworski:

See also:

TRANSED 2010

Den McCully's Day in the Sky

Rasha's petition for accessible airplane toilets

 A wheelchair user had his wheelchair lost at Heathrow airport, but the
airport has failed to give him any compenstation despite repeated follow
up, forms, etc. He's asking for advice what he should do next:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/messageboards/F2322273?thread=6917836

El Ministerio de Turismo del Ecuador trabaja para que se facilite la implementacion de programas turisticos mas eficientes que mejoren la inclusion de las personas con discapacidad.

Sobre Alas para la Alegria:

http://www.midena.gov.ec/content/view/2712/209/

http://www.explored.com.ec/noticias-ecuador/fae-lleva-las-alas-para-la-alegria-a-albergue-quiteno-238449-238449.html

Join the webinar on September 10, 2009 at 10am ET!

Challenged by adjusting to new disability laws across the world IATA teams up with Open Doors Organization to create a unique webinar explaining how to navigate the new regulations.

Highlights include:

-  How to locate information about regulations, how to implement the proper training, analysis of market statistics and 5 facts about people with disabilities.   

- Previews of upcoming training on US Air Carrier Access Act - CRO certification training and Inclusive design features in Airports (visual paging, animal relief areas, family/unisex restroom design, advanced wayfinding technologies for blind low vision).

Speakers:

- Eric Lipp, Executive Director and Founder, Open Doors Organization
- Bill Burnell, Manager, Customer First and Regulatory Programs, Continental Airlines
- Kevin Caron, Product Manager,  Airport Training and Consulting, IATA    

Source:
http://www.iata.org/events/disability/index.htm

How many times have you been sure this happened - even before your wheelchair came back broken!

It all goes to show how desperately we need new concepts in air travel like Mobility Air Transport ( http://www.iflymat.org/ )

Titled United Breaks Guitars, the country-flavored ditty features actors posing as baggage handlers indiscriminately flinging guitar cases around an airport tarmac while Carroll strums his broken guitar. Two more songs and videos are planned.

Let's hope one of them is about gold medal-winning Paralympist Christine Wolf's prosthetic legs. Or maybe Katrina Segundo-Casino's non-trip.

Dave, we have enough material for an entire album.

Want to do a song on Rajiv Rajan, Rami Rabby, Sminu Jindal, Adele Price, Lori Mango, or Margaret Quirk? Here are a few more sources of lyrics for the air travel blues.

We can even have it interpreted into American Sign Language for you:

Read the full story behind the song here on Nova Scotia-based musician Dave Carroll's website.

For guitars or adaptive equipment follow Bob Taylor's wise advice - know your rights and carry a printed copy of the policy with you when you travel.

 

Roll over Sly Stone! American Airlines wants to take us higher:

American Airlines and the American Association of People with Disabilities have announced the creation of the "Altitude Award" to honor the best U.S. television commercials featuring authentic depictions of people with disabilities.

American Airlines and AAPD invite companies and advertisers to submit innovative, original television commercials that portray people with disabilities in a positive and progressive light. Entries must be submitted online at the award program's Web site by the producing agency or company and will be evaluated by a panel of judges. Five finalists will be selected for public voting. The finalist with the most votes will receive the Altitude Award, along with free advertising onboard American Airlines planes.

The judging criteria for the inaugural Altitude Award will include overall appeal, authentic depiction of an individual with a disability, and clarity of message. Only spots that aired between October 1, 2007, and March 31, 2009, are eligible for submission.

See the Altitude Award Web site for complete program guidelines.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

In the never-ending quest for the proper linguistic tools for travel I have been introduced to a very basic item of German vocabulary - Bordrollstuhl - the narrow wheelchairs that airlines use to get passengers down the aisles.

Here, mostly in German, are some of Kay Macquarrie's postings on the topic at Recht auf Klo:

http://www.rechtaufklo.de/?tag=bordrollstuhl

Although some may question the author's generous opinion that the Mexican government is "now at the vanguard of the disabled-rights movement in the developing world" the country's leadership certainly deserves recognition for breaking barriers to employment - and publicly challenging disability-aversion in this project:

AT THE main international airport for Mexico City, the first thing to notice is that the path from the baggage claim is lined with smiling employees guiding passengers to their taxis or connecting flights. The second is that they are all in wheelchairs.

Since the opening of a new terminal in November 2007, the airport has hired some 60 disabled, bilingual workers to serve as Mexico's face to the world. Their presence delights both passengers, who frequently offer congratulations and ask to take their picture, and their superiors. "They're professional, attentive, always in a good mood, and never miss work," says Héctor Velázquez, the airport's director.

Mr Velázquez says he first thought of seeking out disabled staff after being impressed by the performance of Jazmín Flores Martínez, a young labour lawyer suffering from severe arthritis. He instructed a subcontracting firm to take on 20 graduates of a physical and psychological training programme for the handicapped, and then tripled the programme's size upon seeing the results. The workers say they are thrilled by the public exposure--and by their respectable $550 a month salaries. "If you don't have a job, you sit at home all day thinking about what hurts," says Ms Martínez. "Now, we're independent, and people can see that our physical condition doesn't matter. They don't look at you as some strange creature any more."

See the full article:

http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14031484