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Old Nov 3, 2012, 1:11 pm
  #7  
jenpdx
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 55
Deaf Flyer: I have encountered the most significant discounts outside North America. For flights, in some cases an attendant may accompany a disabled traveler for free (e.g., Airberlin), but this is usually contingent on holding the respective nation's "disability ID card." I have occasionally received discounts to attractions in various countries (e.g., Italian museums, Japanese temples or the Star Ferry in Hong Kong), even though I rarely ask (and often, due to lack of the required identification, wouldn't qualify). In the US, some discounts exist, like the access pass for National Parks, but afaik, nothing related to transportation -- most airlines constantly operate on the brink of bankruptcy, and imagine how they'd fare if every one of today's service dog or handicap parking fakers got to bring a free attendant on flights (and how many additional people would come out of the woodwork with imaginary disabilities). Discounts are hard to control if practically anybody can qualify, so they tend to be more significant in countries where proper definitions and easy identification of truly disabled individuals are in place (e.g., the disability ID card in Germany has categories for severe walking impairments, blindness, etc, and benefits are clearly matched to the specific disability). Back to North America, Air Canada does allow "Passengers who are not self-reliant and are severely physically disabled (paraplegic or quadriplegic)" to bring an attendant for free on domestic flights, and at a discount on other North American flights.
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