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US Airways: no solo flights for the disabled
If US Airways is looking for a motivational speaker to help it inspire employees and improve customer service, I have one in mind. In fact, he knows US Airways well, including the service areas most in need of help. Johnnie Tuitel tried to fly the carrier recently but was told he was too disabled to go it alone.
According to the Associated Press:
It's not like this motivational speaker, who has cerebral palsy, isn't accustomed to flying. He has logged 500,000 miles to give his speeches."I was raised to believe I could grow up doing what I wanted to do and it didn't lead me to any entitlement," Johnnie Tuitel, 47, told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Saturday. "By them denying me the ability to fly, I couldn't do my job."
Tuitel actually made it onto the plane, which was going from West Palm Beach to Kansas City, when a gate agent took him and wheeled him back to the terminal.
The reason he was given was straightforward:
Two days later, he flew alone, as usual."He told me I could fly on U.S. Airways if I could find a companion to go with me because I was a danger to myself and others if something went wrong," Tuitel told WZZM-TV. "Trust me, they made a mistake."
US Airways is leaning on policy (shocking, right?):
"The airline requires that the passenger has to be physically able to assist himself or herself in the event of an emergency. If the passenger cannot, the airline requires that someone else travels with the passenger who can provide assistance in the event of an emergency," she told the television station.
Filed under: North America, United States, Airlines
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 8)
Dinnymoraiya silly Oct 18th 2010 5:29AM
when any flight disable than I think that pilot is not perfect or not sleep time to time..or duty so long than he does not maintenance to his body..so please rest to all pilot time to time..
George Oct 19th 2010 7:07AM
What?
Tim Oct 19th 2010 8:14AM
Can I have some of what you're smoking?
Annamarie Dodge Oct 19th 2010 8:22AM
can we try that again in english....i dont know if it was just me but i didnt understand a word this person was trying to say
Judy Oct 19th 2010 9:33AM
That is why we would never fly on Northwest / Delta aka SCABair.
Cutie Oct 19th 2010 11:08AM
Last Columbus Day weekend I drove from Washington, DC to Manchester, NH. I had never seen so many cars on 95 since I started occasionally driving it in 1966. Why aren't these people taking the plane there were many single drivers?? Airplanes. Traveling is not what it use to be. Terrorism changed our world. One use to look at the menu of flights on a wall walk to the gate with luggage give the woman $55.00 for a ticket omeone would take my luggage and give me a ticket for the luggage and every hour or when the Eastern airlines shuttle was full it would take off for Boston. the more things change the worse things become.
wil2660 Oct 19th 2010 12:17PM
WTF???
Gary Oct 19th 2010 6:34AM
Typical, " I was raised to believe I could grow up doing what I wanted to" Well that is wrong. You were given a false idea. Why should an idiot impose his problems on the public. The People in public business are not your baby-sitter.
Annamarie Dodge Oct 19th 2010 8:22AM
where do you get off calling a handicapped person an idiot? he didnt ask anyone for help, nor has he ever needed to. but yes, i do agree with the airline, he should have someone to be a companion when he flys, because the flight attendants are not going to be able to carry him to the inflatable slide or whatever is needed in the case they crash, and im sure hes not going to be able to wheel off in his wheelchair...but dont go calling someone like him an idiot...that makes you look like a bigger one.
Kelly Oct 19th 2010 2:26PM
And if you read the remiander of that sentence it said "and it didn't lead me to entightelments." The guy isn't looking for someone to care for him. If he has flown 500,000 miles already don't you think he has an idea of what flying entails and his capabilities. Speaking as someone whose husband is disabled I am sure that if that man needed assistance he would rather bring someone along who knows how to assist him instead of just using any old airline employee willing to pitch in.
When you are disabled and you need help to transfer if it is not doen properly you risk injury. someone else commented about someone "pushing his wheelchair" to the emergency exit. This man would not have access tro his wheelchair which is stored with the bags down below but rather the transport wheelchair provided by the airline. I would say that thing is maybe 10 inches wide and the seat is approx 18-24nches off the ground with wheels approx 6 inches in diameter. So if in the event of an emergency they were able to remove that thing from its storage area within the passenger compartment someone would have to push the darn thing. If ever in an airline emergency with my husband who is a c4-5 quad, 6' 4" tall, I will drag him rather than wait for that contration that he barely fits on and is in danger of falling from the entire time he is upon it.
Janine Oct 19th 2010 6:45AM
That is such BS. My mother was handicapped. In a wheelchair, and with only one leg, she could not walk on her own. She used to fly from Boston to my brothers place in FL every Christmas. BY HERSELF
I used to love flying with her, on the occasions we did, because no matter what section her ticket was for, they always bumped her up to 1st class. And as her companion, they generally would let me accompany her.
Annamarie Dodge Oct 19th 2010 8:22AM
the difference is, a person with one leg can assist themselves to an inflatable slide in the case of a crash, a person with cerebral palsy cannot, they are unable to walk or assist themselves in any way...without a wheelchair. that is the point and that is the difference.
Linda Oct 19th 2010 8:52AM
Annamarie: The fact that this man has cerebral palsy tells me almost nothing about his abilities. Disabilities are on a spectrum. You can't just assume that a person with cerebral palsy is unable to take care of him/her self. There is not enough information in the article for anyone to decide with even a semblance of certainty whether or not this man needs a companion to fly with him.
John Oct 19th 2010 11:50AM
My Mother in law also traveled in a Wheel Chair to vist her daughter in Dallas. She was also an Amputee. We were never asked to have anyone travel with her, in case the plane had any difficulty. And the Airline always had someone available to help her on or off the plane. She could have never traveled, if she had to hire a companion to travel with her.
James Oct 19th 2010 11:58AM
That's why you liked to fly with her. You paid for a coach ticket and got to sit in first class. Get something you don't pay for. There is no reason that either of you should have been there if you didn't pay for it. I do agree with the airline that someone needs to accompany an individual that cannot care for themselves in case of an emergency. I don't think they were out of line and this person should not have been offended, as they were looking out for his best interest.
Bobbie Oct 19th 2010 2:00PM
I'm not necessarily siding with the airline, but your mother's disability is very, very different from that of someone suffering MS. Your mother still had full range and ability to reach, grasp, pull, and maneuver herself should an emergency arise. Perhaps this gentleman, due to the nature of muscular dystrophy, was incapable of reaching for the oxygen mask, or to assist a person sitting next to him. We are all speculating here. It was a judgment call, and like it or not, the airline has that right.
Bruce Mercke Oct 19th 2010 3:59PM
It might be worth it to cut one of my legs off to fly first class all the time.
Jais Oct 19th 2010 6:42AM
I was unable to have my parents fly because they were unable to be unassisted for the length of the flight. I didn't try to just put them on a flight; I felt that would be unfair to the attendants and the other fliers. Maybe the solution is to have the disabled person sign a waiver: in case of emergency, they may not be able to be assisted, due to the circumstances.
qq4lbfm Oct 19th 2010 9:17AM
Having a disabled person sign a waiver in case of an emergency does nothing to help those that are trapped behind this person in case of an emergency, does it? I mean, if the disabled person cannot get to the emergency slide, how can the passengers trapped behind that person escape from the plane. That waiver is now just a piece of useless paper that is going to cause passengers to die for the disabled persons right to fly.
karen Oct 19th 2010 11:33AM
i have several friends with cerebal palsy and while most are in wheelchairs by oujr age, they can still handle being out of the chair and do for themselves...i still tease one young friend, whom i was visiting the week she got her class schedule for her first year of high school...the school is 3 stories and the elvators are not available for all 3 floors...she was fussing about having several classes on the floor with no elevator, which meant she'd have to walk to those classes...and while it would be tiring, the biggest thing she was upset about was how walking drew more attention to her than the wheelchair did...not what a young lady starting high school wanted. So before anyone assumes someone cannot do things, they should know the person...{ I personally look like I could do anything, yet due to my health I am more limited than my friends with cerebal palsy or other diseases. Mine just happens to be internal, not externally visible. }