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Ryanair: Man forced to carry his wheelchair-bound wife onto plane after flight crew refuses to help {Gadling}
Jul 11th 2008 7:28AM There is alot missing from the story we don't know.
Ryanair: Man forced to carry his wheelchair-bound wife onto plane after flight crew refuses to help {Gadling}
Jul 9th 2008 8:27PM Shelley,
YES the airline is the party responsible for making sure disability passengers have access into and out of the airplane. I am sure once they realized the device was not there they tried to get one there but due to shortness of time was unable to do so and that is why they offered to rebook the pasenger on the next flight that was leaving 3 days later.
Even if RyanAir contracts an outside company to assist the needs of thier special passengers by providing them a ramp or lift or proving agents to assit in carrying Ryanair's special needs passengers into the airplane even if that contracted company never showed up or didn't have a lift available at the time the liability STILL remains with the airline.
I will say that RyanAir is right in having a policy that crew members are not allowed to lift passengers into or out of the airplane under normal circumstances most airlines have that policy and this policy should only be overruled in emergency situations such as an emergency evacution ONLY. This was not an emergency evacuation where it was a life or death situation so under normal situations the crew members are not allowed to do something like that because crew members are not trained in proper lifting of a passenger as not to cause injury to a passenger or injury to the crew member themselves that is why the policy is there.
The airlines reservations, customer service or whom ever is responsible to make sure the device was there is at fault.....even if it was a contracted company who dropped the ball in making sure the assistance device was at the aircraft waiting for the passenger the liabilty still goes back to the airlinebecause they all work for the airline. The crew members were right in following policy had they stepped in and lifted her and dropped her the pasenger would have had a big case not only just against the airline but also the crewmember because the crew member chose to break policy. I don't fault any passengers who did not offer to asssit carry the woman because passenger are not trained in passenger lifting and could injure the passenger and then they would be faced with a liability suit when all they were trying to do is be a good samaritan while also risking injury to themselves ......Passengers should NEVER be used in situations like that UNLESS again it is in a situation of an emergency evacuation ONLY. It was NOT an emergency evacuation so I don't think the passengers were wrong by not assisting but the passenger's were natually concerned about the couple's safety while watching that man carrying his wife when they probably wanted to help but know the liability of something like that. RyanAir's special handleing team or agents in charge of making sure the device was there are the ONLY ones at fault in this situation and should be the ONLY people having to answer to dropping the ball which now may cause Ryanair to having to answer to what appears to be a breach in that country's Disabilty ACT or Disiability Law.
Ryanair: Man forced to carry his wheelchair-bound wife onto plane after flight crew refuses to help {Gadling}
Jul 9th 2008 7:12PM Sophie,
You are wrong when you said the couple waited 3 days for the lift after ordering it over and over agin but it never showed up. that is totally wrong information. You need to go back and read the article again. The couple ticketed for a flight and when ticketing they requested the ambulift be there waiting for them to assit the wife into the aircraft. When they got there the lift was not there so they asked the flight attendants for help. Flight attendants are NOT allowed to step off the aircraft during passenger boarding for safety reasons of those passengers who are currently sitting on the aircraft. Also flight crews are not trained in the proper way of lifting passengers up and down stairs .
That is why there are assiting devices made for airplanes like an ambulift to assist the passenger who have disabilities or mobility problems. If the airline does not invest in assistance devices then they must train agents in proper lifting and handeling assistance of disability passengers into the airplane. After the device was not there and they obviiously have no trained agents to assit in lifting the flight needed to take off so the airline offered to rebook the couple on the next departing flight. The next departing flight was scheduled to leave 3 days later. The couple did not want to wait 3 days for a new flight and they probably felt they could not wait 3 days for the next flight so the husband decided he would carry the wife up the stairs himslef. That was a very very dangerous situation the husband put the wife in as well as himself. He could have fallen backwards or fallen forward and dropped the wife off his shoulder and back causing the wife to break her kneck and back even breaking his own back or kneck. No flight is worth taking that chance of putting yourself in that position. The husband should have NEVER decided to do that but the airline DOES share fault in putting the couple in that situation because the airline DOES have a responsiblity to assure that dissibilty passengers have a way of boarding the airplane. The airline MUST provide an assistance device or trained agents to assit disabilty passenger into the plane it's the law. Jefferey Wright is correct in saying what could the airline do at that point but offer to rebook the couple if there was no assistance device available and no trained agents available but passengers on the plane should NEVER EVER offer to assist lifting a passenger into the or out of the plane UNLESS it is in an event of a emergency evacuation ONLY and the passengers has agreed in advance to be an able body assistant.
The author of this article, Jeffery White is wrong in making such a broad statement when he says "Everybody kows that fllight crews these days will not help you to lift a bag into the overhead compartments, even if you are a 90 year old woman" I just hate when people write these articles when they notice an experience on a flight by one crew and make an inclusive statement to include ALL crews as if they have first hand knowledge of EVERY crew member in the industry. I am a flight attendant for one of the largest regional airline in the US and I am ALWAYS assisting my passengers with their bags, even offering every passenger a pillow and blanket at the start of the flight as well as asking each passenger if the cabin temperature is comfortable for them so once that flight starts they are feeling comfortable even before I start a beverage service. I consider that plane my house and gust that come on board always get great hospiltality when visiting my house and I actually tell my passengers that at the beginning when I welcome them onboard. The flight crew members are always the first to get a bad rap from bloggers and media people regardless of what the situation is. I wish some of these bloggers and media people would start to recognize the many dedicated, very customer service friendly flight crew members out there who work very hard to make their passengers feel RELAXED, RESPECTED and GREATLY APPRECIATED during their flight as much as they love to rag on the problems they find with the few bad apples that are out there because they have grown discouraged at always being vilianized. My employee file which is full of positive customer comments and appreciation letters are proof there are many caring and dedicated flight crew members out there who are not just going through the motions but actually giving GREAT customer care to their passengers.:)
United Airlines: Ticks on a plane! {Gadling}
Jul 9th 2008 6:08PM The tick probably jumped off one of the passengers pets brought on board ther plane on one of the flights that day. They will never be able to determine where the tick came from. But more than likely it was brought in by a pet that ticketed inside the cabin.
Tyra Banks' Protegee Distancing Herself From ANTM {oldstylelist}
Mar 6th 2007 10:36PM Exactly what do you mean MsCal by your statement "And her attitude is typical of her kind?" Exactly what kind are you refering to? I sure hope the vibe I got from that statement of yours is not what I interpret it to be because if it is then I would say a statement like that from you seems to be "typical of your kind" (people who love to stereotype and profile).
I actually didn't see any attitude or disrespect in the statement made by Dani. I think she is right to say she appreciates the opportunity ANTM gave her but the reality of the business is she must make it in the fashion world as a model on her OWN merits and not as a reality show winner. ANTM only gave her the platform (a contract with an agency, a professional portfolio shot by some of the worlds greatest, the discipline and drive needed to be able to get out there and hit the pavement everyday and one year of public appearances promoting the show ANTM and Covergirl cosmetics wich gets her face seen). Having the title of ANTM is not a guarentee she will be big in the modeling industry nor will having that title keep her in the industry. Many past models have said the exact same thing Dani has said (The first years's winner Adriene to this day is still saying having won ANTM did not help her in modeling the way she thought it would and Adriene commented she NEVER did not one show or any advertisement for Revlon who was that year's sponsor. Adriene stated the show does not always open the correct doors needed in order for the winner to have the longevity needed to remain in the modeling world because most designers and advertisers are not trusting of reality show made models. Adriene said exactly what Dani is saying.
Dani is simply saying if you want to just stay a reality tv star then that is great but her desire is to become a true runway and print model that is respected among the industry as a true model. she does not want to be stumped and hindered in the industry and not getting jobs because designers overlook her as "That girl who won that reality show". She is right to now want to add a little distance between "Danielle" the ANTM reality queen and "Dani" the model trying to gain the recognition and respect as a very good runway and print model so she can get some jobs. Why do you think her management changed her name. She has fulfilled her commitment to ANTM. Now it is time for her to move on and do what she needs to do in order not to just fade away in the dust as so many models do who try to have longevity in the fashion world. Tyra would applaud her for doing what she needs to do for herself because the show ANTM has etched it's place in reality tv the show is not going anywhere anytime soon but can Dani say the same thing? Kudos to you Dani! Do what you need to do for you and happy to know you will always give Tyra and the show their props for helping you get started.....but handle your business girl and make it happen for you.
