Deaf FTers?
May 14, 2014, 4:07 am
#76
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA
Posts: 100
Do other deaf flyers ever get the sense that people think you need help and advice with basic things just because you're deaf? I get offered a lot of "helpful advice" (including here on FT) on account of being deaf that is really, really basic. (Including, literally, a seat-belt fastening tutorial on board the flight where I crossed 50K that year.) I don't fly as much as some of the real road warriors here, but I fly internationally all over the world on business multiple times a year, routinely take public transit in strange places, and a good portion of my work is in connection with tourism. Hearing people are always asking me for travel tips. My problem is not that I can't find a way around. My problem is that the barrier should not be there. I will continue to be resilient and find my way to where I need to be, but I'll be damned if I am going to accept that it's my duty to accommodate the barrier. Unfortunately, some people hear that as a "cry for help" and then we have that awkward moment when I am not as grateful as they would like me to be. Just me?
Most of the time I just smile and nod but one time on ANA, they told me that they had arranged for a person to meet me at the gate to escort me through security and customs at my home airport. I showed them my thick passport with the 48-page inset and loads of stamps but was told that it would hurt the GA's feelings if I didn't use the service and because they were so nice, I obligated. It was just a pretty awkward experience all around and they didn't even get me into the expedited line at customs so I had to wait in the line with an escort following me around pushing a baggage cart with my carry on luggage. Definitely not going to do that again at my home airport and I'll just apologize profusely onboard because I just want to get home ASAP, dammit.
If I end up flying enough in a year to get status lofty enough to be printed on my boarding pass, I'm just going to show that to people who try to "help" me and hope they get the hint and leave me be.
May 14, 2014, 5:36 am
#77
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland
Programs: BA gold
Posts: 3,902
In my experiences, having a top-tier status does not stop those insisting that you need help. In fact, in some cases, it increases the attention given to you because not only you are a 'disabled' traveller, but an important one.
