Originally Posted by
RadioGirl
This is a very poor article with superficial and contradictory analysis. On the one hand the author uses emotive terms ("the woman suddenly sprang from her wheelchair" "two huge carry-on bags" "plopped back in the wheelchair" "a nod to the person pushing her") to imply fraudulent behavior. (And again later: "customers in wheelchairs carried giant carry-on bags on their laps").
Now first, presumably these "huge" or "giant" carry-ons were nevertheless within airline limits. So why use such pejorative terms to imply that the passengers are taking advantage? Is it a requirement that someone with a disability is only allowed a tiny carry-on?
I think what's going on is that most people who simply need a chair because they're wearing out aren't going to be able to handle much of any weight with their arms, either. My MIL certainly wouldn't have been plopping a huge carry-on in her lap. Most people we see being pushed in chairs are in this category. The author is making the mistake of equating most with all and concluding the others are frauds--when they might very well have been like you, able-bodied except for some damage to the legs or feet.
I was a lot younger than the average hip replacement candidate and so I know people thought I was a fraud in the wheelchair. I didn't care; I knew I needed it.
I'm pretty sure some people thought my wife was a fraud the one time she needed a chair. By appearance she's in her early 50's (she's actually older but has never looked her age) and everything worked properly--an observer would have no way of seeing her injury that meant standing was very painful unless they could see her face when she had to stand.
In my 10 flights, I was always told to wait until everyone had left and there would be a chair waiting for me. I didn't mind the wait, I had plenty of time and so I was the last one off. Twice, I got to the jetway and there was no chair, no airline staff, and the FA just said "Oh, well, wait here" and walked off.
For us it was only two flights but the chair handling left a lot to be desired. The FAs, also--she needed to go to the bathroom but the FAs kept cancelling the call button without responding because they were busy preparing breakfast. I had to go track them down to get the aisle chair.
And LAX apparently never considered the fact that a connecting passenger would need a chair while they were in the airport. We had a 5-hour connect, they wanted to leave her at the gate those whole 5 hours with no chair! The bathroom (no family bathrooms but she's not the type to freak out about my wheeling her into the men's room) was near the gate but getting there would have been agony for her. I think they would have left her anyway had we not simply refused to vacate the chair until another was produced. (The pusher needed their chair back to help the next passenger. Apparently it was one chair per pusher rather than a pool of chairs.)
Here's a point someone made on the Disability Forum at the time which helped me, and should be made repeatedly when this claim of fraud comes up:
People who absolutely need a wheelchair, who are completely unable to walk or stand, HAVE THEIR OWN WHEELCHAIRS (and usually propel it themselves.) They gate check their chairs and use a special narrow chair to get to their seat on the plane. People who are using the airport chairs are therefore those who simply need some assistance in the airport environment. It should not be surprising, therefore, to see them pick up a bag, walk to the restroom on their own, or walk onto the plane.
Definitely.