Originally Posted by
JC5280
There are folks who use wheelchairs who can walk fine, they may have an unseen disability such as a weaker heart, or who have had recent (even minor) surgery.
Being able to walk is not the only criterion for sitting in the exit row. Exit row passengers must be able-bodied in general. In the examples you gave above, those passengers would likely not be considered sufficiently able-bodied to sit in the exit row, because they would not be able to assist in case of emergency (which may require significant physical exertion, such as opening the emergency exit).
Note that
flygirl94 was not insinuating that a passenger does or does not deserve a wheelchair... she was explaining that anyone who requires a wheelchair therefore should not be placed in an exit row, which is not the same thing.
Originally Posted by
JC5280
There are cases where this has happened, and the big corporation often loses. There was once a passenger who was denied boarding because the GA accused them of being intoxicated - turns out that they had a mental disability.
You're saying the court decided that passengers with mental disabilities may sit in an exit row? Maybe if the disability still allows them to comply with FA instructions, but this seems suspect. Exit row criteria mandated by the FAA are one place where discrimination is legal, and indeed, required.