This story has plenty of salaciousness and few details, but here we go: A woman is claiming that U.S. Airways employees helped her off of her flight from Bakersfield to Las Vegas, then left her parked in a wheelchair on the tarmac, causing her to miss her connection to Orlando. Eventually, another employee found the woman, wheeled her into a hallway and left. The woman’s daughter says that the employee told her mother, “this is not my job, but I can park you here.”
Her daughter told WKMG in Orlando:
“She called me at 3 a.m., crying hysterically because she didn’t know what to do and no one would help her.”
U.S. Airways responded:
“We are not happy to hear about this incident. We will work with our employees because that is not how we deal with our customers.”
Wheelchair-Bound Woman Left On Tarmac [Local 6]
Woman stranded on tarmac [CNN] (Thanks, Lucas!)
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Correction — that’s how they “deal with” their customers.
If she had one of these, this never would have happened. [www.engadget.com]
@trollkiller: As I learned from Baloo and Ms. Cunningham, you need to achieve at least 75mph to achieve flight. Add another 15 mph, and some canard wings, and she could’ve flown herself. Of course, would she complain about the service during the flight then?
@rjhiggins: You’re right! You Win! Her daughter would never help with costs. I am an insensitive clod because I myself am not disabled, or have aging parents who confuse easily, and any kind of discretionary income to insure I won’t get a call from Chicago, Atlanta, or Phoenix like “Your dad missed his connection and we cannot find him. Thank you for choosing Delta.”
I’m with wannabejew and also give-up.
@solmssen: Thanks for pointing that out (re:salaciousness). I was expecting at least some hanky-panky to be in the story somehow, and was sorely disappointed.
If you promise salaciousness, then you had damn better deliver!
@MercuryPDX: First post is a “It’s the customer’s fault!” Must be a new record.
Did you ever think that not everyone lives near an airport that serves as a large hub and that a non stop flight from one city to another is absolutely not possible unless you lease your own private jet? My family’s probably going to be booking a cruise in a couple weeks that departs from and returns to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’ve been looking at flights, and not a single carrier has direct flights from St. Louis to San Juan. We have to stop in Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami or Orlando if we want to get to San Juan.
So I’m guessing when the first leg of my flight is late and I miss my connection, you’ll be blaming me for not taking a non stop flight? Or are you going to tell me to drive to Puerto Rico to avoid problems?
A few people have pointed out a few details that seem suspicious. She calls at 3 a.m….either she didn’t find a phone (in an airport?) til then or she doesn’t have a cell phone. Sure, some people still don’t have cell phones, but those are probably in the minority and if I had a disabled mother who was traveling alone, I would surely make sure she had a method of contacting me directly. But that’s a moot point, considering it’s what I would’ve done, and not the case here.
A lot of people who are in wheelchairs can’t roll themselves anywhere, sure, but if she wasn’t flying with someone, how exactly could she get anywhere if she couldn’t roll herself? It sounds like the daughter didn’t make plans with the airline ahead of time to see if her mother could have an attendant bring her to the gate, or make sure she reached her proper destination. how the heck was she going to get to her connecting flight if she couldn’t do it on her own?
@GitEmSteveDave: May have to up those numbers, you would have the drag of the large chair wheels to contend with.
@clevershark: Your sarcasm fails to answer what is a perfectly reasonable question. Even if she didn’t have the money or someone willing to go with her for free that doesn’t explain why she got on the flight anyway.
Was she led to believe by U.S. Airways that their employees would be helping her? Had their employees helped her before? Did she just assume they would (for whatever reason)? Does she normally rely on the kindness of strangers? Did she have help that bailed at the last second? What’s the deal?
I also want to know why she was flying alone. That doesn’t mean I assume she has the money to hire a butler to push her chair while serving her patte.
@trollkiller: Well, thank god she isn’t using the tank chair. Treads are even worse.
Shame on you guys blaming the victim. Oh the woe, what is this world coming to? How dare you think someone with a special need plan ahead? Come on the lady is in a WHEEL CHAIR and that absolves her of all need to think or plan.
She calls at 3 a.m….either she didn’t find a phone (in an airport?) til then or she doesn’t have a cell phone.
@CaffeinatedSquint: Maybe reception was bad out on the tarmac?
@GitEmSteveDave: For that you would need a JATO. [en.wikipedia.org]
@theWolf: The planes from Bakersfield to Vegas are tiny, so when they land they just open the door, bring some stairs, then you’ve got to walk yourself down the plane stairs and over and up more stairs to get to the building where the gates are. I definitely believe she was actually stranded on the tarmac. Terrible situation. (Flying out of Bakersfield really limits your airline choices.)
@trollkiller: I love watching the video of the Blue Angel’s Fat Albert taking off. Maybe this lady could take some pointers. 45 degree take off angle.
@Rectilinear Propagation: From what her daughter said in that CNN video, it sounds like she had made arrangements with the airline and had been assured her mom would be helped. Regardless of whether it’s US Airways’ responsibility–they said they would help: they had a responsibility to keep their word.
@GitEmSteveDave: She could always get a push truck to help. [winterbrahma.blogspot.com]
@yg17: Hardly a record.
1. Yes, but in this particular case the woman had access to a larger hub.
2. No, I give you more credit then to think you’d sit/stand/kneel on the tarmac waiting for someone to come along and help you. It’s a different situation.
3. Now you’re just being silly.
I guess I am just confused as to why she didn’t start yelling for someone to come get her. It must have taken a bit of time to deplane the entire aircraft. Seems like someone must have been able to see or hear her at some point. Perhaps she was too afraid to do so. I wish we had more info.
@MissPeacock: We don’t even have enough info to know that she didn’t start yelling for help. Maybe she was last off of the plane or was passed up by the other passengers before the employee left her on the tarmac. Maybe the other passengers suck as much as the airline employees.
@esthermofet: I flew into Vegas early Sunday morning. They were having trouble with the Jet Bridges and we had to walk across the tarmac, too.
[www.usairways.com]Rectilinear Propagation: Actually airlines always help disabled passengers, and it’s offered clearly on the USAir website.
From what I heard on the video, the daughter said, “This is not my job, that I can park you here.”….original post said ‘but’ but I don’t now how big of a difference there is.
I found [www.floridatoday.com]
gives a little more detail.
employee: “that’s not my job”
boss: “neither is anything else now, SECURITY”
Hmm the Florida Today article puts a new wrinkle into this. The plot thickens. Thanks for the link caffeniatedsquint
[www.floridatoday.com]
“We don’t have any accounts that we left her unattended. She ended up missing the connecting flight to Orlando because the flight from California was delayed,” said Liz Landau, a spokeswoman with U.S. Airways.
“She was supposed to get there at 11:02 a.m. but the flight didn’t arrive until 11:40 p.m. The flight to Orlando was departing at 11:45 p.m. She wouldn’t have made that flight.”
Landau said workers, who removed her from jet and took her to the airport terminal, gave her a meal voucher and put her in a hotel.
“We got her on a new flight the next day and upgraded her to first class.”
Landau also said that for safety reasons, a passenger would not be allowed to remain on the tarmac.
The question I have is did she try & get anybodys attention? Is she disabled enough that she can’t just push her way off the tarmac? If she was able to call her daughter, perhaps she had use of her limbs somehow. I know if I was wheelchair bound, I would yell at the top of my freakin’ lungs for someone to help me. I was wave my arms or throw something, anything to get a fellow passenger or workers attention. So many questions, so little answers….
The fact is, someone who is wheelchair bound and cant wheel themselves around shouldn’t fly alone. I understand it costs money to bring someone with you, but no one ever said this was a fair world, and I know if I worked there, I wouldn’t want to be put on caretaker duty.
Providing a personal caretaker to someone on a flight is not a “reasonable accommodation”.
@trollkiller: Wait, wait, wait…she had a 43 minute connection? I have two working legs and I would never book a connection that short. Ever. An 11:45 departure means that boarding began around 11:15, and assuming she is in the “pre-boarding” group because she needs additional help, she left herself 13 minutes to get from one gate to the next. Not smart.
@fesslove: I agree with this. Those that require extra assistance when traveling need to make the proper arrangements. Stories like these help perpetuate the perception that people with disabilities are helpless and can’t do anything by themselves.
The people I assist every day make their own transportation plans and always leave some “wiggle room” for unexpected delays, etc. They tell me “always have a fall-back plan, just in case.”
She could have called to ask for assistance from the airport ahead of time, or inquired as to what sort of services were available. I hate to blame the person in this situation, as sounds like a sad situation, but this was very much preventable with some simple pre-planning.
As to why a person who can’t wheel themselves around was traveling alone: she may normally use a powered wheelchair. Airlines don’t allow powered wheelchairs in the passenger compartment. In fact, the aisle on a plane is far too narrow for even a regular wheelchair. An airport or airline employee *always* rolls a wheelchair-bound passenger onto and off of the plane.
However, this story sounds really fishy.
@MercuryPDX: @MercuryPDX: @MercuryPDX: are you a schill for the airlines or some frustrated wannabe travel agent? what she could have done has nothing to do with what did or did not happen with US Air.
@mconfoy: Watch the CNN video after about 1:15 and you’ll see what I’m responding to.
Providing a personal caretaker to someone on a flight is not a “reasonable accommodation”.
@fesslove: I think it would’ve been reasonable, if they had arranged for that and made sure that she was getting help the entire way there, like othium: said. Even if they called ahead, and made arrangements, I’d make sure that she was getting help the whole way. When someone flies alone, they make plans. How is being disabled and flying alone any different? It means you have to make more accommodations and plans, like bringing a cell phone. Cell phones, for their basic functions, are not hard to use.
If she was able to pick up a phone (cell or landline) to call her daughter, why couldn’t she wheel herself if not to wherever she was going at least off the damn tarmac?? And if she was blowing a call (cell or landline) why didn’t she call information for the airport security or airline or something and tell them HEY! I’m on the effing tarmac and none of your inconsiderate employees will help me!
How her daughter was going to help (assuming) hundreds/thousands of miles away I don’t know.
My husband is paralyzed from the chest down, but before he was, I didn’t know much about wheelchairs so I guess I can understand some of the idiotic and thoughtless comments I see posted here. Such as, why did she take a connecting flight? Well, maybe she’s not the booking wizard many of you are, and she took what she could afford, or what her travel agent gave her. Or, why is a person in a wheelchair traveling without an aide. Please. Who can afford to, if she’s in a wheelchair, she already has expenses that most of you could not begin to fathom, and besides, the airlines say they accomodate WC’s. And most do a great job, in our experience. Why did she call her daughter? My husband calls me when he’s in a jam, hoping I will have advice or just to give him moral support. Maybe her cell was almost dead, and she needed someone who could make calls for her. Or, why didn’t she take a shuttle or a limo? Shuttles are rarely able to accomodate a wheelchair. Limos never are. If she can’t walk, she can’t stand up to get into a vehicle. Forget about taxis, too. The W-chairs don’t fit in the trunk, and nobody is going to carry you in and out even if you have a foldable. Wheelchair van rentals are hundreds of dollars just across town, they charge about half what an ambulance charges. Most regular folks can’t afford them and most private insurance doesn’t cover them. Most planes don’t have room for a “real” wheelchair onboard, such as a power chair, so that gets stowed, and you are stuck in a tiny chair that requires a pusher to go more than a few inches. Even if you are in a good chair, and can use your arms to use a phone, it doesn’t mean you have the strength to wheel youself across a tarmac, uphill, etc. If your plane stopped on tarmac, people have to carry you down the plane steps, or they bring a hydraulic lift over to convey you down to the ground. It happens after everyone else deplanes, and the crew is only obligated to stick around until you’re off the plane. And it’s obvious they are anxious as heck to get you off and get going. But I agree, it’s pretty unlikely you’d just be left on the tarmac. The airport staff takes over once you are off the plane. And it’s also become clear that this particular story was fiction. But unless you truly know what it’s like to be totally wheelchair-dependant, don’t jump to conclusions about what is and is not reasonable. We have thousands of troops coming home every year who will be in WC’s the rest of their lives; they are going to face so much frustration and financial hardship already without dealing with people thinking they have all the answers for them when in reality, they don’t know the first thing about it.
I live in Bakersfield, CA and know something about Meadows Field Airport (the one she flew out of). It is a very small airport that has relatively few destinations. If you’re flying out of Meadows Field, you’re pretty much guaranteed to get at least one layover, since most flights are just shuttling people from Bakersfield to a bigger, larger airport somewhere else. It would be unrealistic to ask this woman to get a nonstop flight from Bakersfield unless she wanted to drive to LAX, which is what most of us Bakersfieldians do anyway.
I know and agree that helping the woman in the wheel chair would have been the right thing to do, but my true feelings are that is it not someone elses responsibility to help. I would hope that in such a situation most people would help and that I too would… but as for being upset no one did… it really isn’t their job. I feel especially horrible for saying this because my grandma is in a wheel chair. At the same time, she is extremely self sufficent… and if she does need help, she specifically asks for it. Obviously this women just expected help and could not have communicated it properly. No one leaves a women alone on the tarmac after being told they will not be able to do it themselves. (if that is the case that it really is a horrible move). I guess I’m somewhat torn on the issue. I think both sides are to blame. I see it more as miscommuncation that complete and utter disrespect.
That’s the kind of attitude that’s ruining the world. Was “help helpless ladies stranded in wheelchairs” in their job description? Probably not, but it was their job as a decent, human being. If people would quit looking at things like, “well, it’s not my job”, things like this wouldn’t happen in the first place.