I have a multiply handicapped sister and when she travels, I have to accompany her. Do any US airlines offer a discount to a companion?

For example, she's going to go to New Mexico for a month, and I have purchased two round tickets for me, in addition to her one. ONe to take her out, and the other to go and bring her back.

It gets costly.
Thanks,
Rita

I have a multiply handicapped sister and when she travels, I have to accompany her. Do any US airlines offer a discount to a companion?

For example, she's going to go to New Mexico for a month, and I have purchased two round tickets for me, in addition to her one. ONe to take her out, and the other to go and bring her back.

It gets costly.
Thanks,
Rita

rkt10, NW airlines used to offer a travel companion fare if you met all the other rules like an exact 7 day stay, Saturday overnight, etc. However, I don't see them listed anymore. More recently, MBNA sent me a free companion airfare voucher for taking a no-interest, no fee cash advance against my credit card as part of a promotion campaign they're running right now. I called MBNA and said I wanted to take advantage of the free companion airfare voucher. I took a cash advance of $100 which I promptly repaid and they sent me a brochure detailing how to get my free companion certificate. I could even choose the airline to travel on. Another company that I've traveled on a companion ticket was several years ago, Citibank had a promotion to get a free companion ticket on American Airlines if you signed up for their credit card. That saved me about $600. These are usually time-limited meaning the certificate expires at the end of a calendar year or one year from the point of request. Finally, they typically limit travel to within the contiguous US.

Right now advance purchase airfares are so low, you could practically travel 2 for 1 depending on where you travel to/from. If you don't already use an automated, ongoing fare alert search engine, www.travelocity.com has one where you enter up to 4 travel routes and tell it at what cost you want to receive an email if the price changes. Then, voile', you get an email that the fare is on sale! The only caution I would say about this approach is that these fares go off sale as quick as they go on so don't procrastinate about making a purchase, if interested.

One other option to consider is asking a hospital Social Worker if there is a United Way or other local resource that may be able to assist with your sister's transportation and/or cost. For example, if she travels to provide respite for a primary caregiver, a Social Worker or Pastor may be able to arrange a free Angel Flight, depending on her medical condition and the purpose of travel. My husband does these kind of good-will flights every month.

Best of Luck to You and Your Sister From Here in the Fog,

mrspilot

mrspilot,
Thank you for your thoughtful response to my question. Christine's handicap is not so bad that she would need a life-flight or anything. She's retarded, epileptic, somewhat incontinent and severely unbalanced (literally, not emotionally :D). Before her balance became a problem, she was able to fly as an unattended "child". But now that it's possible/probable that she would fall and then maybe mess herself, she really does need to be accompanied.

My parents were able to leave a small trust for Christine's benefit... and we've been using that as a source of paying for the tickets (mine and hers). But if there were a companion rate, I would love to take advantage of it.

You are right about the rates right now. However, for her to visit my sister in New Mexico for a month, the airfares total over $1100. It's really 3 for 1, since I end up taking two round trips for her one.

The only upside is that I collect both the ff miles for my trips and the ff miles on AMEX. So there is a slight benefit. And it is a bonus that I do enjoy flying, even tho I fly one day and return the next. I guess I should think of it as being a free mileage run of sorts, since the trust pays for the tickets.

God bless your husband for doing his mercy flights. He sounds like a good man.

Thanks again,
Rita

Rita,

See my post in Coupon Connection for Northwest PD937 zone certs:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=347582

This is not a companion fare deal but rather a discount travel coupon deal. The fare from MA to NM will be either $248 or $288 depending on the day of the week that you travel. You and your sister can get either CO, DL, or NW miles on these tickets.

If you can make use of them I am happy to send you three of them.

I would think the airlines would provide a companion fare, even for a recreational visit, especially if you do a turaround and your sister's doctor provides some kind of confirmation that it's medically necessary that she be accompanied. Our local disabled van service doesn't charge the $3 fare for the companion.

Not sure this is relevant, but my cousin is on Social Security because she is technically disabled due to metastasized cancer.

Social Security pays for her and her companion's transportation to medical treatments, hotel rooms, and meals. In her case she flies from Southeast Alaska to Seattle for treatment as there are no oncologists in SE Alaska, not even in the state capital, Juneau.

But I also remember someone who flew RT New York to Sydney to accompany children for visits with the other parent. (There are, or were at the time, no unaccompanied minors on international flights.) Other parent flies RT Sydney to New York to return the kiddies. No discounts, just a lot of inconvenience, and many, many ff miles.

Your parents were very wise to create the trust, and you are doing a remarkable job as caregiver. It would be nice if your other sister could be the companion on the return flight, but sometimes that isn't practicle. I'm glad you enjoy flying!

I have a multiply handicapped sister and when she travels, I have to accompany her. Do any US airlines offer a discount to a companion?

Unfortunately, US airlines do not, to my knowledge, offer any discounts for aides/companions of disabled passengers. Canadian and Australian airlines (last I looked...a couple of years ago) offer a 50% discount when a disabled passenger has a doctor certify they need a companion's assistance during flights.

It's a pet peeve of mine that if I were flying with a child under 12, I'd usually get a discount, but when I fly with my aide, I never do. It's not as though a child takes up less space or is served less food than an adult, so it's frustrating. :(

If you are physically disabled, and require physical care which is not provided by FAs (help to bathroom, help eating, etc, if required) and they do not accommodate your attendant at no charge, you may have a claim under ACA that you have not been provided "equal access to a public accommodation".

Call the airline you're interested in flying and ask for their Air Carrier Act Compliance Officer.

If you are physically disabled, and require physical care which is not provided by FAs (help to bathroom, help eating, etc, if required) and they do not accommodate your attendant at no charge, you may have a claim under ACA that you have not been provided "equal access to a public accommodation".

Call the airline you're interested in flying and ask for their Air Carrier Act Compliance Officer.

Jazzman, you are a doll. That's exactly what she requires. She is inconsistently incontinent, and because she is so unstable, she requires help to get to and from the bathroom. She's afraid to lock the bathroom door, and so I have to help her to the bathroom and stand there while she goes.

She also requires epilepsy medication, so if her flight was diverted or delayed, she could end up with life-threatening seizures. Since's she's retarded, she cannot self-medicate.

Incidentally, she sounds like this dribbling, zoned-out pathetic mess. Not so. She is socially well trained, and (other than the fact that no one normal looks that innocent) looks pretty normal. But she clearly cannot fly alone.

Thanks again,
Rita

Here is the law as it pertains to domestic flights in the United States. This is from the Air Carrier Act, 14 CFR 382 § 382.35:

§ 382.35 Attendants.

(a) Except as provided in this section, a carrier shall not require that a qualified individual with a disability travel with an attendant as a condition of being provided air transportation. A concern on the part of carrier personnel that a individual with a disability may need to use inaccessible lavatory facilities or may otherwise need extensive special assistance for personal needs which carrier personnel are not obligated to provide is not a basis on which the carrier may require an attendant.

(b) A carrier may require that a qualified individual with a disability meeting any of the following criteria travel with an attendant as a condition of being provided air transportation, if the carrier determines that an attendant is essential for safety:

(1) A person traveling in a stretcher or incubator. The attendant for such a person must be capable of attending to the passenger’s in-flight medical needs;

(2) A person who, because of a mental disability, is unable to comprehend or respond appropriately to safety instructions from carrier personnel, including the safety briefing required by 14 CFR 121.571 (a) (3) and (a)(4) or 14 CFR 135.117(b);

(3) A person with a mobility impairment so severe that the person is unable to assist in his or her own evacuation of the aircraft;

(4) A person who has both severe hearing and severe vision impairments, if the person cannot establish some means of communication with carrier personnel, adequate to permit transmission of the safety briefing required by 14 CFR 121.571(a)(3) and (a)(4) or 14 CFR 135.117(b).

(c) If the carrier determines that a person meeting the criteria of paragraph (b)(2), (b)(3) or (b)(4) of this section must travel with an attendant, contrary to the individual’s self-assessment that he or she is capable of traveling independently, the carrier shall not charge for the transportation of the attendant.

(d) If, because there is not a seat available on a flight for an attendant whom the carrier has determined to be necessary, a person with a disability who has a confirmed reservation is unable to travel on the flight, the person with a disability shall be eligible for denied boarding compensation under 14 CFR part 250.

(e) For purposes of determining whether a seat is available for an attendant, the attendant shall be deemed to have checked in at the same time as the person with a disability.I have to preface this with the fact that I am not a lawyer, but from what is stated here, it would appear that she can't travel alone, requires and attendant, and apprently from what the law states here, there should be no charge for the attendant. Since you're "working" on the flight that would only be fair.

Let me know how it works out.

By the way, if you are not successful in getting a resolution, you should ask to speak to the Complaint Resolution Officer (CRO) at the airline. They are required to resolve your problem within 60 days.

Keep us updated and let us know what happens.

It says the airline "may require" which causes me to wonder if there's a loophole here? What if the airline said, "we don't require an attendant" so the attendant who comes with her has to pay?

Due to the specific nature of the handicaps mentioned earlier (mental retardation, imbalance, occasional incontinence, etc.) I see it highly unlikely that any airline in their right mind would say such a person could fly on their own.

If they insisted that such a passenger fly alone or that payment would be required for the attendant, I'd be looking for another airline.

I've printed out the regulations and I'm going to be calling Northwest Airlines on Monday.

The only part I'm concerned about is that I'm accompanying her to my brother's for a vacation. But I'm not staying with her. So the question will be if Northwest is willing to provide me with a ticket, if they will also allow me to return to Boston while she's away (or make me pay for a return flight).

But I will keep you appraised of the developments as they play out.

Rita

It says the airline "may require" which causes me to wonder if there's a loophole here? What if the airline said, "we don't require an attendant" so the attendant who comes with her has to pay?

DeafFlyer, ding, ding, ding, you're the winner. That's exactly what Northwest Airlines told me. "We will not make a determination on whether a passenger needs an attendant or not... but we will not help with [administering medications, assisting to the bathroom]" So they're avoiding the Department of Transportation language which would provide for an attendant at no charge.

I wasn't able to get directly in touch with a compliance department, but had to deal with a customer service person who, although very helpful, was getting her information from others. Clearly you can't box someone in who isn't giving you the answer you want, if they aren't the final arbiter.

I put a call into the DOT to see if their compliance officers might have run into this again. Had to leave a message since there's not individual who answers the phone for that department. They'll call back, they say.

I suspect they'll just say that Northwest is free to take the position that they have (not making the determination at all). Unless I get a zealous government employee.

Rita

Due to the specific nature of the handicaps mentioned earlier (mental retardation, imbalance, occasional incontinence, etc.) I see it highly unlikely that any airline in their right mind would say such a person could fly on their own.

If they insisted that such a passenger fly alone or that payment would be required for the attendant, I'd be looking for another airline.

FWIW, I am completely unable to walk but on most flights would not need any extraordinary help from a FA (assistance raising/lowering a tray table would be about it most of time). When I was looking into the possibility of flying alone from SEA to SFO/LAX to meet up with Kremmen flying in from MEL, the CSA asked if I could deplane by myself in case of emergency. When I said no, she said that I would have to bring an aide (and pay for her ticket).

The problem is with the phrase "contrary to the individual’s self-assessment that he or she is capable of traveling independently" -- I can't in good conscience claim that I can travel independently if one of the criteria is to be able to exit by myself.

Also, iirc, the airline has the option of using a deadheading employee as the aide. This means that in my case, I would need to show up at the airport with an aide who was prepared to travel but who was also prepared to stay behind and that I need to have flexible arrangements for what to do with my aide once we get where I'm going. In the OP's case, she'd have to be prepared to fly or not, which could be even more problematic on the homeward journey. And her sister would have to be okay with a stranger helping her.

Due to the specific nature of the handicaps mentioned earlier (mental retardation, imbalance, occasional incontinence, etc.) I see it highly unlikely that any airline in their right mind would say such a person could fly on their own.

If they insisted that such a passenger fly alone or that payment would be required for the attendant, I'd be looking for another airline.

Sometimes there is no choice but to fly that airline.

FlyingPenguin,
You've raised some really good points. And to me that the airlines are using a loophole in the intent of the regulations.

But there are two ways of looking at it.
First, the airlines need the money of each and every seat possible, so they aren't going to do anything to minimize revenues.

Second, they really don't care what incremental costs a disabled passenger has to travel. "If they want to travel, then they'll have to do what it takes to travel."

And, I suppose it plays into the individual this way.
First, the individual doesn't want to be needing to invoke governmental rules to get something one could use. So you pay the money and make the best of it.

And, individuals feel a sense of obligation not to take something for nothing. So why should I expect the airline to give me something for nothing?

So (in my case) I accept the short trip as being worth spending even one night with my brothers, when I drop my sister off for a vacation. And the cost of the trip is also a fair enough price to pay for a bit of a breather from caring for a handicapped sister.

In any event, I want you to know how deeply I respect your conscience when it comes to your reading of the regulations. I absolutely agree that I couldn't honestly say that Chris could travel alone. She could never do so. So I accept the fact that I need to accompany her on a paid ticket.

Rita

The problem is with the phrase "contrary to the individual’s self-assessment that he or she is capable of traveling independently" -- I can't in good conscience claim that I can travel independently if one of the criteria is to be able to exit by myself.

Also, iirc, the airline has the option of using a deadheading employee as the aide. This means that in my case, I would need to show up at the airport with an aide who was prepared to travel but who was also prepared to stay behind and that I need to have flexible arrangements for what to do with my aide once we get where I'm going. In the OP's case, she'd have to be prepared to fly or not, which could be even more problematic on the homeward journey. And her sister would have to be okay with a stranger helping her.


Frontier Airlines' web site pretty much parrots the information in Part 382
http://www.frontierairlines.com/faq/index.asp#DP
I called to check on the policy because we are making preparations to bring my FIL to NM. The airline rep pretty much said they won't decide if a pax needs an aide unless it's "painfully obvious" ie blind, deaf, on oxygen and in a wheelchair--or a person who obviously can't function independently for the 5-6 hours duration of a trip (including terminal time and dealing with TC and TSA personnel). The FAs won't administer meds, will assist *to* the lavatory but not assist inside the lavatory.

FIL probably can't travel by himself so we checked into air ambulance services that provide commercial air carrier medical escorts. One rep told us that we would be better off financially flying out, getting him and then all of us flying back--in first class--than it would be for us to engage their services. For a "very simple" escort mission...pick up at discharging facility, transport to airport, escort on flight, transport to receving facility while administering meds and attending to any personal needs en-route they would charge aroud $7000. They arrange for all travel (patient and escort travel in first class) with the airline's Medical Desk.

So we could chance it by taking him to the airport and seeing if the airline will assert he needs an attendant so that one of us could fly free, but also be prepared to have to buy a ticket because we all have to get back. We're just going to buy the tickets outright.

But there are two ways of looking at it.
First, the airlines need the money of each and every seat possible, so they aren't going to do anything to minimize revenues.

Second, they really don't care what incremental costs a disabled passenger has to travel. "If they want to travel, then they'll have to do what it takes to travel."

...

And, individuals feel a sense of obligation not to take something for nothing. So why should I expect the airline to give me something for nothing?


I agree with you, mostly :).

If flights were constantly full with full-fare-paying pax, then the airlines would be looking at losing revenue by offering discounts to companions of disabled pax. However, I daresay if that were true, we wouldn't be seeing airlines go into chapt 11.

I know that the cost of paying for 2 tickets every time I want to travel reduces the amount I travel, and I'm guessing that if you could travel for 50% of Chris's ticket (which would be the case if you flew within Canada or Australia), she might visit your brother a little more often. When we decide we can't afford the double air fare, then the airlines' unwillingnes to "lose" 50% of the companion's fare ends up losing them the other 50%, plus 100% of the disabled pax's fare.

As for not caring about the incremental cost to disabled pax, they do care about the incremental cost to parents--otherwise why would they offer 25% discounts to kids under 12, or sometimes have "kids fly free" promos? And why do they offer senior discounts? Presumably because they know that seniors on limited incomes simply won't fly otherwise, and they want the business of those seniors. (And the really irritating part is that, given the relatively low number of disabled travellers compared to seniors and people with children, I suspect the cost to the airlines of offering discounts to disabled pax or their aides would be small).

You're right, I don't expect to get something for nothing. But I don't think it's unreasonable to want to get a discount that is offered to others with no more intrinsic "right" to a discount than I have.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.

If I, a disabled man, will be forced to fly with a companion (buying 2 tickets), the result is that I can't travel anywhere. I have to pay twice as much as others to go somewhere. That is, in some ways, discrimination. Providing a discounted or free companion fare would allow those with disabilities a chance to live a normal life. It is a way to accommodate them. Sure it costs the airlines, but it's just a part of doing business. Whether that's right or wrong is, I guess, up teach individual.

If I, a disabled man, will be forced to fly with a companion (buying 2 tickets), the result is that I can't travel anywhere. I have to pay twice as much as others to go somewhere. That is, in some ways, discrimination. Providing a discounted or free companion fare would allow those with disabilities a chance to live a normal life. It is a way to accommodate them. Sure it costs the airlines, but it's just a part of doing business. Whether that's right or wrong is, I guess, up teach individual.

I'm confused by your statement. You say that you would be unable to travel anywhere if forced to pay for a companion, which leads me to believe that you currently travel without one. Then you say that providing the companion fare would allow those with disabilites to live a normal life. Do you consider your disability something that REQUIRES a companion to travel? If the airline decided, "deaf people need attendants and we will provide travel for them at no charge", do you not think that they could turn around and REQUIRE you to have an attendant for ALL your travel?

I don't think its a good idea to have airlines determining what disabilities require attendants. "Needing" assistance can be very relative. In another thread someone mentioned how "AA doesn't care about disabled psgrs" because they wouldn't assign him and his father seats together. Would you really want someone to assess your disability over the phone?? If its obvious that the father needed an attendant, it would have been taken care of at the counter, yet AA is deemed uncaring because they want to assess that in person. Another person with the exact same disability may be quite content to travel alone, and offended at the idea that they "needed" to have an attendant seated next to them.

As for the "incremental costs"..I dont think airlines care about incremental costs to parents or seniors either. Kids Fly Free programs are usually in conjunction with a resort package where more money is involved than just the basic airfare. The youth fares that I'm aware of are usually limited to international flights. Seniors make up a very powerful consumer group, and despite the "limited income" perception have a considerable amount of spending power. Many of the senior fares offered aren't cheaper than the lowest discounted fare available in the market. They are sometimes more expensive, but are more flexible.

Missy,

It's probably my FT ID that's confusing you. I'm a wheelchair pax. I do require, on longer flights, some assistance. I did not mean I wanted them to determine anything on the phone. I was justommenting on the companion fare issue. I think the airlines should discount ot provide free tickets to a companion, for the reason I stated. I don't think they should be able to weasle out of it by a loophole in the ACAA rules. However, the determination of the need should not solely be up to the airline, or some method developed to determine need.

As for the "incremental costs"..I dont think airlines care about incremental costs to parents or seniors either. Kids Fly Free programs are usually in conjunction with a resort package where more money is involved than just the basic airfare. The youth fares that I'm aware of are usually limited to international flights. Seniors make up a very powerful consumer group, and despite the "limited income" perception have a considerable amount of spending power. Many of the senior fares offered aren't cheaper than the lowest discounted fare available in the market. They are sometimes more expensive, but are more flexible.

Then I guess I wish airlines were to not care about me in the same way they don't care about parents :). I'd certainly be happy if I could get a discount for my aide on international flights, since the double-fare to MEL is definitely not one of the benefits of having a long-distance relationship.

I wonder why the airlines don't look at it this way: if the number of disabled pax who take them up on a discounted companion fare is small, they won't lose much money on the discounted tickets. If they suddenly find they've got a lot more disabled pax, doesn't that mean they've found an underserved market and they're getting more revenue? And either way, I suspect that if an airline were to do this voluntarily rather than being forced by a government reg, said airline would find themselves with some very loyal customers who would sing its praises to their friends and family, disabled or not.

I got an email from the Northwest Airlines Liaison person who still had to go get input from her colleagues. Clearly she is not the decision maker, and therefore has a primary responsibility to make the issue go away (my take on the matter).

I haven't called the contact from the Department of Transportation yet (since I was in the process of transporting Christine on another trip on American Airlines... we'll tackle them separately if the NWA situation comes out in her favor). Anyway I'll call the DOT guy this week.

So here's the Northwest email:

I am sorry that I have been unable to reach you by phone. I am leaving
this week for a two week vacation, so decided I will e-mail you today.
If you have questions feel free to call me tomorrow.


I discussed your questions with my colleagues and clarified our
obligations under the Air Carrier Access Act.


The law says that we must provide a ticket for an assistant only if we
determine that a passenger meeting the criteria below must travel with
an attendant, contrary to the passenger’s self assessment that he or she
is capable of traveling independently


(b)(2) a person who because of a mental disability, is unable to
comprehend or respond appropriately to safety instructions from carrier
personnel


(b)(3) a person with a mobility impairment so severe that the person is
unable to assist in his own evacuation of the aircraft


(b)(4) a person who has both severe hearing and severe vision
impairments, if the person cannot establish some means of communication
with carrier personnel adequate to permit transmission of the safety
briefing required


In other words, if a passenger says that they can travel alone, and we
refuse to accept them on safety grounds as indicated above, we must
provide an attendant. The attendant would serve only to assist in the
evacuation if there is an emergency. The law is clear that the airline
does not have to provide for personal services. In addition, the
airline may select the attendant and may assign an employee or a willing
fellow passenger, to be seated next to the passengers who has a
disability for aid in an emergency.


We do not make decisions for passengers regarding their ability to
travel alone, because these are decisions passengers needs to make
based on discussion with their medical professionals and family.
However, we are clear regarding what services we do and do not provide
and passengers need to take that information into account when making
their decision.


We have recently defined procedures for flight irregularities, and if a
passenger is traveling alone and needs extensive personal services
during the delay, we will contact the family, advise them of the
situation and work with the family in arranging any assistance needed.
The cost of those services will be borne by the family.


The above is very factual and detached, and I do not want to imply that
I am unaware of the expense and difficulty that arranging travel for
Christine presents to you and your family. Unfortunately, we do not
offer fares beyond the companion fares you have obtained. [CLARIFICATION: I haven't gotten any companion fares from NWA. Rather, I have paid current fares for my tickets to accompany my sister ]


I enjoyed speaking with you. If I can be of assistance in planning for
the travel or with any other questions, please feel free to contact me.


Sincerely,


Debby Reisinger
Supervisor/DOT Specialist, Customer Care
Northwest/KLM Airlines


More later, folks. Rita

Hi Rita,
Just wanted to be sure you noticed dream7, the great guy who supplied discounted PDA certs for you and your sister shortly after you first posted now has more PDA certs up for grabs. You may want to drop him a PM if you're interested in getting a couple more for your upcoming trips. ^ That dream7 is quite a guy! :-:

Passing By & Waving Hi at You & Christine in the FT Fog,

mrspilot

To Rita and others: I know this is an old thread, but the issue is important and I want to offer a few observations.

1. When your civil rights are on the line, it's okay to seek general advice in a forum, but you should also check with a qualified advocate, and you should do so before you approach an airline. (I do not profess to be qualified. Perhaps others who have responded are. However, some of the responses were not substantial.)

2. When you seek accommodations from an airline, it's best not to start by suggesting that you would be willing to pay for the accommodations on your own.* Paying for two tickets might amount to a self-assessment of the passenger's disability. On the other hand, using a companion certificate might diminish the seriousness of the accommodation request, in the airline's eyes. Buying two tickets and using a companion certificate should be your last resort, your secret weapon!

3. Every person you spoke with at Northwest probably knew more than he or she admitted. It would seem to be in an airline's interest to discourage people with disabilities from flying, because accommodations cost money. The National Council on Disability says, again and again, that enforcement of the Air Carrier Access Act is lax. Deferring to a supervisor; checking with colleagues; making it seem as if a question has never been raised before; and giving familiar interpretations of rules; are all tactics that an airline representative might use if the airline wanted to shirk its legal responsibilities.

The message you report receiving from Debby Reisinger, Supervisor/DOT Specialist, Northwest Airlines leaves me with a lot of questions.

First, I think Northwest could have done a better job of explaining the difference between a personal care attendant and the type of attendant who is entitled to free transportation under Part 382.35. The proposed revision of Part 382 wisely switches to the term "safety assistant". For details, see the Federal Register (http://www.regulations.gov/freddocs/04-24371.htm). (Search inside the document for "safety assistant".)

Second, even though it seemed that Part 382.35 wouldn't help in your situation, Northwest might have mentioned all of the "safety assistant" selection options listed in the Department of Transportation's "New Horizons" brochure. I've underlined one that Northwest apparently left out. For clarity, substitute "safety assistant" (proposed new terminology) for "attendant" (current, ambiguous terminology).

"The airline can choose an attendant in a number of ways. It could designate an-off duty employee who happened to be traveling on the same flight to act as the attendant. The carrier or the passenger with a disability could seek a volunteer from among other passengers on the flight to act as the attendant. The carrier could provide a free ticket to an attendant of the passenger's choice for that flight segment. In the end, however, a carrier is not required to find or furnish an attendant." (Emphasis added.)

Here's a link to "New Horizons" (http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/publications/HorizonsPrintable.doc).

Third, as you can see, Northwest made quite a leap from "we must provide a ticket for [a safety assistant]" (early in the e-mail) to "we must provide [a safety assistant]" (later in the e-mail). Although that error would have been in your favor, it suggests that the person Northwest assigned to handle this very precise legal question was not very precise in her answers.

I think you should share your story with the Department of Transportation, as evidence of the hassles that people with disabilities go through when seeking accurate and timely information about their transportation-related rights.

Paul Marcelin-Sampson
Santa Cruz, California, USA

* I am not suggesting taking advantage of an airline, of course. There are situations where all sorts of people (primarily people without disabililities, since they make up the majority of the traveling public!) do take advantage of transportation providers, by asking for more than what they are legally or contractually entitled to. I'm just suggesting that you let the airline make the first move.

Dear Paul,
Thanks for bumping this thread, since I'd put aside the matter in place of other day-to-day issues. See, I did get a call back from that Debbie Reisinger from NWA but inadvertantly deleted all my voicemails (new phone) so I lost her telephone number.

I have to get back on the stick and get back in touch with the guy at the DOT. Something to get done this month some time.

I will keep people appraised of what comes next.
Rita