danielonn

My friend is blind and travels alone with her Seeing Eye Dog so if she can travel solo so can people who are Hard Of Hearing or Deaf. Sure in this situation the OP wants to sit near her husband and I can understand but in these circumstances one must understand when booking the ticket that something like this can occur.

Also someone who is Hard of Hearing or Deaf could point to what they want such as a drink from the magazine. Not to bash the OP but if my Friend who is Blind as well as her Husband travel alone airlines have Braille Safety Cards so can a person who is Hard of Hearing or Deaf.

Now back to the OP I am trying to play devils advocate did the OP just want to sit next to her husband and included the disability to help her case? Or if the OP needs the husband as her interpreter then AA had to have tried to grant this albeit on another flight. Can the OP function without assistance from the flight crew other than to be directed to the lav or in an emergency?

Airlines specifically state that they can deny a passenger who cannot take care of themselves such as a person with a Mental Disability or Dementia who need assistance all the time using the restroom and they cannot function independently that I can understand. Just like at school they cannot give a student with a disability an open note test as it would be unfair to the other students but they can grant them extra time on the test.

So I hope I put this into perspective of what the airline can and can't do. Now this is not to say the OP can't write a letter to investigate the situation with a CRO who handles the Air Carrier Act violations and potential violations.

American could write back and say that the passenger was capable of sitting alone and did not need an interpreter unless the OP can prove that one is necessary. My Cousin is Hard of Hearing ad she wears hearing aides and can drive and flies more than once a year alone and has no problems.

I have even met people who are Deaf who can drive. Now there can be other disabilities such as anxiety disorder or even Autism where the person would need a traveling companion at all times. But as far as I know being Deaf alone does not usually require a traveling companion as per the Air Carrier Act. They can write their requests and operate the IFE system and a lot of them can read lips.

We do not know if the OP has another co existing disability that requires her husband to sit next to her.

Sorry to be so blunt here but the OP is deciding to book with Delta and that is a good choice if her needs will be better met on Delta.

You can comment here OP and other posters as well!