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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It looks like her arms are functional judging from the picture. Why didn’t she just wheel herself there by herself? Maybe her arms aren’t strong enough to move her massive weight around?
This story has plenty of salaciousness and few details…
Ahhh…. the perfect storm!
The daughter wants a solution? Three words: Non-stop Flights Only.
Wow.
The last time I was in a position where a woman in a wheelchair wasn’t completely able to help herself I took the time to wheel her around the grocery store so she could do her shopping. And then helped her put it all in her car before I lifted her into her seat…But that’s just me.
(I was 16 at the time, and working at that grocery store)
Do they not have boarding gates/airways at Las Vegas airport?
I’ve flown into Vegas a zillion times and have never deplaned anywhere but at a gate. Something is goofy about this story.
Well this definately qualifies for the 2007 “not MY job!” award!
Congrats!
I wonder if the offered her a credit card on the tarmac… ha ha ha ha ha ha
@theWolf: I have switched planes in large airports where they don’t pull us up to a gate, just sort of let us out, where we go through a door into a terminal. I don’t think it is that uncommon. But it seems like this lady didn’t know what she was supposed to do, and nobody took the time to give her any guidance.
My buddy just got his laptop stolen by US Airways flying from England to Calgary with 2 layover stops in the states. Anyone have any suggestions?
They left her on the TARMAC???? How did she dodge the planes? I bet it looked like a game of Frogger from the control tower.
I wouldve asked someone for help.
@trollkiller: Maybe thats what it was:
Billy Bob Thornton: “Cessna 240, bear right 10*”
John Cusack: “Oh, you almost clipped her with the prop!”
Billy Bob: “I’ll get her with that 747″
@MercuryPDX: Yeah, that’s real helpful advice. No problem finding non-stop flights from Bakersfield, Calif., to Orlando, right?
“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.”
Why aren’t they taking this seriously???
There’s only 1 BFL-LAS non-stop it’s at 11PM. There is a red eye to MCO from LAS so being found at 3am seem very plausible to me.
By the Way, that would make the employees Mesa Airlines. And Mesa employees make the US Air employees look down right competent.
Sad thing is if the “Not my job” guy/gals boss had said, “Where were you?”
“Pushing a lady in a wheel chair.”
I would expect the answer from the boss to be,
“That’s not your job, your suspended/fired/a moron.”
OK, note to terrorists. There’s no security on airport tarmacs. As long as your in a wheelchair, no one can see you.
I wonder how long a person has to be left alone in a wheel chair before they DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!?
@GitEmSteveDave: If you see someone in this you know you are in trouble.
[www.tankchair.com]
@rjhiggins: How about LAX to MCO? I bet two hours in a limo or airport shuttle is preferable to two hours on a tarmac or in a hallway.
There has….*has* to be more to this story. There has to be. Not to excuse the airline in the least because, come on, how do you just ignore a passenger in a wheelchair just kinda hanging out? How could the number of employees who must have seen her not even stop to ask her what was up? But what did the woman do to call attention to her situation? Did she sit there quietly? Did she try to flag people down? So many questions! Why are so many of these stories so damn skimpy with information? Damnit, I need to be a reporter so I can ASK THESE QUESTIONS.
The airline actually used the phrase “Deal with our customers”?
That alone doesn’t sound too customer centric. Maybe deal with our employees and work with our customers would have been better.
@MercuryPDX:
And just where will you find non-stop flights to the majority of destinations?
When the first and biggest button on any travel website is “Sort by Price (lowest to highest)”, is it any wonder? Not to excuse this action, which is terrible, but it dovetails into the entire downward spiral of what’s being cut to provide low prices on every good and service in the country now…
@CurbRunner: Larger airports that offer more flights across multiple carriers?
It doesn’t sound like she makes this trip often, why not indulge in an airport shuttle or a limo… if only for the piece of mind and door to door service.
@trollkiller: They also make battlebots. Ahhh, there are times I love being an american.
Personally I wouldn’t fly US Airways again, but that’s largely because I’ve flown with them before. As they say, “fool me once, shame on you…”
i’m sure someone will say she desrved it because when she bought the ticket she agreed to their terms and agreements which clearly stated it’s no one job to push your wheelchair off the tarmac, and that is she does a charge back she commiting fruad. lmao. there you go B*#@n.
@DrGirlfriend: And because you want to ask those questions, you will never be one. You will have to ask what hardships unrelated to the story has/have they gone through. Was it soap poisoning?
@GitEmSteveDave: Fine Ralphie reference.
I’m fairy sure salacious doesn’t mean what you think it means. Salacious is similar to scandalous but also implies sexual impropriety. Unless the poor wheelchair lady was fondled by the US Airways staff, I think there are better word choices to be made here.
I know I’m being pedantic, but I get tired of watching web discourse turn into a bad Norm Crosby routine, especially when a definition is a click away…
It’s too bad they failed to mention that US AIRWAYS’s Customer support by phone was closed for the holidays. Although they were able to outsource their booking agents to the phillipines.
If she is able to wheel herself around, why didn’t she just go with the other passengers?
If she was not able to wheel herself around, why was she flying alone?
Even though it would be nice if some airport personal would help – but I know if my job was loading bags at the airport, and I decided to be helpful and take someone all the way to their connecting flight, then walk back to my regular job in a little bit – I would probable get in trouble for not doing my job since my boss does not want to have a negative comment on Consumerist about how they never get all the bag loaded on time and can’t seem to get bags where they are suppose to go.
@solmssen: Thank goodness you were here. I only hope you can spread your message of vocabulary throughout the whole internet — before it’s too late.
@homerjay: That’s an excellent question. And if I’d been paying attention, I would have asked it before you did. D’oh!
@MercuryPDX: From Bakersfield? Maybe if your destinations are major hubs, but not Orlando.
Also, it’s more like three hours in an airport shuttle. And maybe the connecting flight was cheaper than taking the shuttle down. I know my local shuttle to LAX runs $70 round trip, and I live an hour from LAX. Or I could under certain circumstances take the train down…for $40 roundtrip.
@Major-General: Correction, taking the LAX-MCO PLUS the shuttle/shared ride van/limosine/private jet/camel.
@solmssen: Normally I’m opposed to grammar/spelling/usage nitpicking, but I’m with you on this one. I was expecting some salaciousness in the story, perhaps involving hot US Airways flight attendants making out in the cockpit while the poor woman waited on the tarmac.
Instead, I got just standard thoughtlessness. You need to manage my expectations better, consumerist.
@coan_net: “If she was not able to wheel herself around, why was she flying alone?”
You’re absolutely right. We all know how disabled people always have so much money that they can afford to fly someone else with them, and also that they always know someone who can travel on their schedule!
@coan_net: Don’t forget to add the liability if you run her into a wall or the wheel falls off the chair.
@trollkiller: Or the wheelchair doesn’t have tremor-damping to control direction regardless of the operator’s tremors or spasticity.
@clevershark: You are expected to make reasonable accommodation, dedicating and employee to care for a disabled person is not reasonable.
@GitEmSteveDave: I think the Tank Chair has that as an option.
It doesn’t sound like they are “taking this seriously”.
@MercuryPDX: Again with the helpful “solutions.” It’s more like a 3-hour ride (I assume you’re familiar with LA traffic), a limo ride of that distance ain’t cheap (certainly if you need special accommodations for a wheelchair), and I’m guessing a disabled woman doesn’t have a lot of discretionary income to toss around.
But hey, life’s simple when you’re not disabled and have all the answers, huh?
I give up. *headdesk*
LoL funny story.
@DrGirlfriend: Very good questions, and I was wondering why none of those were addressed in the story too (maybe they are in the video?). I was also struck by “‘She called me at 3 a.m., crying hysterically because she didn’t know what to do and no one would help her,’ daughter Tammy Nelson said.” Why didn’t she call earlier? Did she only gain access to a phone at 3am?
What the hell does a cripple think they’re doing flying anyway. Her own fault. She’s in a chair with wheels, she should have rolled her way there.
U.S. Airways stated, “…that is not how we deal with our customers.”
As a matter of clarification, that is exactly how you treat your customers.
Now, can somebody explain to me how any passenger, at any time, is ever placed on a tarmac at any international airport? Perhaps they meant to say she was wheeled onto the concourse.