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PHL-ISP crew kick off blind man w/service dog; flight cancelled
Because a legally-blind person and his service dog were being kicked off this flight by the flight crew, other passengers refused to fly and pilot cancelled flight.
Passengers took a bus to Long Island instead. http://news.yahoo.com/video/blind-ma...111508588.html |
Wow, great for the people on board to stand up for what they thought was right. Obviously, we don't know the whole story here but for 30+ people to decide they'd rather take a bus out of principle I have a feeling the FA was in the wrong.
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Wow, thanks for posting this.
Sounds like the entire crew (including the pilot) is in need of some retraining on basic common courtesy, with a dose of ADA :rolleyes: |
Did the FA and pilot not think this would be a PR nightmare for the airline? I know the union will protect them from being disciplined, but geez louise.:rolleyes
Read some of the comments under the story. |
It sounds like there's much more to the story over here:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/b...o-li-1.6435447 ...When told Rizzi said he had asked to be accommodated in a seat with an under-seat area -- and that he said there were open seats on the small commuter plane -- Landau said: "That's the first I've heard about that." But, asked if Rizzi should have been seated in a seat with an under-seat area, instead of the last-row seat that lacked one, Landau said: "I would think so." She said US Airways has a training program, Puppies in Flight, which instructs employees and crew how to best accommodate customers using service animals. Landau said she did not know if the attendant had taken the course. ...Beiner said there were at least four open seats on the plane, including the front bulkhead seat -- a seat that should be provided to passengers with service animals, according to Federal Aviation Administration rules. That seat was "18 inches" from where the flight attendant was seated, Beiner said. ...Like Rizzi, Beiner said he took that bus. He said the delay -- the bus arrived at MacArthur at about 3:45 a.m. -- meant his parking fee more than quadrupled, from $6 to $25. Beiner said he also learned Thursday that US Airways was refusing to refund the airfare to passengers who elected to take the bus, even though, he said, the airline canceled the flight. As Michael El said, this is really turning into a PR nightmare, one which US certainly doesn't need right now. |
PHL-ISP crew kick off blind man w/service dog; flight cancelled
I would assume this was a Dash 8, so I really can't comment on their procedures. I know we will usually move mountains to accommodate any type of service animals on mainline. A couple years ago we had to IDB 2 passengers and rearrange lots of people to make room for a woman's 2 HUGE ESA's. the only place they would fit on the floor was the bulkhead and there was no space for anyone to occupy the other seats.
Recently there was another story about a vet that was deplaned because he refused to put his service animal under the seats. The GA had rearranged people on that flight as well to give him an empty seat next to him and more floor space but apparently the passenger wanted the big dog to occupy the now empty seat. Unfortunately that's a big no no. Service animals are allowed to sit in your lap if they're no larger than a lap child and a golden retriever or full size lab don't meet that requirement. I look forward to hearing the full story from both sides of the fence on this one. |
Nothing good ever comes from service animals and small commuter planes (Dash 8s, CRJs, etc).
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The one thing I noticed in the comments so far is about the pilot canceling the flight. That is the one thing the Captain can't do. Only dispatch has that authority since they know what in the way of other aircraft/crews are available.
Jim |
I think it's pretty awesome the other passengers stood up for him. It's funny--FA's LOVE animals on board or HATE them. There is no happy medium.
Cheers to seeing more "Puppies in Flight" FB and Twitter updates! |
Originally Posted by ShaneMcConnell
(Post 21785570)
Nothing good ever comes from service animals and small commuter planes (Dash 8s, CRJs, etc).
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I smell a big PR disaster here for US Air. Proud of the passengers. I'd do the same.
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Originally Posted by Joanna2360
(Post 21786230)
On the contrary, I've been on more than one Dash 8 when a man boarded with a giant German Shepherd service dog that quickly fit himself nicely under the seat in front of his owner. The issue identified in the story (links above) is that the the man with the service dog was not given one of the available seats with space in front for the dog, though apparently there were four empty seats and plenty of opportunity for the FA to do the right thing.
Just curious, but do some US Dash 8s not have a bulkhead and the FA jumpseat is facing a passenger? If true, would a service animal be allowed in the space between row 1 and the jumpseat? |
Originally Posted by UA1kMFR
(Post 21786342)
I smell a big PR disaster here for US Air. Proud of the passengers. I'd do the same.
so what's the worst that can happen? People are not going to remember that the "new" American Airlines is actually US Airways. :) I would like to know if the US Airways crew had violated any federal laws in how they handled the situation. Why did YouTube yank the video? Or did the poster do that? |
On the Dash-8, the only "last row seat" without underseat storage is 9D... aka "the middle" in the bench row in the back.
Is that where he was seated originally? This is confusing. Clearly the FA wouldnt seat him here. There's definitely more to this story. |
Originally Posted by MetricFlyer
(Post 21786712)
Perhaps they don't care? The US Airways name will be gone soon,
so what's the worst that can happen? People are not going to remember that the "new" American Airlines is actually US Airways. :) I would like to know if the US Airways crew had violated any federal laws in how they handled the situation. |
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